Checklist for migrating/ clean installing Windows...

What do you backup before migrating to a new computer or before a clean install of the Operating System?

Here is my checklist:

01. Data Partition: I use the system (C) drive exclusively for the OS and Programs
02. License keys, if any.
03. Windows Firewall Policy.
04. Registry Favourites key: I don't prefer backing up the whole registry because I don't want to restore the crap that accumulates over time.
05. Browser Bookmarks exported to a file: Useful if you don't use an account to sync.
06. Browser Default folder under user data (for all browsers): This will also copy all settings and bookmarks.
07. Screenshot of 'Programs and Features' in Control Panel.
08. Screenshot of Start Menu.
09. Screenshot of Desktop including Taskbar.
10. Task Scheduler Backup.
11. Configuration files for some of the programs.
12. Device Drivers backup.
13. Windows Credentials backup.

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I only backup my files and bookmarks from browser.

Good list!

btw Win7 had a nice feature called Windows Easy Transfer (migwiz.exe) to copy Windoes settings, libraries (optional), etc to a new installation. But IMHO sadly this has been deprecated in W10...

I don't tweak much of the system and I keep my data on a separate drive. New install means new hardware for me, so preparation starts with downloading the newest drivers from the hardware manufacturers, noting the license keys for installing software, exporting software settings (if supported), and backing up Firefox profiles (actually, just the files with bookmarks and passwords). That's it.

unifex said:

and backing up Firefox profiles

Click to expand...

I am wondering if there is an easy way to do that rather than backing up the profile under AppData/Roaming and AppData/local? I wouldn't use the Mozilla sync because I have different purposed laptops and bookmarks etc are pretty individual on each of them.

Only trick i recently learned is to use aboutrofiles in FF, but that's not really a backup function.

TigerTom said:

I am wondering if there is an easy way to do that rather than backing up the profile under AppData/Roaming and AppData/local? I wouldn't use the Mozilla sync because I have different purposed laptops and bookmarks etc are pretty individual on each of them.

Only trick i recently learned is to use aboutrofiles in FF, but that's not really a backup function.

Click to expand...

%localappdata%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default

This Default folder contains all the browser settings, bookmarks, etc.

It is the same path for all chromium based browsers like Edge, Vivaldi, Brave, etc. Just look in the respective folders.

For Firefox, it is:

%appdata%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles

I set up the browsers the way I like, then backup this folder for each browser. This quickly configures all my settings the way I want. I then sign in with an account, if required.

Two additional steps:
- export a copy of the Windows credentials (ID & password of any network connections)
- an image copy of the existing OS. This would include the user AppData that can be accessed/restored if needed in case some configuration files for some apps were missed in the #11 step.

An alternative approach for migration to a new PC, as covered in other posts, is to restore an image of the old to the new. This preserves all your installed apps, licenses, and configurations.

Quandary said:

Two additional steps:
- export a copy of the Windows credentials (ID & password of any network connections)
- an image copy of the existing OS. This would include the user AppData that can be accessed/restored if needed in case some configuration files for some apps were missed in the #11 step.

An alternative approach for migration to a new PC, as covered in other posts, is to restore an image of the old to the new. This preserves all your installed apps, licenses, and configurations.

Click to expand...

Backing up Windows Credentials is a good idea. I will include it in the OP.

Image copy is useful during Migration, but not when you want a fresh start (clean install).

I like the list and I do something similar to that.

TheMystic said:

Image copy is useful during Migration, but not when you want a fresh start (clean install).

Click to expand...

Agree, but the title of your post included Migration, but I found it a useful safety net when I clean installed my laptop. During the process I image copied the clean install, restored the old image to check something, and then restored the image copy of the clean install.

Quandary said:

Agree, but the title of your post included Migration, but I found it a useful safety net when I clean installed my laptop. During the process I image copied the clean install, restored the old image to check something, and then restored the image copy of the clean install.

Click to expand...

By image, do you mean using a 3rd party partition assistant? I don't think the System Image utility built into Windows can be used to restore to another hardware.

When I migrate to a new computer, I use the latest Macrium image of my old computer. I first backup any drivers on the new computer and make a Macrium image of it. Then I plug in the external drive with the image from the old computer and a Macrium Rescue drive into the new computer and restart the new computer with the Macrium Rescue disk. Then I delete all the partition on the new computer. After that it's just a matter of dragging the partitions from the image to the drive on the new computer. If going to a larger drive I think you can expand the C: partition while in Macrium. It's been a while so I could be wrong about the resizing. After the image is copied close Macrium and remove the rescue disk before the computer restarts. Once at the desktop check the drivers. If any didn't install use the driver backup to install them. If anything goes wrong, I have my Macrium image to revert back. So far, I never had to use the image.

Edit: I have also just swapped the drives.

My data is on a separate drive so it is unaffected by clean install. I log in with a MS Account with sync turned on. I also log in with accounts with Chrome and Edge. So everything I need just reappears when I do a clean install and log back into my various accounts. User data files can be transferred to a new computer by sharing the data drive on the network. (I have one drive too, but don't use it for much).