New computer, want to copy over my current setup if possible....

WU?

Windows update

dacrone said:

If it replaces the C:… you’re relying on WU to find and install all of the new pc drivers?

Click to expand...

It worked for me. More than once.

But he could do your trick . copy that folder, and keep it. Safety measures.

WU will find and install drivers but that causes more headache than resolution. I would 100% back up the manufacturers drivers and reinstall those as they’re guaranteed to not cause any issues.. just sayin

RAMWolff said:

So finally got a new computer. I run both Window's 11 pro on both.

I bought LapLink but not sure about using it as your very limited to what you can do during the transfer so wondering if there is a way to either Flash the C drive and unpack it over on the new computer or if there is a way that anyone can suggest?

I just hate hate hate the idea of having to reinstall all my programs and set up my settings all over again. I know that some of my main Window's settings are saved up to the MS website and those have already been applied to the new one but areas like programs are most concerning to me (as well as the Registry bits for them and the App Data area.

If LapLink is really the way to go is there a very simple guide to go about doing it? I know I need to have the included ethernet cable connected between both computers and have the program installed on both..... but that's about all I know....

Suggestions?

Thanks so much

Click to expand...

Winntsetup > wincopy

Thanks folks. I got the F drive over to the new computer and it's showing. I guess I need to reassign the drive letter back to F since allot of my shortcuts that will come over with the Macrium "restore" file will have so much not finding stuff. My F and D drives are the most important as they have all my computer related stuff and art projects and any shortcut to those projects will be lost if I don't reassign.

Ah WU = Windows Update. OK. I don't mind if drivers have to be replaced. My only niggle is that the HP printer drivers are so flawed that getting the damned printer on line is always a hassle but I found that by hardwire connecting FIRST and then getting it established takes allot of that headache away.

So got it done. All seems well except that I now have TWO recovery partitions and one unallocated partition that I'd love to have my C drive occupy. The only thing I can think of is that the older recovery partition is the 600 and the newer one is 800. The 800 is the last partition and the 600 is right in the middle so I can't expand the C drive into the unallocated partition. How do I go about deleting the 600 as the only thing I get if I right click is "Help" and no other options.....

Thanks for all the help in getting all this done.

Richard

quick check to make sure which partition houses the current winre.wim

at admin cmd prompt type
reagentc /info
( then press enter)

then to get rid of whichever partition is unneeded could use diskpart command line
Delete Partition Override

Use mini tool partition wizard portable. Can move and then resize partitions simply via gui.

Really, this thread is a dog's breakfast. Most of the responses have been relevant but have been thrown at the OP in such a confusing manner

@RAMWolff

On the old computer
- install Macrium Reflect from the link above
- create an image of your existing drive to an external USB drive
- also with MReflect, create a boot USB stick (Other tasks menu > Create Rescue Media

On the new computer
- install Macrium Reflect and create an image (fall back, safety)
- create a boot USB for the new device (Other tasks menu > Create Rescue Media...) including specialty drivers that might be required
- boot from the Rescue Media USB
- connect the USB drive and locate the image of the old machine
- restore that image to the main drive in the new machine

Alternatively, you could get a new M2 (ideal chance for a larger one, as well) and just swap over the old for the new, and restore the old device image. If all goes well, get a USB enclosure for the old M2, wipe, and you've got a spare external USB.

The steps for Macrium Reflect can also be used for AOMEI Backupper, either as an alternative or tin-hat mode security

There are pitfalls with this method
- some software licenses are device dependent. The original device is recognised and (re)installation on any other device is blocked
- if your old device is a proprietary one, and you did not remove all the proprietary crapware, it will just clog up the new device. If it's a different brand, even worse ....
- you're copying an old, used system - warts, bugs, cr4p and all

Windows 10/11 is very forgiving with hardware changes, it will update new hardware drivers, but leave behind the inactive old ones. To remove the old drivers (has to be done manually)
- Control panel > Device Manager > View menu > show hidden devices. expand all the driver categories, the inactive/old drivers will be greyed out. Right click > Uninstall device (accept the off to uninstall drivers if offered)

Really, why not just do a clean install on the new system, as inconvenient as it is (but still create an image of the new system, no matter what)?

Thanks folks. I'll get to it tomorrow.

@idgat Thanks but all the heavy lifting has been done already. I don't mind the piecemeal approach. Different ideas made me think about which was going to work best for me. Macrium worked just fine but now I just need to follow the advice above to get that unneeded recovery partition gone and then expand out the C drive's partition. I'll either do that tomorrow or the following day as I've got quite the day tomorrow.

I'll let y'all know how it goes...

So a bit confused. The Power shell input gave me some gobbletygook that I don't understand.

---

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> reagentc /info
Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) and system reset configuration
Information:

Windows RE status: Enabled
Windows RE location: \\?\GLOBALROOT\device\harddisk2\partition5\Recovery\WindowsRE
Boot Configuration Data (BCD) identifier: d45b0031-5483-11ed-9320-3887d5073e9b
Recovery image location:
Recovery image index: 0
Custom image location:
Custom image index: 0

REAGENTC.EXE: Operation Successful.

---

Below is the screen grab of my C drive and the two recovery partitions and the unallocated one.

Not sure which recovery one to delete.

Figured it out. I opened up the MiniTool disk wizard and low and behold the labeling was different for both of the recovery partitions. The 600 was labeled NTSF and the 800 was labeled Recovery. So deleted the 600 and then expanded the drive all the way over for Windows and now my setup is as it should be. WHEW!!

BTW RAMWolff, if you implement a regular backup routine using disc imaging (which I highly recommend for ALL computer users), you can safely do away with both Recovery partitions.

Also, I guess you should be happy I didn't join this forum until the other day. Had I been one of the earlier respondents to your original post, I would have strongly suggested a clean install. I get that it's a pain, but you would know that you aren't buying a used car. Yes, all the good stuff is copied over from your old system. But if there was any "bad stuff" - or just bloatware or other nonsense, that was also copied over. Personally, I always start from scratch. But hey, that's just me . Anyway, enjoy your new system!

RAMWolff said:

Figured it out. I opened up the MiniTool disk wizard and low and behold the labeling was different for both of the recovery partitions. The 600 was labeled NTSF and the 800 was labeled Recovery. So deleted the 600 and then expanded the drive all the way over for Windows and now my setup is as it should be. WHEW!!

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, you probably deleted the wrong one.

This is not a big deal, as all it means is you cannot use reset my pc from windows menus.

However, you can still do it in other ways, or even create the partition. Frankly, it is just as easy to reinstall from scratch using a usb installation drive.

TBH many of us just delete the recovery partitions as they are not like old stype oem recovery partitions but just contain a small amount of software to rebuild OS from the C drive.

Frankly, it is just as easy to reinstall from scratch using a usb installation drive.

There are a number of threads on this forum regarding this.
One such is

2014 version of Macrium is too old.

RAMWolff said:

It's too bad that this software doesn't give one a way to exclude the drivers so all the new ones will be left alone.

Click to expand...

Macrium (not free version) offers redeploy to new hardware. I can not speak of how other imaging apps work or what they can or can't do since I've never used them.

Things to be aware of.
Take precautions to prevent problems with licensed software that is tied to your old machine ID.

Most new computers these days come from the OEM with RAID enabled. Be prepared to install nvme drivers during the image recovery. More than likely your m.2 won't be recognized if you don't. Otherwise, change sata operation to AHCI (non-raid) in UFI bios before restore.Once you do the Windows installation currently on the new machine will no longer boot.

Not my personal preference but cloning is an option if new drive is same or larger size than the drive in your old computer..

Your new computer will come partitioned correctly for it size dis with partitions in proper order. This may or may not be your partition scheme on your old computer. If using Macrium, during restore, drag each partition from the source to the corresponding existing partition on the destination. If any adjustment to partition size or location on the disk is necessary, you can manually instruct Macrium how to resize them accordingly as part of the restore
Otherwise, you will have to manually resize them afterwards using a partition manager such as Minitool..

I strongly suggest you image your new computer out of box. That way you can recover if something gores wrong.
Good luck.

allan said:

I would have strongly suggested a clean install. I get that it's a pain, but you would know that you aren't buying a used car. Yes, all the good stuff is copied over from your old system. But if there was any "bad stuff" - or just bloatware or other nonsense, that was also copied over. Personally, I always start from scratch. But hey, that's just me

Click to expand...

That's the best advice I've seen today. I totally agree with you. And his computer is new so he doesn't have to clean install unless he wants to. If I'm lucky enough to get a new system, I want to go into using it knowing I'm 100% clean. Everyone always wants to shortcut it.
But that's just me...and you.