Best way to transfer files and programs between two Win 10 PCs?

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  1. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #11

    Louisaz said:
    Dear LCDR,

    I was a 1LT on active duty -- during the Vietnam era -- but that's another story.

    Louis
    Thank you for your much more difficult service than mine has been.

    Also, I would trust a program that moves the entire OS over and only resets the hardware info than a program that moves just the programs and data over. Windows 10 (since about Windows 95) has actually been designed to be redeployed. Most of the individual programs installed on that Windows 10 don't have that capability designed into them, to be moved from one Windows 10 OS to another without actually re-installing them.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 42,734
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #12

    Louisaz said:
    I've been looking at Laplink PC Mover. It looks promising. What I'm having trouble learning is if it (and similar programs) will move programs between two Win 10 PCs. I would not run both PCs at the same time. I would use my old Win 10 PC as a backup and only use it if my new Win 10 PC is on the fritz.

    Thanks for your advice.

    Louis
    Hi, best to look at the site and see what they currently support in terms of the exact method. I can tell you what I did:
    My objective was to upgrade Windows on the same PC, starting with a clean install of Windows (same or later version- different instances). I therefore couldn't do this over a network or by connecting the two PCs with a transfer cable.

    - 1. used the program to create a (very large) archive file from the source PC on an external disk
    - 2. swapped the hard drive, ran PC Mover, and used the archive file to 'install' the programs on the new build

    It will work - same Windows version to same Windows version or - older Windows version to newer Windows version
    "PCmover is not designed for migrations from newer operating systems to older operating systems".

    PCTrans (I've not used it yet) says:
    "Transfer applications & data via network connection or image file
    Transfer selected applications & data from one PC to another or from previous OS to new OS after Windows in-place upgrade."

    (On a side note, interestingly PCTrans claims to transfer programs from a 32 bit to 64 bit build. Sometimes however one should consider- or need - a 64 bit version of a program. Not looked for a comment about PCMover on that- and probably not a relevant issue here)
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 24
    Windows 10 pro x64
    Thread Starter
       #13

    Thanks for the information. Being able to selectively move a program from one PC to another -- in my case both Win 10 PCs -- would be perfect. I'll look into both PCTrans and PCMover.

    Louis

    dalchina said:
    Hi, best to look at the site and see what they currently support in terms of the exact method. I can tell you what I did:
    My objective was to upgrade Windows on the same PC, starting with a clean install of Windows (same or later version- different instances). I therefore couldn't do this over a network or by connecting the two PCs with a transfer cable.

    - 1. used the program to create a (very large) archive file from the source PC on an external disk
    - 2. swapped the hard drive, ran PC Mover, and used the archive file to 'install' the programs on the new build

    It will work - same Windows version to same Windows version or - older Windows version to newer Windows version
    "PCmover is not designed for migrations from newer operating systems to older operating systems".

    PCTrans (I've not used it yet) says:
    "Transfer applications & data via network connection or image file
    Transfer selected applications & data from one PC to another or from previous OS to new OS after Windows in-place upgrade."

    (On a side note, interestingly PCTrans claims to transfer programs from a 32 bit to 64 bit build. Sometimes however one should consider- or need - a 64 bit version of a program. Not looked for a comment about PCMover on that- and probably not a relevant issue here)
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 42,734
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #14

    There are some giveaways of PCTrans around from time to time:
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 24
    Windows 10 pro x64
    Thread Starter
       #15

    I'll check that out. Thanks for the heads-up!

    dalchina said:
    There are some giveaways of PCTrans around from time to time:
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 1,366
    Windows 10 Pro x64
       #16

    whs said:
    I would not trust a redeploy. Installing the programs will be safer. And transferring data files should be easy.
    I agree. I'm always in favor of a clean install. I get the point of cloning, but I don't ever do it unless the hardware is the same. If the hardware is different, I do a clean install.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #17

    DeaconFrost said:
    I agree. I'm always in favor of a clean install. I get the point of cloning, but I don't ever do it unless the hardware is the same. If the hardware is different, I do a clean install.
    There is a difference between cloning and re-deploying.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 1,366
    Windows 10 Pro x64
       #18

    In some ways, yes, but my comments were based on this specific situation. I wouldn't want to bring anything old over to the new system. Getting that new system means a new install. That gives you the best possible outcome.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 1,621
    Windows 10 Home
       #19

    During the reDeploy, just short time, there exists two copies of numerous 1-PC-licensed programs, as long as one destroys said software on the source computer as soon as one confirms the existence of said software on the target computer, wouldn't that kinda sorta fall under "fair use" [I'm borrowing that term]? To me, redeploy is a term similiar to military moves, the group, en toto, et al, moves from one hill to another hill, single file, until the last man stands at the 2nd hill where the first man landed earlier.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 42,734
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #20

    A note on Easeus PCTrans..
    As I'm about to get a new laptop, I checked how their product works.
    I have the OS on C:, and choose to install programs on D:
    (I have a lot of programs, some large, and wished to separate these for defrag and imaging purposes - sometimes it's convenient to simply restore an image of C: but not D: and faster, and D: rarely needs defragging.. not that I use that at all often).

    I discovered:
    Easeus puts ALL programs on C: (presumably in C:\Program Files) and amends the relevant registry data accordingly.

    So for the moment, I prefer Laplink.
    Note there appear to be two rather similar versions
    - Laplink PCMover
    and
    - Laplink PCMover Image & Drive Assistant

    I find it hard to tell the difference even after looking at the comparison chart.
    PCmover - LaplinkĀ® Software
      My Computers


 

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