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Transferring a pc from XP to Vista Help...

by Michele Miller
5 replies
I have a laptop that is about to give out. If I buy a new one it will have that Vista OS on it. How do you transfer everything over without losing your programs and files?

Also, I have a PC that is doing okay at the moment, and I have an external hard drive backed up. If I needed to put that hard drive into a new PC, can my computer tech do that without me losing programs?

I've heard there is a fix, and a cable to transfer data, but that I would lose all my programs... surely this can't be true? What do you do about that? I've got thousands of dollars worth of programs on my computer and can't imagine Microsoft would screw us that bad that you can't transfer your whole computer over... only your files... but then again... who knows.

So if you can help, or answer my questions, I'd appreciate it.

Michele
#transferring #vista
  • Profile picture of the author JayXtreme
    Stick with XP...

    I have a a brand new desktop in the corner of the room with Vista on it and I ignore it daily for the two machine's I have with XP on them..

    Vista is an EVIL OS..

    Jay

    p.s. Sorry I didn't help you out much
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    • Profile picture of the author jjpmarketing
      It really depends on your situation. I would be glad to consult with you on this. Contact me on Yahoo and I will give you the information you need to know to take care of this. It is easier via IM or Phone... because it would just require too much typing. I sent you a PM with my id.
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  • Profile picture of the author MikeRogers
    Hi Michelle,

    While it is possible to transfer the complete contents from one computer to another, with a program like Norton Ghost, unless you partition your new hard drive to run both the OS from your old computer and Vista, I believe that Norton will format your new hard drive and replace Vista with the OS from your old system.

    On your second question, it is no problem to take a hard drive from one computer and install it into another. Anyone can do it with nothing more than a screwdriver.

    Possibly the easiest way to transfer files from one machine to another is to simply use a CD/DVD burner, make copies of the files and then copy them from the CD/DVD disk to the new machine. You will, of course, have to install all of your programs onto your new machine manually.

    I hope that helps -

    Mike
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    • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
      "I have a laptop that is about to give out. If I buy a new one it will have that Vista OS on it. How do you transfer everything over without losing your programs and files?"
      You can't.

      Heck you can't even transfer vista as a backup from one PC to another unless they have identical specs.

      The best you can do is save all your files to an external hard drive and reinstall your programs on vista and hope they all work.
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      • Profile picture of the author Don Alm
        Banned
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        • Profile picture of the author jjpmarketing
          You can... but you can't just do it easily. And not everything will transfer... because of the way some applications are setup.

          This will help your tech the most:

          Windows Vista Migration Step-by-Step Guide

          This is useful in transferring most anything you should care about. You will still need to take care backup your entire "Program Files" directory on the XP machine. Also backup in files not stored in the "My Documents" folder that windows creates.

          You will also want to make a ghost image of the entire hard drive. This is so in case you left something out, it will be accessible via the Ghost Explorer program.

          You will have to re-install any applications you had on the old computer on the new computer. Please be aware applications that came with the old computer are not transferrable to the new computer, because they are OEM licensed or only licensed to that specific machine.

          If you purchased any software and installed it on the laptop, those can be installed on the new computer, but they have to be removed from the old computer first. This is because of the retail license where you can only have it installed on one computer at a time.


          But all in all it can be done. The dynamics of the individual applications you have on that old computer is what will determine what can be saved and what cannot.

          Most business related applications will have some form of backup and restore method... but not all.

          Most games are not going to have a way to migrate your saved progress or anything like that.

          All documents, pictures, txt files, html files, mp3's, videos, etc. or any individual files like that can be easily transferred as they are not tied to a specific application. They are independent of applications.

          As for the method of transfer... get the ghost image, and have it save the image to your external USB hard drive. Also use the USMT and Windows Easy Transfer. This will transfer your favorites, desktop, and things like that.

          Once you have the image, install Ghost on the new vista computer so that you can use the Ghost Explorer to access any of these files.

          As far as Vista goes, it works fine, but it does have its quirks... this is the case with any major OS change like going from Windows 3.1 to Windows 9x... and then Windows 9x to 2000/XP. Once you learn the quirks it will be fine. It is a lot more secure than Windows XP.

          If you need any other advice on this matter, just contact me via PM or Instant Messenger and I will be glad to help you.
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