I want max out my Hard drive , the tech tells me it will wipe out all data, is there away to back up everything on my computer the way it is now. then down load it to the new hard drive. then the computer will be faster and just the same.

Try Tiger Direct . They have a real easy transfer cable that will copy all your existing data to your new hard drive then you just swap it out.Its pretty near goofy proof.

Don't you need to clone the drive rather than just copy it.
A copy won't just work as a new drive with all the old info on it, I think.

There is various software to do it Like from Norton, must be free ones as well.
http://www.harddriveupgrade.com/copy_hard_drive.shtml

Blaser93,
If you aim it to get a "faster" computer there are several factors that impact the speed your system can access data and make that data available to you. To answer your question properly I will have to give you a brief explanation of how your computer works. At least getting data from your hard drive and making it available to you as fast as possible.

If you have ever done any hand loading this is just about as complicated. With just as many variables, and at the end of the day... some things you can tweak and some that you cannot.

Memory storage is the biggest factor that you, as an end user can modify in your computer to make your system go "faster".

LEVEL 1&2:
There are two types of memory; one you can modify and one you cannot modify. The first is what is known as Level 1 and 2 cache memory. That memory lives ON or very near the Central Processor Unit (CPU) An analogy is the think of this memory as if it was a fast as the Space Shuttle. This cache memory is quite small, but is very important to the average speed of the computer as the computer uses this cache to perform the most common functions and calculation. You cannot modify this memory. You must make the decision to purchase as much as possible when you buy your computer.

Random Access Memory (RAM)
The next type of memory is RAM. The analogy to use when thinking of this memory is that of a Top Fuel Funny Car. This is where you as the end-user can have the biggest impact on your computers performance. If for example you are using 1 GB of RAM... Buying an additional 2 GB of RAM will give you a HUGE-HUGE performance increase. (NOTE: Due to a limitation in the Microsoft Operating system if you are using a 32-Bit operating system... your computer CANNOT physically use more than 3 GB of RAM. 64-Bit systems have no such limitations)

Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
This is one more area where you as the end-user get a chance to play. In terms of speed of access and impact on performance to you system as compared to RAM and L1/2 Cache. Think of this hardware like it was a Model T Ford for a 5400 RPM drive and a AMC Gremlin for the latest Intel Solid State Drive (SSD).

And now we are at a place where we can finally "start" to answer your question. However, as you can see from the above, your hard drive while it could be a bottle neck for other reasons. It is not going to be a one stop fix for speed on your system.

Not having access to your computer... and just guessing from experience. I would suggest you consider the following.

Your current HDD is probably getting full. If you install a NEW HDD as a second drive, you can divide what is called the PAGING FILE between the two drives. This will give you a performance increase. (You can read more about how paging works at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paging.) The writing of data to a drive is a killer on speed. (Model T analogy, best to use the TOP FUEL)!

You can check the amount of RAM you have... if you have less than 2 GB... buying additional will help a LOT.

Consider installing your operating system fresh on your new HDD... especially if it has been running for several years. Sometimes a fresh build is all one needs to get the computer running fast again. You will be surprised as how well your system will operate after that installation. Note: Remove the plug from the old HDD until you get the new OS installed to keep things easy on yourself... Also make sure you have all the software keys and such before you start your build.

Consider running the "migration wizard" (Google it if you don't know how) and copying all your data files before installing the new OS. This will make migration to the new system VERY easy.

I know I am presuming a lot in this reply. Perhaps I am way off the mark. I hope this helps you. Just so you know i am not trying to blow smoke up your bum... I have a BS in Information Technology, I have been a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer for 16 years and I manage the IT infrastructure for a $500M company in Asia. Also I am from Texas... ;-) LOL

How you proceed depends on several factors.

"Cloning" a drive is usually prefered, but if your computer is slow because of a "cluttered", "fragmented" or corrupted installation of your operating system it is often better to set the original drive aside and stsrt a fresh installation on the new (presumably faster/larger) Hard drive.

Why clone an operating system that is slow because of corruption to a new drive?

Another thing that REALLY slows down many computers is installing multiple Anti-Virus programs

And some commercial software spends more time "waving the corporate flag" than it does actually protecting you.

Norton is probably the worst at this because it throws a certain number of false positives
to convince you that you need it... and thus "need" to renew your subscription to it.

I fix/repair computers for my part time job and most of what I do is crash recovery and system set-up.

And one of the commonest things I see is a computer with "the slows" and frankly a re-install on a new HDD
is your best bet.

But don't go out and buy the biggest HDD you can get. What I tell people s that what they REALLY
want, rather than what they think they want is is a small very fast drive (like an SSD for their
Operating System and TWO drives for their DATA and finally a portable drive that they use to do
a weekly backup of their OS drive.

I maintain TWO system backups, "clones" of my operating system either of those backuups can be swapped
into my system in about 45seconds. at any given point one of them is <7days old, and the other is <14days old.

I also have a portable HDD on which I have all my system settings saved, and they are saved "In File Path"
so they can be quickly copied onto a fresh installation to make it indestinguishable from my original setup.

this process takes ~3minutes after I finish doing a complete reinstall starting with a virgin HDD and a
Windows 7 installation disc. (Unfortunatly that process takes nearly 3 hours)