Migrating to a new PC: tips?
 

I'm going to migrate to a new PC and wanted to see if there are some tips that might make this simpler. I have highly customized Firefox, for example, and have installed various other programs to make my life easier.

It's not practical for me to simply take an image of the hard drive. What I'm looking for ideally is software that would scan my system and create a library of items that I need to reinstall, then would import the preferences/configurations into the right spots once I've moved over to the new machine.

Anything like that exist? If not, are there any tips to avoid overlooking anything/losing settings/configuration data?

Thanks.

I believe the FEBE add-on will package up FF customizations and port them to a new image.

Acronis software has various options for backing up Outlook data, Application settings, data, etc.

I'd suggest that if the data is "irreplaceable" that you re-think the "it's not practical" to backup/image the data. USB drives are cheap. As are DVD-R's.

I recently replaced my machine - I dumped everything to a USB drive, then plugged it in to the new machine. Most of the applications I downloaded the latest version and re-installed, but most of my data, settings, Outlook files, etc., came from the USB drive.

If you are using an ISP for email, as I was, set Outlook to leave messages on the server for some period of time until you are sure all of the data has moved over. Then be sure to turn that off before your server disk space quota fills.

User State Migration Tool
http://technet2.microsoft.com/Window....mspx?mfr=true

Catch is that if you're experiencing any odd problems/glitches in your current load, the USMT can migrate those over as well. Sometimes a fresh load (including apps) is a good thing. However, if you're happy with how things are working now, then go for it.

I guess I misspoke (mistyped?). My "irreplaceable" work product (mostly Office docs and .pst files) has been backed up. The point of my post is that I was hoping to avoid the hassle of having to reset everything from scratch, including things like the constituents of Office program toolbars, preferred file locations, my network locations, etc. All of which I'd have to do in addition to downloading the latest version of software and installing it.

Are you saying you have irreplaceable data on a hard drive, with no backup? I recommend you don't operate that way.

As far as migrating is concerned, your Windows systems probably have a "Files and Settings Transfer Wizard" that does what you want. Hook the two machines together (Ethernet is fastest in most cases) and pick from a menu what you want moved.

See post immediately above yours. I'll fix the OP>

@ OP
Try the above suggestion of the Transfer Wizard from within Windows first--good suggestion! I'm used to larger migrations, which is where the USMT comes in handy.

Edited by moderator to remove reference to deleted post

On your new machine, are you running the same version of the software in question? If not, then even with migration tools you might be stuck re-creating things.

On Firefox, a quick-and-dirty trick is to copy out the entire user profile directory (on Windows XP standard installations, it should be in C:\Documents and Settings\[user name]\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\[random characters].[user name]\)

YMMV but I have transferred cookies, individual plugins and some minor customizations relatively easily this way.

I'll tell you, if I had my druthers I'd have a Mac for work as I do at home, but I gots to take what the company issues me.

Ok folks, the question was not "Should the OP buy a Mac or not". Please stick to responding to the specific question at hand. We now return you to your regularly scheduled discussion.

Did it last week, using the Windows Transfer software, from a Sony running XP to a new Dell XPS on Vista.

Purchased a Belkin Transfer Cable
Downloaded transfer software to XP
Loaded Office onto the new PC and downloaded updates.
Began transfer.

It took about an hour in all.

I'd say 99% of all Office setting transferred intact, only a few macros seemed to get lost. Network settings required a little work, maybe 15 minutes of 'tinkering'.

All in all I was more than satisfied with the results of what was a fairly simple, painless process.

There's always the caveman method. Rip out the hard drive from the old machine, toss it in an external USB housing, boot up the GParted LiveCD, and clone everything over to the new drive. Definitely a buzzsaw approach to the problem.

This has the benefit of transferring everything exactly as it was and ensuring no craplets are on board. It has the downside of transferring everything exactly as it was, ensuring any problems or mal-ware that might've been go right along with everything else.

Of course, getting it running is interesting. It's always a roll of the dice as to whether the thing will blue-screen while it boots up the first time (E.G. can't talk to/understand the drive controller) or actually get all the way into windows and then complain loud and long about all the new devices it doesn't understand. Thus far though... after 'daisy chaining' three machines this way, it still works well and XP hasn't had any stability issues despite this butchering. I've now given at least a few people utter chills of horror. :D

This is the crux of the issue, as I mentioned above.

You have to decide how important these "customizations" are to you. Using the Files and Settings Transfer wizard or the USMT can result in the same "glitches" or "problems" being migrated over.

If you're a power-user, I strongly recommend and full reinstall of the OS and all applications. If you think you're a power-user but would not live up to that standard according to your IT folks, you may not want to go this route and instead rely on the above two recommendations. You may find "glitches," but they'll be the same ones you're already used to.

I'm a trashcan user... I fix it all myself anyway so just roll on and deal with the problems when they arise. The cobbler's kids never have shoes and my laptop never quite works all the way right. :D