Considerations When Moving to a New Computer
If you are a solo or small firm with little IT help, then moving your information from an old computer to a new computer may seem daunting. But, even with little technical skill you can do it! Whether you have most applications and data stored in the cloud or if everything is installed on the computer you can do it yourself with a little guidance and preparation. Do give yourself a few days to make sure everything works as expected and to fully set up your new computer before you recycle your old one.
One of These Things is Not Like the Other
When you go to purchase a new desktop or laptop, depending on the age of the old device, you may find that hardware has changed over time. For instance, laptops are lighter, have better battery life, faster processors, and better screen resolution. There are also more choices, like convertible devices that can act as a traditional laptop or as a tablet, touchscreen laptops, and all-in-one desktops. However, to achieve lighter and smaller designs, these new devices may not have similar ports and drives. If you rely on a built-in CD-ROM drive, lots of USB ports, VGA for projectors or monitors, etc. you may have to get adaptors or externals to fill in the gaps.
Does your new device have a pre-installed operating system? Will you be moving from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 11? Windows 10 Pro to Windows 11 Home? Be aware that you may run into some glitches when re-installing older software on newer operating systems, forcing you to upgrade and pay for updated software. On a Windows device go to Settings – System – “About” to learn what version of the operating system you are running.
Newer devices often have less storage capacity, as it is commonplace to store files in the cloud. If you have a lot of files stored on a device, make sure the new one will have room for your files. To see how much storage you have and how much you use, on a Windows device go to Settings – System – Storage.
Get Prepared
Sometimes moving to a new device gives you an opportunity to re-assess what you are really using and need. Inventory your computer for software, apps, and tools that you use. In Windows you can start by going to Settings – Apps and looking through the list of apps that appear. Do you need to bring the software over? Are you storing passwords on your computer? Start documenting them elsewhere. Start a checklist of things you need to make sure to move off your old computer.
Moving Files
You will need to move your files from your current hard drive to the new computer. However, this may not be all that daunting since your files may be stored on a server or in the cloud. More than likely though there are some files you store on the computer. For instance, in Windows the Downloads folder is stored locally. Create a folder in your cloud storage called “Downloads” and drag and drop the files. Even if all your files are saved on your computer you can still drag and drop them to cloud storage, an external drive, or onto a server.
There are alternatives to dragging and dropping, such as cable transfer, or an application like PC Mover. PC Mover has the added advantage of moving over software as well as files.
Moving Email
If you are using a cloud-based email application like Gmail, Yahoo!, or Outlook.com you will simply need to login from your browser. However, if you are using MS Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail or another installed email application moving your email may become more complicated. If you are using MS Outlook but getting your email through Gmail, your ISP, GoDaddy, or another web host, emails you move from the inbox to folders may be stored on your computer. Login to the web-based service to see if you see your folders and emails in those folders. If they aren’t online, then you will need to create an export file in MS Outlook. If you use the Outlook calendar and contacts, you will need to create export files of those as well.
If you are using an MS Exchange server (hosted, on premise, or through MS 365) your contacts, email folders and calendar are stored on the Exchange server, and you will simply need to set up Outlook on your new computer and add the profile. However, depending on the age of your setup some of your .PST folders may be stored on your local computer. The easiest way to check is to go to OWA (Outlook Web Access) or for MS 365 subscribers Outlook PWA (Progressive Web App) and see if your folders are there.
Moving Software
If you’ve been keeping software on install disks in a desk drawer, be aware that the software is a.) seriously outdated and may not run on a newer operating system b.) your new computer may not have a disk reader. You may be able to download and install the software from the internet, but your license key may have expired. However, if the software installed on your machine is new you will just need to reinstall it by downloading it from the manufacturers website and adding the license key, or your username and password.
Moving Browsers
If you are using Internet Explorer, be aware that it is no longer supported, and you will want to transfer any important bookmarks to Microsoft’s new Edge browser. When you move to a new computer you will want to login to your current browser (Edge, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.) so that your favorites, bookmarks, extensions, and settings are saved and synched. Then download the browser software on your new device, login, and all your stuff will be there!
Mapping Drives and Peripherals
If you have a file server or other server applications, you will need to map the new computer to those drives. Take a screenshot of the current map to help remind you what needs to be done. You can find your mapped drives by going to File Explorer and look under “This PC” and “Network” and see which drives you are connected to. On your new computer you will reconnect the network drives – don’t forget you will need to be logged into the network via cable or VPN.
For peripherals, like monitors, keyboards, printers, scanners, and other devices, before you get your new computer get a list of what needs to be hooked up. You can go to Settings – Devices to see what you currently have or go to Control Panel\Hardware and Sound\Devices and Printers to see a list of options. Some peripherals connect with your machine through a network, some over wifi, some through a cable plugged into your device, and some over Bluetooth. On your new machine, plugged into the network, go to Control Panel\Hardware and Sound\Devices and Printers, and click on “Add a device” and “Add a printer” to discover available peripherals. Keep in mind if you have old peripherals or an older operating system you may need to update drivers or reinstall them.
Conclusion
For further reading and more options, you can review “How to migrate to a new Windows PC”, “How to transfer data from an old PC to a new PC” “Transferring Everything from One Laptop to Another” and “How to migrate to a new Windows PC”.
If this seems daunting, you can get help from an IT professional.