Windows® 7 For Dummies® Chapter 19: Moving from an Old Computer to a New Windows 7 PC ISBN: 978-0-470-49743-2 Copyright of Wiley Publishing, Inc. Indianapolis, Indiana Posted with Permission Chapter 19 Moving from an Old Computer to a New Windows 7 PC In This Chapter ▶ Copying your old PC’s files and settings into your new PC ▶ Using Windows Easy Transfer ▶ Transferring files through an easy transfer cable, network, or portable hard drive ▶ Getting rid of your old computer hen you bring home an exciting new Windows 7 computer, it lacks Wthe most important thing of all: your old computer’s files. How do you copy your files from that drab old Windows XP or Vista PC to that exciting new Windows 7 PC? How do you even find everything you want to move? To solve the problem, Microsoft stocked Windows 7 with a virtual moving van called Windows Easy Transfer. Windows Easy Transfer grabs not only your old computer’s data but also settings from some of your programs: your browser’s list of favorite Web sites, for example. Not everybody needs Windows Easy Transfer. If you’re upgrading a Windows Vista PC to Windows 7, for example, Windows 7 keeps your files and most settings in place. Windows Vista upgraders don’t need the transfer program — or this chapter. But should you need to copy information from a Windows XP or Windows Vista PC to a Windows 7 PC, this chapter introduces the program and walks you down the path. Note: Windows Easy Transfer doesn’t work with older Windows versions like Windows Me or Windows 98. 358 Part VI: Help! Preparing to Move into Your New PC Like any other moving day, the event’s success depends on your preparation. Instead of rummaging for boxes and duct tape, you must do these two things to prepare your PCs for Windows Easy Transfer: ✓ Choose the method for copying the information to your new PC ✓ Install your old PC’s programs onto your new PC The next two sections explain each topic in more detail. Choosing how to transfer your old information PCs are very good at copying things, much to the dismay of the entertainment industry. They’re so good, in fact, that they offer a zillion different ways to copy the same thing. For example, Windows Easy Transfer offers four different ways to copy your old PC’s information into your new PC. Each method works at a different level of speed and difficulty. Here are the contenders: ✓ Easy Transfer cable: Because every modern PC includes a USB port, an Easy Transfer cable is your least expensive solution. This special cable often looks like a normal USB cable that has swallowed a mouse: The cable usually bulges in the middle, as shown in Figure 19-1. These cables cost less than $30 at most electronics stores or online. Plug one end into each PC’s USB port, and you’re ready to copy. (No, a normal USB cable won’t work.) Older Easy Transfer cables made for Windows Vista work fine with Windows 7, but don’t try to use Windows Vista’s version of the Easy Transfer program. Fire up the Windows 7 version, instead. ✓ External hard drive: Costing between $100 and $200, a portable hard drive makes copying your information quick and easy. Most portable drives plug into both a wall outlet and your PC’s USB port; others draw their power right from the USB port. ✓ Flash drive: These little memory sticks, often spotted sprouting from nerds’ key chains, plug into a computer’s USB port. They’re handy for transferring small batches of files or settings, but they lack enough storage space to hold much else. They work great, however, for copying the Windows 7 Easy Transfer program to your old PC. ✓ Network: If you’ve linked your two PCs through a network (a chore I cover in Chapter 14), the Easy Transfer program can transfer your old PC’s information that way. Chapter 19: Moving from an Old Computer to a New Windows 7 PC 359 Figure 19-1: An Easy Transfer USB cable usually bulges in the middle. If your PCs aren’t connected through a network, and they live more than a cable’s reach apart, a portable hard drive is your best option. Choose one with as much capacity as the hard drive inside your new PC. After transferring the files, put the hard drive to work backing up your files each night, an extremely prudent task I describe in Chapter 12. Installing your old PC’s programs onto your new PC The Easy Transfer program can transfer your PC’s data — your e-mail, digital photos, letters, and other things you’ve created — as well as your programs’ settings: your Web browser’s list of favorite Web sites, for example. But the Easy Transfer program can’t copy the programs themselves. That’s right: Your old PC’s programs must be reinstalled onto your new PC. And you need to install those programs before running the Easy Transfer program to ensure that the programs will be ready to accept their incoming settings. To install the old programs, dig out their installation CDs and any copy protection codes you may need to reenter. The codes are usually printed on either the CD itself, the CD’s packaging, or a sticker on the program’s manual. (If you purchased a program online, you may be able to retrieve the copy- protection code from the manufacturer’s Web site.) Unfortunately, not all your old programs will run on Windows 7. Most antivirus programs, for example, require versions built specifically for Windows 7. 360 Part VI: Help! Transferring Information Between Two PCs with Windows Easy Transfer Windows Easy Transfer works in just a few short steps or a lengthy series of leaps, depending on the method you choose to pipe your old PC’s information into your new PC: cable, network, or portable drive. The next three sections provide step-by-step walkthroughs of how to transfer all of your old PC’s information using each of the three methods. The optional fourth section aims at fine-tuners who want to pick and choose the type of information they want transferred from their old PC. Be sure to log on to your old and new PCs with an Administrator account; Standard, Limited, and Guest accounts don’t have the authority to copy files. And take your time: You can always return to a previous screen by clicking the blue arrow in the window’s top-left corner. Transferring through an Easy Transfer cable If you’re transferring from a Windows XP PC with an Easy Transfer cable, shown earlier in Figure 19-1, be sure to install the Easy Transfer cable’s bundled drivers. (You needn’t worry about drivers in Windows Vista or Windows 7, because they automatically recognize the cable as soon as you plug it into a USB port.) To test the cable, plug it into your Windows XP PC; when your PC recognizes the cable with a little pop-up message in the screen’s bottom-right corner, you’re set: Unplug the cable and wait until a step tells you to plug it back in. To transfer files with an Easy Transfer cable, follow these steps on your new Windows 7 PC: 1. Close all currently running programs on your new Windows 7 PC. 2. Open the Start menu, choose All Programs, click Accessories, click System Tools, and then click Windows Easy Transfer. The Windows Easy Transfer window opens. 3. Click Next at the opening screen. 4. Choose the An Easy Transfer Cable option. The program asks whether you’re working from your new PC or old PC. 5. Choose the This Is My New Computer option. Chapter 19: Moving from an Old Computer to a New Windows 7 PC 361 The program asks whether you need to install the Windows Easy Transfer program on your old PC. 6. Choose the I Need To Install It Now option. The program offers to install itself on your old PC in one of two ways: External Hard Disk or Shared Network Folder: Plug in your portable hard disk if you want to store the program there. USB Flash Drive: Insert your flash drive, if you want to store it there. When you choose one of the options, the Browse For Folder dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 19-2. Figure 19-2: Choose where to store the program, usually a removable drive. Don’t have a portable hard drive, flash drive, or network? Then find your solution in the sidebar, “I can’t copy Windows Easy Transfer to my old PC!” After installing the program, jump ahead to Step 8. 7. Navigate to the place you want to store the Windows Easy Transfer program and then click OK. To store the program on your newly plugged-in drive, click Computer in the Browse For Folder dialog box, choose the letter of your removable drive, and click OK. The Easy Transfer program places a copy of itself onto the drive so you can run it on your old PC. 8. Unplug the drive from your new PC and plug it into a USB port of your old PC to start the Easy Transfer program. The Windows Easy Transfer program should leap to life automatically on your old PC. (You may need to click OK to let it run.) 362 Part VI: Help! If it doesn’t run automatically, you might need to look for the drive: Open the Start menu, choose Computer or My Computer, and look for the drive’s icon.