Windows 10 For Dummies, 4th Edition

Chapter 20

Moving from an Old PC to a New Windows 10 PC

IN THIS CHAPTER

Copying your old PC’s files and settings into your new PC

Transferring files and settings with a program or technician

Transferring files and settings yourself with a portable hard drive

When you bring home your exciting new Windows 10 computer, it lacks the most important thing of all: the stuff from your old computer. How do you copy your files from that dusty old PC to that shiny new Windows PC? How do you even find everything you want to move?

Before Windows 10, Microsoft solved the problem by including a virtual moving van called Windows Easy Transfer. The Windows Easy Transfer program grabbed not only your old computer’s files but its settings (your browser’s list of favorite websites, for example).

Unfortunately, Microsoft discontinued Windows Easy Transfer in Windows 10, complicating the process of moving to a new PC. This chapter explains your current options for moving your information from your old PC to your new PC.

Here’s a timesaver: If you’re just upgrading your old Windows 8 or 8.1 PC to Windows ...