Brand new computer for Xmas when to update to Win 11 from her Win10 files

abseh1 · Oct 20, 2021

I bought my Grand Daughter a new laptop (with Win10) for Xmas will not give it to her before Xmas
Plan is to put her desktop files on the laptop then upgrade her laptop to Win11

I need to know when to update to Win 11 from Win10 with her desktop Win10 files
(her desktop can not upgrade to win 11... it has a amd ryzen 5 that surprisingly will not qualify for win11)

I need the best way too transfer, and when to upgrade her desk top computer files to the laptop … the new laptop has Win10

I use Macrium but not sure what that would leave me with if I remove the the new laptop files with a image backup from her desktop computer and the changing it to win11?

In summary, I am trying to put an exact image of her desktop on the new laptop ...so both have the same file but, her desktop will be win 10 and the laptop will have win 11

Any Ideas of the sequence to do this will be appreciated...thanks in advance

I know for many this seems obvious...but I am an older guy... soooo, not so obvious to me lol

CountMike · Oct 20, 2021

abseh1 said:
I bought my Grand Daughter a new laptop (with Win10) for Xmas will not give it to her before Xmas
Plan is to put her desktop files on the laptop then upgrade her laptop to Win11

I need to know when to update to Win 11 from Win10 with her desktop Win10 files
(her desktop can not upgrade to win 11... it has a amd ryzen 5 that surprisingly will not qualify for win11)

I need the best way too transfer, and when to upgrade her desk top computer files to the laptop … the new laptop has Win10

I use Macrium but not sure what that would leave me with if I remove the the new laptop files with a image backup from her desktop computer and the changing it to win11?

In summary, I am trying to put an exact image of her desktop on the new laptop ...so both have the same file but, her desktop will be win 10 and the laptop will have win 11

Any Ideas of the sequence to do this will be appreciated...thanks in advance

I know for many this seems obvious...but I am an older guy... soooo, not so obvious to me lol

If it's fully compatible with W11, you can upgrade any time now. As for personal files from old PC, you can just copy them to new system but installed programs will have to be reinstalled on new one. It's very unlikely (and not advisable) to just transfer whole system over.

Quandary · Oct 20, 2021

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CountMike said:
If it's fully compatible with W11, you can upgrade any time now. As for personal files from old PC, you can just copy them to new system but installed programs will have to be reinstalled on new one. It's very unlikely (and not advisable) to just transfer whole system over.

I agree. Upgrade the laptop to Win11 as soon as convenient. Restoring an image backup of the desktop to the laptop is a bad idea and would likely not work as the drivers would be all different.

You todo list:
- setup a user account on the laptop with the same name as the desktop
- install all the apps used on the desktop on the laptop (make sure you have the source any license keys), and apply configurations
- copy the user data from the desktop to the laptop (Documents, Pictures, Videos, Downloads), and any folders that are not part of the user account
- test and resolve any differences or missing files
-

Berton · Oct 20, 2021

Me, three. Got a new Dell Vostro 14" Notebook last Friday [decent sale at Dell], during setup it got updated to the latest Win10 Version 21H1 Pro then a reboot and recheck for updates got Upgraded to Win11 Pro Version 21H2.

abseh1 · Oct 20, 2021

Thank you all for the great advice...I now have a good plan....thanks again to all for your time.. abs

Hazel123 · Oct 20, 2021

As said above - an image wouldn't work on a different computer. Just copy and paste all files onto an external hard drive or usb. Documents, photos, videos, downloads, music. Take a screen shot of the programs installed in Control Panel so you know which ones to reinstall later. Save the screenshot on the usb too. Export any bookmarks and save that file on the usb as well (so all bookmarks can be restored). When checking which programs are installed, check that she has product keys for them if redownloaded. They're likely to be in her email. Things like office will be on her microsoft account.

I'd then clean install Windows 11 and put all the files back on the new laptop (they'll still be on the desktop too), download all the programs again, set everything up. Then before Christmas it's all ready to go.

But put Windows 11 on before the files. If you plan to just upgrade it via Windows update or in place upgrade, still put the files back on last. In case any glitches. But personally I'd do a clean install. If there are any preinstalled programs from the manufacturer you want back on, then the manufacturer website will have all those available to re download probably.

CountMike · Oct 20, 2021

Hazel123 said:
As said above - an image wouldn't work on a different computer. Just copy and paste all files onto an external hard drive or usb. Documents, photos, videos, downloads, music. Take a screen shot of the programs installed in Control Panel so you know which ones to reinstall later. Save the screenshot on the usb too. Export any bookmarks and save that file on the usb as well (so all bookmarks can be restored). When checking which programs are installed, check that she has product keys for them if redownloaded. They're likely to be in her email. Things like office will be on her microsoft account.

I'd then clean install Windows 11 and put all the files back on the new laptop (they'll still be on the desktop too), download all the programs again, set everything up. Then before Christmas it's all ready to go.

But put Windows 11 on before the files. If you plan to just upgrade it via Windows update or in place upgrade, still put the files back on last. In case any glitches. But personally I'd do a clean install. If there are any preinstalled programs from the manufacturer you want back on, then the manufacturer website will have all those available to re download probably.

Just one thing, since that's a laptop with W10 already factory installed, it's bound to have programs, drivers and options related to that product so I would just upgrade it to keep those things and not to have to chase them afterwards. At that time I would download latest W11 ISO from MS and use it for upgrade.

NavyLCDR · Oct 20, 2021

I'm going to be the voice of dissent here. If done properly there would be a very good chance and image from the desktop computer would adapt to and run just fine on the laptop computer.

CountMike · Oct 20, 2021

NavyLCDR said:
I'm going to be the voice of dissent here. If done properly there would be a very good chance and image from the desktop computer would adapt to and run just fine on the laptop computer.

Yeees, chances are there but as I said it's desktop on laptop transfer and laptops have own needs most often only for particular model. Also who knows in what shape windows on that PC are. Drivers that would have to be replaced with are most probably just elementary MS drivers and for best operation it would be good to reinstall drivers from laptop's manufacturer.

Hazel123 · Oct 20, 2021

CountMike said:
Just one thing, since that's a laptop with W10 already factory installed, it's bound to have programs, drivers and options related to that product so I would just upgrade it to keep those things and not to have to chase them afterwards. At that time I would download latest W11 ISO from MS and use it for upgrade.

Yes I can see that. In my experience, Windows usually installs all the drivers for you (including manufacturer drivers) - maybe the odd one needs adding - like an sd card reader - and the manufacturer website should have all those to download. It can be extra hassle. The only other software installed won't be essential. As mentioned above, you can install something like HP Support Assistant (depending on the make) which finds all drivers for you, provides bios updates when available etc.

There are pros and cons - I like to think a computer starts out with no issues, when making the first image. Rather than not upgrade well. But the main thing is to keep regular backups of files in case you ever do need to do a clean install - if you plan to upgrade first :).

Some people always do a clean install on all new computers!

Quandary · Oct 20, 2021

NavyLCDR said:
I'm going to be the voice of dissent here. If done properly there would be a very good chance and image from the desktop computer would adapt to and run just fine on the laptop computer.

Not sure what "done properly" means, but it worth a try. First step is make an image copy of the laptop as it is faster to do a restore than a clean install. Then restore the desktop image, check driver status, particularly the mousepad and display. If all is fine then do a copy/restore of the data at handover point. An update to Win11 can be tried in the interim.

I believe that Win11 requires the disk subsystem to be GPT formatted and there is a good chance that the desktop is MBR formatted. Do some research to see if this may impact the restore of the desktop image.

Bree · Oct 20, 2021

Hazel123 said:
As said above - an image wouldn't work on a different computer. Just copy and paste all files onto an external hard drive or usb. Documents, photos, videos, downloads, music.

Well, an image can be transferred to another machine, I've done it for my System One below. But it's a lot of work preparing (cleaning up and removing OEM utilities/drivers that would be inappropriate on the new machine) and transferring the image (especially if moving it from a Legacy/MBR install).

Only worth doing if it's the only option to keep apps that cannot otherwise be re-installed. Far simpler and cleaner to clean install W11, copy over all the user files, and re-install any required apps.

Winuser · Oct 20, 2021

Win 10 and Win 11 are very forgiving when restoring an image from one device to another. I would suggest making an Image of the new laptop first. Then making a backup of the drivers on the new laptop. There is a guide on how to backup and restore drivers on the Windows 10 Forum.

NavyLCDR · Oct 20, 2021

It all depends upon the skill level of the person doing the OS transfer and the tradeoff of the time required to do it vs. the importance of retaining what was in the original image.

Personally, in the situation of a new laptop Christmas gift, I would probably just start fresh on the laptop, and network the laptop and desktop together so user files could easily be copied over the network. Another option would be to place an image of the OS partition from the desktop onto an external USB drive so that files from the desktop could easily be accessed on the laptop without the need to be on the same network.

There's just something fun about setting up a new computer from scratch.

Winuser · Oct 20, 2021

CountMike said:
Yeees, chances are there but as I said it's desktop on laptop transfer and laptops have own needs most often only for particular model. Also who knows in what shape windows on that PC are. Drivers that would have to be replaced with are most probably just elementary MS drivers and for best operation it would be good to reinstall drivers from laptop's manufacturer.

They can and should backup the drivers on the new laptop first. Any missing drivers can then be restored.

NavyLCDR · Oct 20, 2021

Winuser said:
They can and should backup the drivers on the new laptop first. Any missing drivers can then be restored.

That is always one of the very first things I do on a new computer.

dism /online /Export-Driver /Destination:<path_to_destination_folder>

Normally backed up to a Windows 10 or 11 installation USB flash drive containing the latest version of Windows 10/11 setup files before exporting the drivers to a drivers folder on it.

abseh1 · Oct 20, 2021

Thanks again, to all for your time... I am now looking @ plan A. B and C … lol
Actually, I will back up (Macrium) the new win 10/11 laptop with drivers and have fun from there...thanks again to all