They probably named it migsetup. I've never see an "Easy Transfer cable" in the real world, but apparently they do exist on Amazon. Fortunately I had a small external hard drive, so I just used that since both the "old" and "new" computer were the same machine.
Next it found the 3 accounts on this XP machine as well as Shared Items and started tallying them up. It spends some time 15 minutes or so in my case estimating just how much non-Program data is on the machine. In our case, it was about 15 gigs of Photos and general crap.
It shows you what user has what stuff. It also has a nice, but subtle, customize link under each name you should click on. You can be very specific as to the folders and settings you care about. Hit next and wait a while. I waited about an hour, but it was telling me what was up the whole time. Next, I actually installed Windows 7. I decided to let Windows 7 format the hard drive so I could start from scratch. I could have just installed 7 over the top, but the hard drive was a bit untidy, so I just took the opportunity to start fresh.
At this point, remember that nothing has been transferred and I have a fresh Windows 7 machine. When you see the list of names in the migration file, click Customize. You'll have to wait a while again, I waited about an hour. After the process is done, you get the option for very detailed report. It shows not only what was transferred in detail but also a list of applications "you might want to install.
This was very helpful as it reminded me of the different apps I needed to get on this machine to make it ready for my relative. It's true that this isn't an "upgrade" as it's a "migration" but an hour or so later I was all set and my relative had a machine with all the things they were used to exactly where they expected them to be.
Documents, Photos, Accounts, all brought over cleanly. It even remembered that their daughter wasn't an admin and brought over the Parental Controls settings. If you've got an XP machine and you're looking to go Windows 7, I recommend you at least give this built-in tool a look. It saved me a few hours of setup at least and brought over settings that I'd have had to recreate. Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee.
He is a failed stand-up comic, a cornrower, and a book author. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent my employer's view in any way. Sponsored By. About Scott Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. About Newsletter.
Hosting By. Share on Twitter or Facebook or use the Permalink. August 04, Any reason you didn't consider creating a new OS partition out of the free space, installing on that and then moving files over? Nice post and it's good to get another perspective beyond the two obvious paths to upgrade, namely the pave my machine or upgrade twice via Vista options. I had considered moving many more machines to Windows 7 until I read there is no way to upgrade from the release candidate to the final version.
I can understand having no upgrade path from XP to Windows 7, but I don't understand why I can't just type in a license key when the final version is released? Needless to say I'll be holding off wasting time installing the OS until it's finally baked According to the latest reports, upgrades will run on your Windows 7 RC machine, but move your OS and files to a folder called windows.
Nice write up. Very useful considering I am going to need to do this very thing next weekend. Would this migration pose any issues you're aware of for when the full release version of Windows 7 becomes publicly available in the fall? Would you then just do and "over the top" install of 7 over the beta? Also, any issues running Visual Studio on Windows 7 that you know of? I did this on the RTM version. No issues so far. No issues at all with VS Scott Hanselman.
What was the processor speed on your relative's computer? Granted, I did install 32bit Win7. But 32bit XP worked much faster. Patrick Veverka. Did something happen to your last sentence? I don't mean to be nit-picky, but I was just curious how you ended that thought. Back when Vista was released we got a box of Vista promo material that had an easy transfer cable.
Anyhow, it would have been cool if they had an option to turn your existing XP install into a. I am glad you wrote this post. I won't be switching soon exactly, but it's intriuging to see that it's not going to be a complete nightmare.
Josh Stodola. Very nice. I too wrote a post regarding migerating to Win7 from XP. Is it possible to transfer program installations? I have a Dell Latitude D - not a dual-core. Wondering how it would perform Sahir Siddiqui. It's an old Dell Dimension It's a shame it still can't do Application transfer too.
It's one of the things still missing from the Windows competitive tick-sheet. Well, I have been known in some circles as "crazy" because my computer is something that started up as a DOS3.
So I am glad this upgrade to Win7 is possible without major issues. This doesn't migrate non-OS apps though, does it? Microsoft Office? Visual Studio? If a reinstall of apps is needed, I wouldn't consider it an upgrade - just a user file migration. Run the Windows 7 upgrade adviser. It will let you know if your computer can handle any version of Windows 7.
Check the Windows 7 compatibility center. This is different than the upgrade adviser. It will tell you if you need to update your drivers or apps to make them work in 7. Make a copy of your hard drive, just in case things go horribly wrong. I recommend using Macrium Reflect; it's a free download available from Download.
Start by gathering all the installation files for all your applications. Windows 7 will put your data in a Windows. Make sure you have all the CDs or if you downloaded programs, back up any install files you have on an external drive. Also don't forget to gather all the license keys either off product boxes or from e-mails. You'll want them all handy in a place outside the computer you're upgrading.
The last thing before we get to the actual Windows 7 disc is to download and run the Windows Easy Transfer Wizard. This will allow you to back up all your files and settings to an external hard drive.
A different one than the one you imaged earlier. Launch the wizard and make sure your external drive is plugged in. You can send your data to a network location; in this example we're choosing an external drive.
The program will check for what can be transferred then give you an opportunity to password-protect the data. Finally, choose your external drive and begin the backup. You shouldn't use your computer while this process is running.
It will take a while to move all your data over. Once it's done, you can set that drive aside--you won't need it until after Windows 7 completes updating. Finally, you're ready to insert the Windows 7 disc. When doing a clean install, it doesn't matter if you restart and boot off the disc or just run it from within Windows. It will give you one last chance to check compatibility. If you're sure you don't need that, go ahead and click "Install now. It will ask if you want to go online and get updates.
I say yes. It could save you some time later. Your computer will reboot a few times and eventually the Wizard will return, this time running in Windows 7. At this point, you'll be able to do things like set up a password, set security preferences, set time and date, etc.
Finally, you're running Windows 7! And you have device driver issues. Let's take care of that.
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