SOLVED Transfer myself to a new PC

[jefboyardee]

Just ordered a faster tower, loaded with Win7 Ultimate, shows up next week. A few questions:

I know I'll have install all my programs first, but then, can I just copy my login folder in c:\users and load all or most of my settings that way?

With my old tower, its OS is from a W7HP disk I have, but will apparently have no use for anymore. Is there a way to reinstall the tower clean, so it's just that OS and none of my own stuff -- without having to deal with all that activation crap again?

Speaking of that disk, I suppose I might as well include it in the sale of the old tower, but it might be handy for me to keep, for emergency boots and such on the new tower... true? But then again, if I sell the old tower activated, I'll be in an administrative cesspool... also true?

 

[TrainableMan]

To transfer your data & settings run "Windows Easy Transfer" and create a migration file on an external drive or USB stick. Then run Windows easy Transfer on the new machine.

As for your old machine, did it come with W7 installed and does it have a system recovery partition? Once you have removed all your data, if it came with W7 installed and it has a system recovery partition then simply boot the machine and do a system recovery to restore the HD to factory.

As for the new tower, assuming this is a pre-built machine such as Dell, it should either come with a system partition or it should instruct you to create recovery DVDs. I wouldn't keep the old towers DVDs as you want ones with the proper drivers for the current machine.

 

[jefboyardee]

Appreciate your reply.

The old tower had XP sp3, bought that Win 7 CD and never looked back.I never had an install disk for XP, so that's long gone. So, once I'm happy with my new tower and its resident OS, I might as well sell/donate the old tower along with the W7 CD.

By the way, for what it's worth, I just bought:

DELL OPTIPLEX 620 TOWER DESKTOP-3.6GHZ, 4GB RAM, 160GB HDD. WIN 7, MS 07

 

[TrainableMan]

Since you have the W7 DVD then what you would do is format the hard drive(s) and reinstall W7 from the DVD. Since you probably have a W7 upgrade DVD, after formatting, you will need to do what it often referred to as a double install. As I mentioned first format the hard drive(s), after that install W7 without a product key then run the installation a second time and this time enter the upgrade activation key. The upgrade license is tied back to the original XP license which was OEM, so legally it lives and dies with that PC motherboard so yes I would sell it with the computer to add a little value. And no, you do not have any responsibility to support the computer.

NOTE: your product key should have come on a card with the upgrade DVD but if you have lost that then you will want to extract the product key from the current install BEFORE you format the hard drive(s).

 

[jefboyardee]

Yes, Because I got too adventurous, I've used my W7HP OEM DVD to install 7 three times on my old, XP PC. And I've entered the numbers stuck on the case and done the phone activation. So I guess all that has glued it to my old PC?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have a new question, if you don't mind...

It just occurred to me, after buying it, that the listing doesn't say anything about whether it's 32 or 64 bit. So I asked him, "Uh-oh. Now that I've bought it, I have another question: Since your listing doesn't appear to mention it, I'm assuming it's 32-bit, not 64... am I correct?"

He just replied, "we have both, which one do you want?" The answer is have I no idea, so I'm bouncing it off you...

* I've always used 32-bit and all my current programs are 32. Further, I am not even aware of the advantages of 64.

* I know 32 won't really be able to access all four gigs, but since I'm currently fine with two, I suppose that's not a real issue.

* I've read that 4GB is the dividing line on which type to choose. Since the new PC is 4GB, this the decision becomes even harder.

So, unless you really think I should do 64, and you can answer pretty soon, I think I'll just tell him 32... at least I know what I'm in for that way.

From googling this subject, I can see this is the oldest debate in computing, so I appreciate your solving it right here.

 

[TrainableMan]

Except for a couple very specific cases you should take the 64-bit. One, if you use very old 16-bit programs they will not work in native 64-bit but will in 32. W7 Professional or Ultimate offer a free download of Virtual PC - XP mode which creates a virtual environment where 16-bit programs can run (XP mode is not included in your Home Premium version). But it's unlikely you still have 16-but programs; all I use my XP mode for is some very old games. Two, it is probably a good idea to look up the drivers for your printer(s) and make sure you can find a 64-bit version, because hardware incompatibility would be the only other reason to go 32.

Most people went 64-bit years ago and never looked back; there is even a 64-bit version of XP available.

Simply the fact you can use all 4GB rather than just 3.3GB by going 64-bit is an advantage. And 32-bit programs will still run as good or very nearly as well as they ever did; and if you buy/download any 64-bit programs they may even run better than their 32-bit counterparts (depending on optimization).

 

[jefboyardee]

Thanks so much for that information. It's hard to make decision like this in two hours, but it does seem that 64 is the way things are headed anyway, so...

 

[jefboyardee]

Sheesh, another issue. I read that 64-bit wants a dual-core PC. He can do that so I said please do. Did I make the right choice?

...getting in way over my head now.

 

[TrainableMan]

Depends how much extra he is charging and whether it is still an Intel chip or he switched to a lower cost AMD CPU. What would be the new specs on the machine?

 

[jefboyardee]

He's calling the 'D,' which I'm afraid I assumed to be the Pentium D. I got a Dual core, 64-bit, 3Ghz, 4GB... hope I guessed right.

 

[TrainableMan]

It likely is a Pentium D. You might look over This Article.

But yeah a D is better than a 4 if it's a difference of a few dollars.

 

[jefboyardee]

I asked him, "when you say 'D,' do you mean 'Pentium D?' I don't want to change that, but otherwise, I'm still happy with the setup."

He just answered, "yes optiplex 620 Pentium D, duo core."

So I think that settles things... do you?

...price change didn't come up at all, so I guess it's a wash.

 

[TrainableMan]

Yes that's good.

If you read that article it mentions the D uses more power and runs hotter so you may need to add extra fans to the case or even an aftermarket heatsink/cooler; watch your temps when doing intense CPU operations.

 

[jefboyardee]

I'll do that and thanks much for your assistance with all this.

...helpful article you linked, by the way.

 

[TrainableMan]

You're Welcome. Enjoy your new computer.

 

[jefboyardee]

I'll solve this and get probably back to you when I get it going.