Transferring older Windows 10 info to New PC with W11

I have a PC that is 7 years old. It is an important PC and we are upgrading to a new PC which you know will have W11. The older PC is still in good working condition so there is no problem there, but we like to upgrade our PC every 5 years but we got behind. It is one we use for our office and it has many important things on it. It has 3 different places that this PC is backed up to so there is no problem there.
I would like to ask a question about the fastest and easiest way to get all the info from the old PC to the new one. I have had such good luck with PC's in the past I have never really done this before, so I would like some advice.
The old PC with W10 has 2 drives. OS and storage. The new drive has 2 drives also, OS and storage.
What other info do you need to help me figure out my best route to transfer everything from one to the other.
Thanks.

Edited by iMacg3, 22 June 2024 - 12:29 PM.
moved to Backup Software

Hello:

The two "easiest" ways to transfer your stuff (Documents, Pictures, Videos, Music, emails, etc.) are:

1) Using a cloud service, such as OneDrive:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/move-files-to-a-new-windows-pc-using-onedrive-430274dd-e414-4745-991a-a544b5174765

or

2) Using a USB External Hard Drive. One merely copies all the stuff on the old PC to the USB external hard drive and then to copy it from there to the new computer ("sneakernet").

NOTE: Your third-party applications cannot be transferred. You will need to install them from scratch on the new computer. If they are "paid" software, you may need to deactivate the license on the old computer before you activate the program on a new computer.

EDIT - there *are* other ways to accomplish this. This link is *ONLY* for information. I am ***NOT*** endorsing or recommending any paid or free software offered:
https://www.easeus.com/pc-transfer/how-to-transfer-files-from-windows-10-to-windows-11.html

Edited for typo

Edited by MoxieMomma, 22 June 2024 - 11:53 AM.

Assuming that you have sufficient drive space...I suggest that simply making a backup (using a 3d-party reliable program such as Macrium Reflect) of your current system...and then restoring that as an addition (on a separate partition) on the new system.  That would provide access to all files on both the old and new system...for as long as you desire or need such...and permit transfers at your convenience.

 

You cannot transfer installed programs from one version of Windows to another version...data files can be transferred any time.

 

Louis

Thanks all. It looks like I'll have to do what I thought. I'll just copy D from the old PC to D on the new one. Then I'll just have to reinstall all of the programs on the C drive and get them all going. I was just hoping there would be an easier way of doing it, but I kind of figured there wasn't.

 

 

How can I make sure that the desktop from the old goes to the new just like it was? They like the desktop the way it is.

Not sure if this helps, but there is a program I use called Desktop OK (link) that I have used for years. When I run my backups, I use Bleachbit to rid the system of useless junk, and it also nukes my desktop settings. Desktop OK restores them with one click. In their FAQ section on the website and they verify it will work on W11, but whether it will restore back originally from a save in W10 and restore in W11 I am not sure. Seems like it will, but....

If you run an upgrade from W10 to W11, I am not sure if Desktop OK will still work on 11.

 

Just another suggestion; I strongly suggest that you make a complete image backup of W10 before upgrading to W11. Just in case of a catastrophe, you can at least restore the W10 and try again. Nice safety net....

I have used Macrium Reflect for years for this kind of thing with never a glitch once.

Edited by ranchhand_, 22 June 2024 - 03:47 PM.

@ranchhand_. :

You wrote about "upgrading" from 10 to 11.

Perhaps I misunderstood the Topic Starter, but I *think* @ingeborgdot asked about transferring files from an "old" computer (Win 10) to a "new" computer (Win 11), NOT an upgrade from 10 to 11 on the same PC?

I apologize if I misunderstood.

Having said that, backup system images are always a good idea. ;-)

Respectfully submitted

You are correct; I saw the word "upgrade" and my mind stopped working.

OP: "fastest and easiest way to get all the info from the old PC to the new one". I think that OP means the data ONLY on the old computer transferred to the new one. In that case your Post #2 would be the way to go.

Thanks for the correction...

Dos Command Robo Copy is useful.

Here is a link to a 30-day free trial software of Macrium Reflect.

Good luck!

I got it all done. It went better than expected. Everything so far is working fine.

Good job!

Thanks for letting us know.