Help moving win 10 to new win 11 computer

Windows 11 Pro, Ver.22H2, Build 22621.1265

Looked at various apps for moving files from old to new PC such as ( Zinstall , PCMover, Easeus, etc.) but after looking at the prices and reviews I decided to do it myself...

Big mistake ! I'm neither a noob or a nerd, but I am in a rabbit hole with no light at the end.

I have a new desktop with OEM factory installed win 11 and I have installed a second disk drive from my old win 10 computer. I went through the startup process, Set up MS account, fumbled through One Drive setup, set up as "personal" account, etc. Some how my PC name wound up being "Administrator" and my "about about windows 11" dialog box says the license is to: "Administrator, Administrator" - yes two entries.

At this point, it looks like I should just do a factory reset and start all over again :-((

I am the only user of this PC, have no need for a PW, no need for public and users, and would like to boot to the desktop without a PIN.
I do not want to use One Drive or any other cloud.

So... a few questions...

1. If I restart the install/migration/transfer, what is the best way to achieve the above goals?
2. I have OneNote installed on both disks. How do I transfer all my win 10 notebooks to the empty win 11 app?
3. Do I really need an administer account if I can usually run app as admin.?

Any and all help, tips, advice or ramblings are appreciated.

Thanks, Butch007

1) (Physically) remove the old drive. Since it still has all your stuff on it, you do not want to (take a chance and) lose it.

2) Use a PC reset to get it back to the initial install state (assuming you bought it, check the manufacturer to find those instructions, regardless of where you bought it from). Typically, though you can initiate it from
Settings --> Recovery --> Reset PC, it is best if you check your manufacturer first, they may have a different method they would prefer that you use.

3) If you don't want to use a Microsoft account, follow this tutorial after it is reset on how to set it up freshly without a Microsoft account:

You can use Step 21 from Clean Install Windows 11 Tutorial to install without using a Microsoft account.

After that all is done, you can probably start the transfer process again, as you did before. As for specifics:

Butch007 said:

I have OneNote installed on both disks. How do I transfer all my win 10 notebooks to the empty win 11 app?

Click to expand...

Export them, and the copy to new location, and extract by double clicking:


Note, this needs to be done for each notebook.

Butch007 said:

Do I really need an administer account if I can usually run app as admin.?

Click to expand...

No, and you should not enable the default admin account to have a login - your user that you create, unless you specifically make it a non admin, will have admin right available - and this applies to both local only accounts as well as Microsoft accounts to log in to the system.



Finally, you can use the method outlned from Step 21 to log in locally, and *then* add a Microsoft account later on, making it a hybrid - you log in with a local username, but you still ahve access to Microsoft Office stuff as needed.

The key issue is that what you call "files" in your post are NOT files, but instead, are applications -- and while those do use files, they also use the registry and settings -- stuff you will not see if you try to move these manually.

The ONLY way to successfully transfer apps from one PC to another is to use one of the apps designed to do that. The ones I have used are EaseUS ToDo PC transfer nmd LapLink PC Mover. The paid version is required for either of these -- as neither has a free version that moves apps.

Sorry, but without these apps, you are not going to be able to do the migrations you want.

Thank you John and Mark.
It took a while, but I gotterdone.

Mark, this is why I did not go with PCMover:


I do not see why Microsoft or PC makers do not offer this a free service. Computers are supposed to make one's life easier, not harder.

Simpler method, I would clone my entire old disk on the new computer. Boot that to have my old Windows 10 installation with all my data and all my applications. Update drivers. Then upgrade to Windows 11. It is much easier than it sounds, and certainly much easier than reinstalling all your applications and manually moving your data. To clone the disk connect the old disk either internally or via USB adapter to your new computer and use a tool such as Macrium Reflect or Acronis. At first boot on your new computer it will take a while to install drivers. Manually download and install any missing drivers. Even if all drivers are installed automatically, I would manually download the latest graphics drivers to improve performance.

Thanks. I did not look at Macrium or Acronis.
Macrium Reflect Home costs $70 - one time, one computer. I did not look at the fine print on the "free" version.
Acronis (Formerly Acronis True Image) - one computer costs $50

In any case, I did it manually -the hard way

Butch007 said:

Macrium Reflect Home costs $70 - one time, one computer. I did not look at the fine print on the "free" version.

Click to expand...

Macrium have retired their Free version of Reflect and no longer provide any links to download it on their website. There is a Trail version that expires after 30 days.

Reflect Free is still on their download servers though and you can download it if you know the right URL to use.

spapakons said:

Simpler method, I would clone my entire old disk on the new computer. Boot that to have my old Windows 10 installation with all my data and all my applications. Update drivers. Then upgrade to Windows 11. It is much easier than it sounds....

Click to expand...

I used Macrium Reflect to migrate Windows 10 and all its installed apps from my old unsupported machine to my supported System One (see My Computers below) so it could upgrade to Windows 11. In my case it was a little more complicated than spapakons describes. My old machine was a Legacy bios/MBR install of Window 10 and I had to convert that to a UEFI/MBR install on the new machine. Still reasonably straight forward though. I described how I did it here:

If your new computer can be configured to boot in Legacy BIOS mode (CSM), then you don't have to convert MBR to GPT.

Windows can save files on the Windows 10 computer.
Then a clean install can be performed on the Windows 11 computer.
This can be followed by restoring important files.
There are no software fees when using Windows to save files.
Drivers and applications need to be reinstalled.

The whole point is to avoid all the hassle to taking a backup of all your data and reinstall all applications from start. No matter how careful you are and how much good job you do, it will never be exactly the same as your old system. While using it you will notice some settings are not what you had in your old system and you will spend some time to figure out how to make it the same. You may notice you forgot some utility you want and you cannot remember where you have the installer, is not easy to find again. At least not the same version you were used to. I have been through all that. It can take some days until you feel your new system is ready.

Not sure I've followed this, but if the new computer has windows 11 - could you not just backup personal files (copy and paste to an external drive) from the Windows 10 computer. And then paste them back into the new computer on Windows 11? Ok so you may have some programs to install from scratch but at least it would be a clean start on a new computer.

Or did you want Windows 10 on the new computer?

Butch007 said:

Windows 11 Pro, Ver.22H2, Build 22621.1265

Looked at various apps for moving files from old to new PC such as ( Zinstall , PCMover, Easeus, etc.) but after looking at the prices and reviews I decided to do it myself...

Big mistake ! I'm neither a noob or a nerd, but I am in a rabbit hole with no light at the end.

I have a new desktop with OEM factory installed win 11 and I have installed a second disk drive from my old win 10 computer. I went through the startup process, Set up MS account, fumbled through One Drive setup, set up as "personal" account, etc. Some how my PC name wound up being "Administrator" and my "about about windows 11" dialog box says the license is to: "Administrator, Administrator" - yes two entries.

At this point, it looks like I should just do a factory reset and start all over again :-((

I am the only user of this PC, have no need for a PW, no need for public and users, and would like to boot to the desktop without a PIN.
I do not want to use One Drive or any other cloud.

So... a few questions...

1. If I restart the install/migration/transfer, what is the best way to achieve the above goals?
2. I have OneNote installed on both disks. How do I transfer all my win 10 notebooks to the empty win 11 app?

Click to expand...

OneNote is cloud based, so you should have no issue with it.

Butch007 said:

3. Do I really need an administer account if I can usually run app as admin.?

Click to expand...

What are you talking about? Are you talking about the account type or the account name? My account name is my name, and my account type is Administrator. If the account name says "Administrator" then you need to sign out of MS account which will convert your account to a local account. Then create a new account using your name (or whatever name you want) and make the account type "Administrator". Log into the new account and sign-in to your newly created account and move all your files over to the new account. Then once you're satisfied you have everything in your new account, you can then delete the old account from within Windows settings.

To tell you the truth, NEVER EVER use the image that came with the PC. You should learn how to install a fresh copy of Windows using the media creation tool.
Things you can backup are:

• Your personal Files and folders - If you use Microsoft 365 and OneDrive then (if it was setup correctly on the old PC) you just need to log-in to OneDrive and set it to back up all your known folders (Desktop, Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, Downloads) and then you can have it restore all your files and folders onto your new PC from the cloud.
• Browser bookmarks - If you signed into your browser of choice on your old PC then no need to back this up as it will restore onto the new PC when you sign into that browser's account
• Portable apps - these are apps that can run off a flash drive. For example, I use a fan controlling app called "Fan Control", I can run this app from a thumb drive and copy it to an identical computer and run it on that computer with no issues
• Some app settings - Some apps use a folder that has all the settings in it. Not all apps can function when copying the App's setting folder over to a new PC.

What you cannot copy over:

• Most non-portable apps cannot be copied over as those apps are tied deeply into the operation system

With a MS account, most of your PC settings will automatically be copied over to the new PC. Cloud based apps like OneNote will always have all your stuff brought back down from the cloud.

Butch007 said:

Any and all help, tips, advice or ramblings are appreciated.

Thanks, Butch007

Click to expand...

If I remember correctly the OP was changing to a new PC and asked how to transfer his applications and data. Instead of the tedious process of reinstall everything from scratch and copy-paste his data, I suggested to make a clone of his old system, so he has everything as it was, and then upgrade that to Windows 11. Much easier than the first option.

Whew! This discussion is as confusing as migrating to a new computer
Simply stated: Computer software should do the migrating - not humans.
Bottom line: I painfully managed to do the migration.

spapakons said:

Simpler method, I would clone my entire old disk on the new computer. Boot that to have my old Windows 10 installation with all my data and all my applications. Update drivers. Then upgrade to Windows 11.

Click to expand...

Ditto.

Butch007 said:

Computer software should do the migrating

Click to expand...

Right now the need for W10>W11 migration isn't there for the masses, and there is no big biz to be made yet.

But there is over a billion monthyly active W10 devices (the one billion mark was achieved 3 years ago) and maybe half of them don't satisfy the W11 system requirements.

Hence, there will be big biz around October 2025 (EOL of W10) for automated W10>W11 migration tools ...

... PC vendors with the best W10>W11 migration tools thrown in the deal will sell the most PCs

If you keep your current PC there is nothing to migrate. Bypass compatibility check and upgrade Windows 10 to 11. See relevant thread. If you want to move your current Windows 10 installation on a new computer do as suggested in my previous post. You don't need any special software.

spapakons said:

If you keep your current PC there is nothing to migrate. Bypass compatibility check and upgrade Windows 10 to 11. See relevant thread. If you want to move your current Windows 10 installation on a new computer do as suggested in my previous post. You don't need any special software.

Click to expand...

That may be a message to forum users, but ... 99.9% of the masses out there will ask 'bypass what?' 'what is compatility check? etc

My previous message was about the masses come EOL of W10.

spapakons said:

If I remember correctly the OP was changing to a new PC and asked how to transfer his applications and data. Instead of the tedious process of reinstall everything from scratch and copy-paste his data, I suggested to make a clone of his old system, so he has everything as it was, and then upgrade that to Windows 11. Much easier than the first option.

Click to expand...

This way is not as reliable. Upgrading is supposed to make people's lives easier, but it made many people's lives miserable.