Transfer data from old computer to new computer

Lounge
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I have a 12 year-old Windows 10 Dell desktop computer

I am getting a new Dell computer with Windows 11

I have a lot of apps and data that need to be transferred to the new computer though there is much that I do not want to transfer to the new computer

Any advice on the best way to do this?

Thanks, David

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As an Apple user I’m afraid I don’t have any useful suggestions, but I’m curious as to what suggestions anyone may make as I may have to do something similar on a friend’s Windows PC soon.

On a Mac it’s very simple, you make an iCloud backup, and restore from this on the new device to transfer all apps and settings. I always make a manual copy of all documents so that I can transfer these manually rather than depending on a slow internet connection to transfer these files from the cloud. Presumably there is a standard way of doing much the same thing in Windows.

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Hi David, if you have a Microsoft 365 account you can transfer your files by uploading to the cloud (I.eOneDrive) and then downloading to your new PC. Alternatively, as Chris suggested you can make the transfer of your files via an external drive.

Apps AFIK within Windows need to be transferred manually. For this you will need to know your account details for the app and maybe have to delete the app on your old PC before loading on the new one (depends on the app and how many copies you are allowed to make.

When I made a transfer recently I took the opportunity to “clean” my PC of old apps and files - took a while but for me it was time well spent!!

Enjoy your new Dell.

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  1. Save a complete copy of all disks on your current machine to a cloud backup.
  2. Use whatever Windows process (365 probably best) to save the files as recommended.
  3. Use that Windows process to re install the files to your new PC.
  4. Keep the cloud copy and when you find something missing it will be there.
  5. After a year delete the cloud copy.
  6. One day after deleting realise there is something missing :joy:
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Same here, get a mac, its seamless and even my wife can do it (sorry Jane) including phones ipads macbooks and desktops etc, piece of cake

Martin

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We just replaced our iphones, you put the old one next to the new one, it does the rest

Martin

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Just doing this now myself!

I am playing with getting google gemini to write powershell scripts to back up the apps config amd restore on the new computer. Nice when it works. It saves a lot of app setup.

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I think it depends on how IT literate you are. I always prefer to start afresh, as you may end up copying a load of rubbish (and bugs) over from old apps.

Start by making a list of what data and apps you need to transfer, then consider each one in terms of things such as;
Do you need a licence, and can it be transferred?
Are there later versions?
Will the older versions run on the latest version of Windows?
Are there better apps that can be used now?

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Hi, I use a program called Fabs Autobackup when doing this for other people. It allows you to select what you want backed up/restored including documents, bookmarks, settings, etc. Just need a USB hard drive to backup on to.

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It basically is a monumental pain in the you know what… I always download and install all applications fresh (newest version etc.). The next step is to configure everything the way it was on the old computer. There is no standard way to transfer application settings.

All my data files are backed up to a OneDrive account. So, it’s just a matter of installing OneDrive, logging in and that’s it.

If you have to manually copy files, you can use a USB drive. You can also share a folder on your new laptop, connect to the folder from the old computer and than copy everything.

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