Replacing A Win 10 Machine With Win 11-best Steps To Set Up New Machine

Folks,
I am replacing an older Win10 Home Machine with a new Win 11 machine. Any suggestions as to the best way to go about doing this? Moving programs, data, passwords, etc.

 

Hello Dick!

Congrats on the new Windows 11 machine! To move files from your Windows 10 PC, here’s some options, figure out which is the best choice for you and we can guide you from there:

1. Back Up Your Data: Use an external drive or cloud storage like OneDrive to back up important files.
2. Transfer via Network: If both PCs are on the same network, use Windows’ built-in File Sharing or a tool like Nearby Sharing.
3. External Drive Option: Copy files to an external drive from the old PC, then plug it into the new one to transfer.
4. Cloud Sync: Services like OneDrive or Google Drive can sync files across both machines.

There are some other options too, depending on your personal comfort level. Let's start with these ideas and let us know what you think. If you can take it from here on your own, just make sure that once the files are transferred, double-check that everything moved correctly before wiping the old machine.

Hope this helps and enjoy the new setup!

 

Hi, Wenchie. I'm replacing a Lenovo Laptop with a Small desktop Win11. I currently clone the HD every six months, and a full backup every month, with the Windows Files Backup weekly if I have enough to be worth the time. I can certainly use either the "Transfer via Network" or "External Drive Option", whichever is the easiest. I'm a pretty skilled user, but have not done an upgrade like this. Would the Windows File Sharing be the best option, and does this transfer the programs or do I have to install the programs on the new Win11 and just transfer files?