Transfer files and programs from one PC to another

Every time you buy a new PC, you have to transfer data from the old to the new and perhaps even the programs, to avoid having to reinstall them and re-register (in the case of paid programs). There are many programs to transfer files and programs from one PC to another and also more or less practical solutions. In this article we see the three easiest and most free.

Option 1: External Hard Disk

The easiest way to transfer data to a new computer is by manually moving files from one PC to another via an external disk or USB flash drive. The advantage of this option is that you do not need to download any additional software and just plug the external drive into the old computer, drag the files to the external drive and then connect it to the new computer and drag the files to their place. There are however two contraindications. The first to do this transfer requires a large enough external disk, at least equal to the internal disk space of the computer being transferred. The other problem is that you have to manually select the files to be transferred. In another article, we saw what are the most important Windows folders to save by noting how the paths change depending on whether you are using Windows XP or Windows 7  Windows 8.

Option 2: Cloud-based archiving

The power of the cloud can be well exploited to move data from one PC to another. The speech is the same as option 1, with the difference that you use an online hard drive instead of a physical hard drive. The contraindications, in this case, are two more: in the meantime the best cloud services have free limited plans and you have to get a little 'if you want to get a free cloud space of 100 GB or more. The second problem is that to make an online backup and then re-download the data on the new PC requires a very fast internet connection, otherwise it may take days. In another article, the list of the best online backup sites to save files on the internet

Option 3: Windows Easy Transfer

Tool The best solution to automatically transfer files and programs from one Windows PC to another is the Microsoft Windows Easy Transfer Tool, completely free. This application basically does what we can do manually as per point 1, transferring the contents of the Users folder. The Windows data transfer program is already included in Windows 7 and 8 (look for it from the Start menu). The wizard specifies what is being transferred and then lets you choose where to save the data. Data transfer includes the entire user folder, documents, images, music, photos, videos and Windows settings, but not the programs. Very briefly, you must first select that you are on "Old Computer", then the location where you want to save the files and if you choose to save everything on a USB stick or an external hard drive, making sure that there is enough space. Once Windows is reinstalled, everything is clean and fully functional, the program transfer tool opens, choose "New Computer" and restore using the previously created file. The files and settings will then be copied to the new computer.