Have you ever transferred all your stored data from an old computer to a new computer? How careful did you have to be? How strenuous was the whole ordeal? Now, imagine transferring the data of an entire organization from one system to another. Or, consider accessing organizational data, stored in an application or platform, from a newer application or platform.

File porting is the ability to convert or move data from one format to another. An example of file porting can be using a dataset, which has been created and stored in a Mac computer, or in a PC with Windows. It can be even simpler, such as needing to move data within a suite of applications like Microsoft Office. For example, imagine you have created an Excel spreadsheet that needs to be presented in a meeting. You can port that Excel spreadsheet, along with any charts or graphs, into either a Word document or a PowerPoint presentation.

In computing, be it personal or organizational, there is frequent need to access data that is stored in one system from another system. File porting helps you do so. Understanding the mechanism of file porting will help you access and manage data stored in various types of systems.

For this Assignment, imagine that you have just acquired a new computer. You have a substantial amount of data on your old hard drive that you would like to access on the new computer. Determine ways to accomplish this task.

Create a table in Microsoft Word or use a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. In the table or spreadsheet, address the following:

• Identify two different methods you could access data and transfer that data from your old computer's hard drive on your new computer.
• Estimate the time and difficulty to implement each method.
• Identify the reliability, access speed, and other costs and benefits.
• Detect what seems to be the better choice and justify your recommendation.

The overall table should include a header row and provide enough information so that the purpose of each category is clear.