Solved Transfer applications and files from old to new computer

Sven1458 · Mar 7, 2025

My boss has asked me to get a new computer for the office and also wants me to set it up. The old one is slow and takes for ever to load stuff. Since I also have to set it up, including e-mail accounts and office 2019 and several other programs I was wondering if it would be possible to use a program like PcMover to do this. I have no idea if that will work and don’t really trust the comments about how great they are. I was hoping that a few people on here did this and what the experience was. I know that several like software is available priced from $ 40 to $ 130. Any advice on any products and what to watch out for would be appreciated.

Thanks

Berton · Mar 7, 2025

Do/will both computers have the same version of Windows? Bear in mine that Win10 loses main support on Oct. 14, 2025, so now would be a good time for the new computer have Win11.

I think it's also a good time to install necessary programs so as to avoid any issues from the old setup. The main issues with Windows-based programs is they need to be installed so as to put their files on the drive, create shortcuts in the Start menu, copy support files into the Windows folder and create Registry entries so Windows knows how to run them. Make a list of programs needed and assure having the software to do the install.

Files that have been created can be copied to a USB drive of sufficient size then copied to the new computer, also save the USB drive as a backup.

dacrone · Mar 7, 2025

just get the new computer powered up and to the desktop. backup C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository to an external usb drive
power it down, pull the drive, slave the new drive (ssd i would assume) off to the old pc, clone the old pc drive to the new ssd with a free tool like AOMEI Backupper, put new drive back in new pc, go to device manager and update drivers from backed up directory (filerepository).

Quandary · Mar 7, 2025

Like everything in life there are trade-offs.

The clone approach above keeps the functionality stable and should be a fairly fast process but retains all the baggage, bloat, and put off the migration to Win 11.

The fresh start will take longer but allows an inventory of programs to be installed and the opportunity to document the steps and configuration settings. It does not bring any of the old baggage. This would be my preferred route.

dacrone · Mar 7, 2025

just go through it and remove unnecessary stuff post-clone.. but all your programs will stay activated and not count against the licenses as strikes...

Sven1458 · Mar 7, 2025

I missed telling you all that the old computer has win 10 on it and the new one has win11 on it, so it is not cloning. i would have to install programs and apps from scratch or use something like PcMover. any thoughts?

dacrone · Mar 7, 2025

if you clone the old to the new drive... it will overwrite the win 11 image with the win 10 image that the old one has now. then install drivers. then just upgrade it to 11 if you want it to be 11. if you dont want to clone, thats ok. but it wont inhibit anything

Sven1458 · Mar 7, 2025

So no one has any experience with Pcmover or any of the others?

cereberus · Mar 7, 2025

Sven1458 said:
So no one has any experience with Pcmover or any of the others?

Frankly these are expensive, and not that reliable. Most licences are limited to one host and one target pc i.e. you cannot use it with a different target pc in the future.

I have tried all the main players and they often fall over with big ticket apps like MS Office or Adobe packages.

Far better to image backup on existing pc and restore image on new pc, albeit sorting drivers may take a bit of effort.

In the end, if you prefer to clean install, it is simply easier to just reinstall apps manually.

Scannerman · Mar 7, 2025

I don't have Pcmover but I'm notorious for my unorthodox approaches to such things. Myself, I would clone the Windows 10 and set the clone aside. Then I would attempt to upgrade the Windows 10 with Microsoft's own software which is free. If it fails I could roll back to Windows 10 and if that failed I'd still have a clone to replace the failed drive. Worse case scenario covered. If I had a brand new PC with a brand new Win 11 OS on it I would consider using dual boot and gradually, over time, reinstall the applications that I was familiar with on the Win 11 side of the boot. Personal data is easy to copy and move from one folder to another, even across hard drives, with the use of Disk Manager. This way if one OS is giving me trouble I don't risk any down time fiddling with it because I have an alternative operating system. I can enjoy the privilege of getting the other OS working at my convenience. But that's just me. User preference prevails.

Sven1458 · Mar 7, 2025

I guess i will install each app and program manually. that will give me a clean install without all the stuff that has accumulated over the year.
Thanks to all.

PhilB · Mar 8, 2025

Sven1458 said:
So no one has any experience with Pcmover or any of the others?

I have experience with Laplink, around 2022, so the program may be enhanced now.. Worked OK, but would not copy MS Office or Norton Security (which I no longer use.) Considering all the time it did save me, was worth the $40 or so.

Berton · Mar 8, 2025

Sven1458 said:
So no one has any experience with Pcmover or any of the others?

It's been years since I used LapLink, still have the CD and the cross-over Ethernet cable that came with it.

BruceR · Mar 8, 2025

Your Windows PC comes with a one-stop backup solution, Windows Backup, that helps you back up many of the things that are most important to you. From your files, themes, and settings to many of your installed apps and Wi-Fi information, Windows Backup protects what matters and makes it easier than ever to move to a new PC

Back up and restore with Windows Backup

When you get a new PC or if you have to reinstall Windows, when you are setting it up, just log in with the same Microsoft account that you used to make the backup here. We'll see that you have backups and ask you if you would like to restore one.

How do I restore a backup?

PhilB · Mar 8, 2025

Berton said:
It's been years since I used LapLink, still have the CD and the cross-over Ethernet cable that came with it.

If memory serves, it's licensed to be single-use only. Considering the value it delivers (time savings) it's worth if if you have a system with lots of programs installed.

nuspieds · Mar 9, 2025

Sven1458 said:
So no one has any experience with Pcmover or any of the others?

I tried PCmover and Todo PCTrans and they both disappointed!

Moving files is not a requirement for me because I will use my Backup app to do a restore once I'm up and running on my new PC. Thus, my priorities are moving my user settings/configurations and apps. I'd be happy if just my user settings were migrated because I know all the apps I need to install; it's all the customizations that take the most amount of time to replicate and some of these customizations need to be in place before some apps are installed.

The basic test for me was how my desktop looked when I booted and both apps failed miserably! At least witih PCTrans my desktop colors and background image were correctly migrated but that's about it. Both programs essentially merged my user settings from my old PC with the user settings on the target/new PC. The result was a Start menu and Taskbar that did not at all resemble their configurations on the old source/old PC.

I use BitLocker and an issue I ran into was that the auto-unlock for USB drives was not working on the new PC. After much debugging, it was a user account issue because when I created a test account and enabled the auto-unlock feature, it worked flawlessly.

The bottom line for me is that because PCmover and Todo PCtrans failed so miserably for me, I plan to use the more complex User State Migration Tool.

PhilB · Mar 9, 2025

nuspieds said:
I'd be happy if just my user settings were migrated because I know all the apps I need to install; it's all the customizations that take the most amount of time to replicate and some of these customizations need to be in place before some apps are installed.

Yeah, me too. So

nuspieds said:
I plan to use the more complex User State Migration Tool.

So I RTFMed a bunch of links for User State Migration Tool and I couldn't figure out if this use case is supported. You want to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 on the same system, replacing your old C: drive Windows 10 with a clean install of Windows. So first you run User State Migration Tool on the old Windows 10 install. Then you do thec clean install of Windows 11. Then you would apply the output of User State Migration Tool to the new install.

nuspieds · Mar 9, 2025

x509 said:
So I RTFMed a bunch of links for User State Migration Tool and I couldn't figure out if this use case is supported. You want to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 on the same system, replacing your old C: drive Windows 10 with a clean install of Windows. So first you run User State Migration Tool on the old Windows 10 install. Then you do thec clean install of Windows 11. Then you would apply the output of User State Migration Tool to the new install.

Yikes, that sounds like a recipe for all sorts of issues!

That is, imagine all sorts of settings available in Windows 10 that have either been changed or deprecated in Windows 11. I would venture to think that applying those settings in Windows 11 would cause issues.

But your use case is still valid: Suppose, for example, that Windows 11 is not supported on your Windows 10 device and, as a result, you are not able to perform an upgrade. So, you buy a new PC, it has Windows 11 installed, and you'd like your user settings from your old Windows 10 PC to be migrated to your new PC. Based on my experiences with the two migration apps, I consider them dumb and lacking the intelligence/features to handle this situation but since USMT is meant for enterprises, I would think that it would have this functionality to support, for example, a company that is deploying Windows 11 on new hardware that replaces the Windows 10 hardware.

BruceR · Mar 9, 2025

Windows Backup transfers hundreds of settings to a new PC:

Windows Backup settings and preferences catalog

How to Use Windows Backup to Easily Transfer to a New PC

PhilB · Mar 9, 2025

BruceR said:
Windows Backup transfers hundreds of settings to a new PC:

Windows Backup settings and preferences catalog

How to Use Windows Backup to Easily Transfer to a New PC

I use Retrospect Backup Desktop to backup all my systems to a central set of backup data sets on my desktop. So as a result I have not paid any attention to Windows backup. So @BruceR I really appreciate your post.

Windows Backup seems tons easier than User State Migration Tool

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