Hi guys.

I was wondering if there is a program that allows you to take your current computer (all data/programs, etc) from one computer to a new one and use it on the new one. I am looking to get rid of an old desktop and get a new one, but I have a lot of valuable data/programs on it. Thanks !

I would use acronis true image with universal support

What platform: Windows, Mac, Linux, other? The answer depends on that.

If you're talking about Windows then data, yes - very easily. Programs, no. You will have to install these again from the original disks / downloads. Generally programs will install many entries in the Windows registry which makes it practically impossible to move from one computer to the other.

It would depend on the operating systems involved, but look into

http://www.laplink.com/pcmover

If you are talking about windows machines. It claims to move many windows programs across machines.

I read about it a couple months ago on pccnet

http://pcnet-online.com/content/util...,windows,7.htm

I have cloned the hard drive of my XP machine a number of times, and installed in newer machines. I do this because I do not want to go through the hassle of re-installing everything. But that said it does not mean this approach will work for you.
Here is what I have done:
1) Get New disk drive of the type I am going to need (Sata most likely). Please note old machine may not have support for Sata drives, but there are Sata to IDE converters that are inexpensive and work reasonably well.
2) Connect the new drive to the existing desktop.
3) Install the software from that came with the new drive, for Seagate drives you can use either the Maxtor software (MaxBlast) or the Seagate Software DiscWizard. Both of these software packages have drive cloning as a feature allowing a physical copy to be made and the new drive will be "Boot-able".
4) Remove the drive from the old system and install in place of the boot drive in the new system.
5) Boot off the new drive, expect some complaints from Windows along the way, and expect to see a large number of installing or updating driver messages. Have your original windows CD handy you may need it.
6) After / Or if boot completes you are good to go, put the original hard drive back in the system and have it be a 2ND HD.

But having said all of this there is something to be said for a new clean install of windows. Hope this helps you.

BTW, the Maxtor and Seagate "FREE" software is built by Acronis. I do not see the need to buy software just to clone a drive.

I'm running windows XP and I'd like to possibly upgrade to Windows 7. I am using a dell (only about 2 years old) and I would like to upgrade to an all-in-one PC.

duplicate

Do you really have so many programs that it would be burdensome to install them individually? You'll probably need to update the drivers anyway if you're moving to a new operating system.

It's a breeze to move all your files on network.

Excuse my naivete, but if it were me, I'd install the programs individually and more the files wirelessly.

I completely agree. This approach of using a drive imaging tool is a recipe for disaster, Windows just wasn't designed for that sort of migration to completely new hardware, there is an extremely high possibility of things ending up completely messed up, drivers half added / removed, etc. Additionally, it will never be as fast as a clean install on the new hardware, with only the required drivers installed.

I would strongly advise against any other approach.

For some, re-installation of individual programs is not an option - for example, when the original media can't be found.

There are two ways that I know of to get around the "mess" than results from drive cloning to a new machine.

1) Do a windows backup, install windows on the new machine, then restore from the backup.
2) Clone as described, then do an upgrade install of Windows.

Either way, you DO need Windows media and license keys. #2 is also a decent way to move from a physical to a virtual machine.

Note: if you're moving to a different CPU type as defined by Microsoft, you have to do a windows reinstall of some sort. Basically, changing between Intel and AMD, single vs multiprocessor, ACPI type (devices->computer), etc.,will not work without a re-installation of some sort.

To the OP - they've changed the name, raised the price slightly, but this works.

I've used what used to be called Acronis True Image Workstation with Universal Restore on three separate occasions that closely match your circumstances with perfect success each time. In each case, the client had an ancient workstation running some critical, often home-grown or custom-developed software for which there exist no disks to install on a new machine. The Acronis product allows you to restore onto a hard drive in a new computer with different motherboard, processor, chipset, video card, NIC, different everything. The result is the same as if you'd simply cloned to a larger drive in the same computer. I'm unaware of any other product that can do that.

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Step 1) Buy new machine with Windows 7 on it if that's what you are going for.

Step 2) Install PC Mover from the link above on both machines, put them both on the same network or connect them directly

Step 3) Click to transfer programs and settings and the rest.


It would be much better if you were able to do a clean install, but that is not always possible, so there are other options for you other then messy image files and drivers and all that.