Windows Transfer from Old computer to NEW

Windows transfer software
 
Unlike Apple software, Windows doesn’t provide a great way to transfer your old computer to a new computer. Data isn’t so much the issue here, but programs are. Over the years there have been various ways to transfer data to a new computer, but typically, programs need to be re-installed.

Recently, Carol got a new computer. The rule is, when 3 things go wrong with the old one, it gets replaced. The backlight stopped working, the ‘G’ key was falling off (and other keys were wearing out), and then the trackpad was noticeably crooked. That last one was because the battery was swollen.

She uses quite a few programs, and had lots of data. I generally move data to a new computer, but as I said earlier, programs need to be re-installed. That usually means setting them up, as well, and that can be tedious and troublesome. Carol found a program that solves that issue, and bought Zinstall. 

It promised to move everything over from the old computer to the new computer. It doesn’t effect the operating system though, so you could use it to move everything from Windows 7 to Windows 10, for instance. The caveat being, it’ll move it, but if the program won’t run on the new computer’s OS anyway, then it won’t using Zinstall either. Also, they said drivers don’t transfer, so you still need to manually install those, like for printers, scanners, etc.

Carol started the transfer and wasn’t sure anything was happening after several hours, so she stopped it. A bit of a no-no. When she started it the next day, it wasn’t working. Customer support was excellent and eventually got in to both computers and started up the process. It took 12 hours to transfer 500 gb.  While that is shocking to me, it also worked, and I didn’t have to do anything. All her programs were there, and she was able to start working again almost immediately.

MS Office required signing back into, but Photoshop and particularly, QuickBooks was all there and working. I don’t normally recommend software or hardware, but I have to say, this was impressive in its ability to transfer nearly everything over. It costs $129 and it did take a long time, but I can see a use for this product in certain circumstances.

​There are other options out there, but if you are simple folk like me, then moving data is all you need. There are many ways to do that, from One Drive, to external storage, to cables and networking. A great article on how to do these things can be found HERE.