full hard drive?

This procedure will work identicaly for ANY version of Windows, from 3.0 to 7. It will also work under any distribution of Linux.

Connect the external drive to any USB port.

Open the explorer. The external drive should appear as drive D:, E: or F: (if using Linux, it will be a volume name, not a drive letter)

Sellect the files or folders that you want to move.

If you want to remove the files from your drive:
RIGHT click and drag to the external drive.
In the context menu, sellect "Move".
(the creation date and time will remain unchanged)

If you want to copy, but leave the files in the original location:
Left click the files or folders and drag them to the external drive.
(the creation date and time will remain unchanged)

Wait for the process to finish.

Electro
October 2012