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Tranferring Windows settings to new PC

insomniac_AU

Active member
Gday everyone :tiphat:
Any computer whizzes out there? I'm getting a new laptop delivered tomorrow and wondered if there's an easy way to transfer my Windows settings, emails etc to my new machine which will have Windows 10 preinstalled?

The old laptop is also Windows 10. I have a USB cable and an external HD available. Or am I better off just starting from scratch? I've had a look around online and there are many people trying to sell 3rd party software to do this, just wondered if there's a way within Windows. Thanks!
 

vta

Active member
Veteran
Always better starting off from scratch. Copy all of your data to a thumb/external drive {pm if not sure how}.

Fire up new laptop. Create account...I bypass connecting to internet so I can create a local account{not tied to cloud account}.

Once on the desktop, reboot. Then run windows update. If reboot required, make sure to check for new updates after reboot.

Use Microsoft office? Install, open and check for updates.

Install any other programs you use.

Copy your data from the thumb drive.

Optimize drive{defrag}.
 

insomniac_AU

Active member
Thanks buddy that's what I wanted to hear. I've always done that with new PCs I just thought MS may have incorporated some sort of seamless PC upgrade tool into 10 to make migration to a new PC easy. Wishful thinking?
 

GOT_BUD?

Weed is a gateway to gardening
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Who do you think Microsoft is? Samsung? Apple? Or any of the various other companies that have figure out how to do it? :lol:

Microsoft is the company that will change how the interface looks and how you interact with it, without actually changing anything internal. Then tell you you need to upgrade. I'm looking at you, Outlook! :mad:
 

insomniac_AU

Active member
Yes operating systems for PCs are far from perfect but I do understand they can't be simple. There is such a vast range of hardware and setups out there and they must make it work with all of it. Apple and Samsung only have to make theirs work on relatively few devices.
 

TychoMonolyth

Boreal Curing
There is a migration tool, and it works, but if it's for me, I would do it manually.

Leave everything that was wrong on the old laptop.
 

Mengsk

Active member
+1 mix of what others have said. I try to keep things simple and organized enough so that I can manually erase or copy settings and files.

Your email client may load up all the same emails on your new laptop using the email server. But if you have old stuff, you can usually use the email client. For example "outlook save all emails" or "export contacts."

Firefox web browser (not sure about others) has a profile folder. You can copy just the profile folder to your new laptop in the same location and all of your logins and history will be the same. For me email + browser is most of the stuff. Then it is a matter of an external hard drive for backup or saving/moving documents.

You can always download a free Linux distribution to install on your old laptop. If you aren't real computer savvy don't be afraid of Linux, for some years now it is nearly as friendly and usable as Mac OS or Windows with functionality and open source programs for 90%+ of applications. In my experience as long as the hardware is functional a new Linux installation can add 5+ years of speedy performance to an aging cluttered laptop.
 

insomniac_AU

Active member
There is a migration tool, and it works, but if it's for me, I would do it manually.

Leave everything that was wrong on the old laptop.


Thanks for all the advice people. That was my feeling as well. Starting fresh leaves problems behind and worth the little extra time. I use Firefox for a browser and Thunderbird as an email client.
 

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
If you're "SURE" you are root-kit and virus/malware free, you can copy the data directories for any programs you currently use frequently. This will preserve any settings you have previously set. (If you're able to hook up your original harddrive as an extra, you can do this easily with anti-virus/anti-malware software, since the operating system on it is not currently being used on your new machine. :D This can also be done with linux type recovery CD's.)

I recommend doing a search for each program, using search terms such as "win10 <program name> data directory," along with the same search with your current operating system. Should you run in to difficulties, a simple deletion of the data directory will wipe the defaults and start fresh again.

Most programs are a simple 3-10 second trip through the settings page, some programs do better with importing entire histories and such. Give it a thought and a try if necessary. :D
 

insomniac_AU

Active member
I'm typing this on my new machine. :woohoo:
Everything went really smoothly. This thing is lightning fast it's amazing. Thanks again all of you. :)
 

insomniac_AU

Active member
Haha my old man used to be like that. Didn't trust technology at all. My mother is in her 70s though and she's computer literate and has a smartphone. The old man wouldn't even touch a smart phone. I don't think he understood how they worked because they don't have buttons. :biggrin:
 

TychoMonolyth

Boreal Curing
Lol

My sister quit her job as a waitress because the restaurant got a computer cash register. :laughing:

I want to catch her touch the keyboard just to move it and I'll yell "BOOM!" Lol
 

armedoldhippy

Well-known member
Veteran
i despise Windows 10 myself. every damn time it does an auto "upgrade", it takes me two days to get it back to working like i want it to.:moon:
 

TychoMonolyth

Boreal Curing
Updates these days are much better and don't mess with your settings. Turn auto-update off. Let it download updates, but not install. Then when you have a weekend away, tell it to update at midnight. :)
 

oxucpp

New member
agree with TychoMonolyth, there are many bugs for auto-update. just wait sometime and install the update manually when it is safe to do that
 

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