Why it happens
An old desktop with a 1 TB hard drive may be replaced by a laptop with a 512 GB SSD. That's normal — SSDs are much faster — but it means you need to choose what to bring.
Leave these behind
- Temporary files, browser caches and installers in Downloads
- Duplicate copies of photo folders
- Old phone backups you've already stored elsewhere
- Program folders — you'll reinstall the programs anyway
Options for large libraries
- Keep an older photo or video archive on an external drive and bring only recent years.
- Choose a second internal drive on the new computer, if it has one.
- Keep a safety margin: leave at least 5–10% of the new drive free so Windows can update.
Tip
OthTech Switch is designed to check your selection against free space before anything moves, so you don't find out half-way through.