Old PC > new PC - any tips?

[swee'pea99]

Transferring from an old Win7 PC to a less old Win7 PC - Googling suggests all I need to do is search 'easy transfer' and click ok a couple of times then go make a cup of tea and when I get back it'll all be done, but I've done this kind of thing before and it's always been a bit of a mare. Any handy hints & tips, or is it really that simple & straightforward now?

 

[Cycleops]

I remember reading recently that staying on Windows 7 might be a problem, can't remember why but here's a video of how to upgrade to Windows 10 for free:


View: https://youtu.be/QdNL-pvvXH4

 

[swee'pea99]

I remember reading recently that staying on Windows 7 might be a problem, can't remember why but here's a video of how to upgrade to Windows 10 for free:


View: https://youtu.be/QdNL-pvvXH4

Thanks, but it's 'er indores's PC and she's with Mark Twain: "I'm all for progress, it's change I don't like."

 

[fossyant]

Use the tool then upgrade to win 10. You'll need to reinstall programs anyway. The tool moves the files you need, not programs

 

[Cycleops]

Thanks, but it's 'er indores's PC and she's with Mark Twain: "I'm all for progress, it's change I don't like."

I don't think there were many computers back in Mark Twain's day so might be worth investigating .

 

[Vantage]

Can you take the old hard drive and stick it in the new pc?
I did that 2 weeks ago. I had to reactivate win7 but other than that, it's running fine.

 

[sleuthey]

You don't say what your transferring. Files? Operating system? Licence? If it's just files then surely just borrow a usb memory stick or portable hard drive and transfer that way.

 

[midlife]

Thirty quid on an external hard drive to store / transfer / backup

 

[cyberknight]

Thirty quid on an external hard drive to store / transfer / backup

this is what i did when i had a new laptop

 

[Cycleops]

Found it. Microsoft support for Windows 7 ends this month so it will no longer provide updates and security patches, so might be worth upgrading, and as above its free:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-windows-7-support

 

[swee'pea99]

Thanks all. Transferring what? Well I suppose the simple answer is, whatever necessary so that my wife can just sit down and carry on, with everything she's used to working just the way she's used to. I don't think I'll go to Win10 just yet - the end of support doesn't worry me. I think I'll probably end up using that MS easy transfer and then use sticks to copy over anything that gets left behind. I'll doubtless be back when it all goes pear-shaped...

 

[ColinJ]

Found it. Microsoft support for Windows 7 ends this month so it will no longer provide updates and security patches, so might be worth upgrading, and as above its free:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-windows-7-support

See THIS THREAD - includes one post by you!

 

[Vantage]

I tried win 10 for a while when it first came out. Didn't like it. It was too...different.
Im used to apps on my chrome book and smart phone, but it seems alien on my pc.

 

[swee'pea99]

Just in case it's of any help to anyone, it all went amazingly tickety-boo. Used the Microsoft easy transfer tool, with a HD connected via USB. It even put my wife's desktop icons on the new desktop in the same positions. She was working on the new PC for an hour before I mentioned the switch. "I noticed everything seemed a lot faster," she said. The only slight glitch was getting her old A3 printer installed - the new PC had no LPT socket - but a £3 USB>LPT cable from ebay did the trick. Whole thing probably took barely more than an hour.