How to Migrate your Files and Settings from your Old PC to your New PC

Jun 24
09:03

2009

Salem Hassan

Salem Hassan

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There will come a time in our life, whether in work or at home that you will be oblige, by choice or because your jobs necessitate it, to move your files and settings from your old computer to a new one. To the expert, this could be a walk in the park but for most of us who are not that information technology savvy, it’s a major undertaking.

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Introduction      

There will come a time in our life,How to Migrate your Files and Settings from your Old PC to your New PC Articles whether in work or at home that you will be oblige, by choice or because your jobs necessitate it, to move your files and settings from your old computer to a new one.  To the expert, this could be a walk in the park but for most of us who are not that information technology savvy, it’s a major undertaking.

Most people spent a lot of time tweaking their system to suit their own need and preference and it is easier said than done to transfer all those colors, fonts, wallpaper and other settings unto the new PC. Finding manually all the data and files you need from your old computer and put them in their proper location in the new PC will be require patience and time.

Microsoft however, has an invaluable tool called the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard which will help you accomplish this task.  The wizard just needs to run once on your old computer to collect and backup all your files and personal settings.  After the data collection, run the wizard on the new computer and then restore all the information into the new system.

Step-by-step Procedure on How to Run the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard

Note: Before you continue, close any other programs that are currently running on your computer to avoid any problem or error while performing the task.

On the old PC:

1.Insert the Windows XP CD installer on your old PC cd-rom drive. Select Perform additional tasks.

2.Select Transfer files and settings.

3. Select the option Old computer when ask which computer is this?

4.Select a drive or folder where to save your backup.  Make sure that you have enough free disk space on the drive where you will save your backup data.

5.Select the option that you prefer. You can choose to backup Settings only, Files only or Both files and settings. Most people will simply select the option Both files and settings and let the wizard do the rest.

6.Files and settings data collection. The wizard will then search the drive and collects your files and settings. This would take some time to complete, depending on the size of your data.  Click on Finish to exit, once the wizard completed the files and settings collection from your old computer.  Check the file size of the backup for you to have an idea how big it is.

7. Share the folder where you save the files and settings backup for later use.  You will point to this shared folder from the new PC to read and restore your files and settings.

On the new PC:

After a successful backup, it is time now to transfer the files and settings from your old PC to the new one. Before running the File and Transfer Wizard on the new PC, make sure that you already installed in your new PC, the same application that is installed and running in your old PC to ensure a successful files and settings transfer.

1.Insert the Windows XP CD install on the new computer with fresh installed Windows XP. Select Perform Additional Task and then click on Transfer files and settings.

2.Choose New computer when ask if this is the new computer or your old one?

3. Do you have a Windows XP CD?  Just select I don’t need the Wizard Disk. I have already collected my files and settings from my old computer and click Next.

4.When ask Where are the files and settings?  Select Other (for example, a removable drive or network drive).  Type the network location of the files and settings backup (or click on Browse to locate it) and then click on Next.

5. Files and settings transfers. After the wizard has been pointed on the location of the files and settings backup, it will then begin to transfer and apply the settings from the old PC unto the new system.  This transfer process could take some time to complete depending on the size of the files. Patiently wait for the wizard to complete the task.

6.Complete the Files and Settings Transfer.  Click on Finish after successfully transferring your files and settings from your old computer to the new one.  It is best practice to log off from the computer and restart your new PC for the changes to take effect. After restarting, check and ensure that all of your files and settings is correct and the same as on the old PC.