|
Moving all you need Question :
I need to move my old files to a new PC. How can I be sure that I get
everything I need ?
Answer : Microsoft provides some help with this chore, but not
enough.
Its contribution is Windows Vista's Windows Easy Transfer utility, a
much more capable tool than Windows XP's Files and settings Transfer
Wizard. It can automatically move all of your documents, pictures, music
and video -- plus settings for such programs as Internet explorer,
Outlook express and windows Media Player -- from a PC running XP to
one running Vista.
But Easy Transfer's default settings leave behind data created by
some non-Microsoft programs. For instance, it will strand bookmarks and
other preferences for the Firefox browser.
You can tweak Easy Trasfer to grab these items -- a laborious process
involving changing Windows settings that make some crucial folders
invisible, then adding them to Easy Transfer's workload.
But most people who can manage all that probably know the insides of
Windows well enough to move over data "by hand," copying files to an
external drive and then moving them to the new system.
For users less versed in Windows maintenance, the less painful option
is to buy a third-party data-migration utility such as LapLink's
PCmover or Detto's IntelliMover. These programs automate much
more of the process than Micosoft's Easy Transfer.
PCmover, along with a beta Microsoft program called Windows
Easy Transfer Companion, can also move applications from one PC to
another, but I don't recommend that. It involves a little too much
tinkering with system innards for my taste, and it also risks leaving
you with out-of-date copies of your programs. Instead, download their
latest versions and install those. |
