" Does anyone know what the standard procedure is for transfering the contents of your old computer's hard drive onto your new computer?"
simple, except for the expense, is to buy an item(forget the name) that your old drive is put into, and then plug that into your new setup when you need something...or you can then transfer the whole thing from that device to your new hard drive...
it was about a hundred bucks, for a mac, so it should be cheaper, for that other firm...
fs