How good is Laplink PCmover?


Haydon

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They promise a lot...

 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
These tools are just not worth the cost. The licence is very restrictive i.e. beyween two devices only and you can not change them. They do not make it clear in their advertising - not a scam as such but certainly disengenous marketing.

So you can transfer from A to B but not from B to C - you need a new licence.

You can transfer from A to B as many times you like but whoever need this mpre than once as a rule?

Also others have been unimpressed with their accuracy rate. I tried a competitor and it failed to properly transfer OS.

I have never heard good reviews and frankly I am not prepared to pay for a tool which does not offer a decent free trial. They argue people would just use it once and not buy it

Easus PCTrans has a free version limited to 2 apps only. I wanted to try it on an app I got free in a giveaway but the licence was limited i.e. no updates, and key to install was only valid for a few days. It failed miserably, as did another package.

Just use a reliable image tool, and then update to latest OS. Only thing is you cannot go backwards of course. Even then, it is not such a big deal to reinstall apps of you do want to go backwards.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook 14
    CPU
    I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB soldered
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop OLED screen
    Screen Resolution
    2880x1800 touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    1 TB NVME SSD (only weakness is only one slot)
    PSU
    Internal + 65W thunderbolt USB4 charger
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois (UK pint cans - 568 ml) - extra cost.
    Keyboard
    Built in UK keybd
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wireless dongled, wired
    Internet Speed
    900 mbs (ethernet), wifi 6 typical 350-450 mb/s both up and down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0, 2xUSB4 thunderbolt, 1xUsb3 (usb a), 1xUsb-c, hdmi out, 3.5 mm audio out/in combo, ASUS backlit trackpad (inc. switchable number pad)

    Macrium Reflect Home V8
    Office 365 Family (6 users each 1TB onedrive space)
    Hyper-V (a vm runs almost as fast as my older laptop)
These tools are just not worth the cost. The licence is very restrictive i.e. beyween two devices only and you can not change them. They do not make it clear in their advertising - not a scam as such but certainly disengenous marketing.

So you can transfer from A to B but not from B to C - you need a new licence.

You can transfer from A to B as many times you like but whoever need this mpre than once as a rule?

Also others have been unimpressed with their accuracy rate. I tried a competitor and it failed to properly transfer OS.

I have never heard good reviews and frankly I am not prepared to pay for a tool which does not offer a decent free trial. They argue people would just use it once and not buy it

Easus PCTrans has a free version limited to 2 apps only. I wanted to try it on an app I got free in a giveaway but the licence was limited i.e. no updates, and key to install was only valid for a few days. It failed miserably, as did another package.

Just use a reliable image tool, and then update to latest OS. Only thing is you cannot go backwards of course. Even then, it is not such a big deal to reinstall apps of you do want to go backwards.

Agree 100% -- these products are not quite snake oil but almost as near to it as you can get.

C'mon folks -- how long does it take to image an OS with free tools such as Macrium -- or if you are using a VM then copying the VM image via bog standard Windows tools -- even file explorer -- although for file transfer I like Filezilla. --

You can even use the old fabled "footnet" from IBM mainframe days --which was when copying data from one mainframe to another with old IBM magnetic tapes -- Dump the data to tape -- then physically walk the reel over to the 2nd mainframe (hence "footnet") and restore. Same on PC's with removable devices if your network is a problem.

Cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows XP,11 Linux Fedora Rawhide pre-release 45
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    2 X Intel i7
    Screen Resolution
    4KUHD X 2
  • Like
Reactions: OAT
As @cereberus stated: "These tools are just not worth the cost."
Considering the free alternative(s).
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    All Branches but Release
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Nitro ANV15-51
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS 3200-4500 Mhz 8 cores x 2
    Motherboard
    Sportage_RBH
    Memory
    32 GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphic / NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8 GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    AMD/Realtek(R) Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Integrated Monitor (15.3"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    FHD 1920X1080 16:9 144Hz
    Hard Drives
    KINGSTON OM8SEP4512Q-AA 1TB
    Western Digital 256GB
    PSU
    19V DC 6.32 A 120 W
    Cooling
    Dual Fans
    Mouse
    MS Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    Fiber 1GB Cox -us & 1GB Orange-fr
    Browser
    Edge Canary- Firefox Nightly-Chrome Dev-Chrome Dev
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Beta
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus X751BP
    CPU
    AMD A9-9420
    Memory
    8 GB of DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Radeon R5
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 1 TB
I appreciate the info, folks! This weekend, I was again looking at how I would go about my future workhorse.

Sofar, the top contender is totally manual: I would manually install and configure apps, and manually transfer files with RoboCopy.

The fallback option has been mentioned in this thread: use a mrimg of Macrium Reflect and upgrade to W11. I like the speed and convenience of course vs all the baggage that I may carry over from my old W10 workhorse.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
...the top contender is totally manual: I would manually install and configure apps, and manually transfer files with RoboCopy.

The fallback option has been mentioned in this thread: use a mrimg of Macrium Reflect and upgrade to W11. I like the speed and convenience of course vs all the baggage that I may carry over from my old W10 workhorse.
I have done both, my System One was a 10/11 upgrade, my Sytem Three (in 'Other Info') was a clean install. There's little to choose between the end results. What 'baggage' there was to clean up was for the most part some no longer required drivers that needed uninstalling before Memory Integrity could be turned on.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to mechanical deterioration this PC has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven below to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package. In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media. Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package. Also running Insider Dev, and Canary builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
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