Windows 11 For Dummies

Chapter 20

Moving from an Old PC to a New Windows 11 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 11 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?

This chapter explores your options, and compares their degrees of difficulty.

Here’s a timesaver: If you’re just upgrading your relatively new Windows 10 PC to Windows 11, you can skip this chapter. When you upgrade, Windows 11 leaves your personal files, apps, and desktop programs in place. Older versions of Windows are probably running on older PCs; those PCs won’t be powerful enough to upgrade to Windows 11, unfortunately.

Moving to Windows 11 the Microsoft Way

The reason Microsoft removed and hid backup programs from Windows 11 boils down to one word: OneDrive, ...