Whether you plan to upgrade your Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8 machine to Windows 10 or purchase a new PC with Windows ten pre-installed, y'all tin can apply Windows Like shooting fish in a barrel Transfer to copy all your files and settings from your onetime motorcar or sometime version of Windows to your new motorcar running Windows 10. In this article, I'll walk you through the steps to configure Windows Easy Transfer.

Earlier nosotros get started, permit me clarify exactly what you lot can transfer using Windows Like shooting fish in a barrel Transfer:

– User Accounts

– Documents

– Videos

– Music

– Pictures

– E-mail

– Browser Favorties

It volition non transfer over the programs. You lot will have to reinstall whatever programs that you desire on your new Windows 10 PC.

Windows Like shooting fish in a barrel Transfer on Windows ten

Before we get started, there is one big issue we have to bargain with. Microsoft has removed Windows Piece of cake Transfer from Windows x and now suggests some tertiary-party plan PCmover Express, which costs money! At that place is no way I'one thousand paying whatever money just to transfer some data from 1 PC to some other.

Luckily, there is a way to go effectually this problem. Basically, the Windows Piece of cake Transfer program is already installed on Windows 7 and Windows eight. If y'all are using Windows XP or Vista, you can download the appropriate version from hither:

Windows XP Easy Transfer – https://world wide web.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=7349

Windows Vista Like shooting fish in a barrel Transfer – https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=14179

Now, if y'all try to download the Vista version and run it on Windows x, it gives yous an error. Nevertheless, if you have a Windows 7 64-bit machine, you tin can copy over the folder that contains the Windows Easy Transfer program to a USB stick and so run it on Windows 10 and it works just fine.

If you lot do not accept access to a Windows 7 64-bit auto, I copied the folder and zipped it upwards, which you can download from here. If you have 32-bit Windows 7, run the preinstalled 32-bit version on the Windows 7 machine, but download the 64-chip version on Windows 10. It can import a 32-fleck version of an Piece of cake Transfer file. Simply uncompress the binder and run migwiz.exe.

Run WET on Old Estimator

To get started, you need to open Windows Easy Transfer on your old PC or the PC that is running Windows XP, Vista, seven or 8. Note that if you are doing an upgrade, retrieve of the one-time automobile as the old version of Windows, in this case Windows XP, Vista, or 7.

Also, note that if you are upgrading Windows XP or Vista, yous will need to download and install Windows Easy Transfer as information technology does not come with the program built-in. If you are running Windows vii or eight, information technology's already there and y'all tin can just search for it. The download links are higher up.

Note that it says it's for transferring from XP or Vista to Windows seven, but you lot can apply it to transfer to Windows viii besides. In Windows seven, merely search for Piece of cake Transfer and y'all'll encounter it show up:

windows easy transfer

To beginning, we will open Easy Transfer on the old machine, in my case Windows seven. Once you start information technology, the Welcome dialog volition pop up and give you an overview of what items you lot can transfer:

windows 7 to 8

Click Adjacent and then choose the method you want to use to transfer between the old PC and Windows 8. You can choose from Like shooting fish in a barrel Transfer Cable, a Network, or an external hd or USB flash drive:

transfer methods

If you are upgrading a computer to Windows 10, then you lot can choose external hard disk or USB flash drive since the one-time and the new calculator is actually the same computer. You lot'll, of class, take to have a external drive or USB flash drive in lodge to do this.

If you're transferring between two computers, and then the all-time pick is a network connection since you probably have the computers on the same wireless habitation network. If you don't accept any network setup at home, then you can utilize an Easy Transfer Cable, which is a special cable yous take to buy. Hither is a list from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Transfer-Cables/lm/R3G7LKPRYOEDL

In this article, I'll go through the network method since that is what most people will exist using. If yous are transferring to Windows 10, then choose the USB method instead. Click on A network and cull whether this is the old or the new calculator. In our example, nosotros are starting with the old computer, and so click on This is my onetime computer.

old computer

On the adjacent screen, you'll see some instructions and you'll see a Windows Easy Transfer key. Yous will need to use this central on the new computer.

transfer key

Now go to your new Windows auto and beginning the Windows Easy Transfer wizard.  You can open information technology in Windows 8 by going to the Start screen and so correct-clicking anywhere until you see All apps at the bottom correct. So scroll to the right and you'll see information technology under Windows System.

windows system

In Windows 10, you'll need to either download the Windows 7 64-flake Moisture in the link I have in a higher place or y'all tin do it yourself by going to the following folder on your Windows seven PC:

              C:\Windows\System32\

Find the migwiz folder and copy information technology to a USB wink bulldoze or to the deject, etc. Withal you do it, simply copy that unabridged folder to your Windows 10 PC and then double-click on migwiz.exe.

Now follow the same steps as to a higher place: click Side by side on the welcome screen, cull a network for how you want to transfer, and so choose This is my new PC. On the side by side screen, you have to tell Windows whether you installed Easy Transfer or if you're running Windows 7, in which case information technology'southward already installed.

windows 7 transfer

In my example, I am transferring from Windows 7, then I chose My old PC is running Windows 7 or Windows eight. Click Next. Yous'll get the instructions to become to your old PC and get the key, which we already did. Click Next once again.

new transfer key

Now go alee and type in the central that you got from your former figurer and click Next. The program will download any updates to the Like shooting fish in a barrel Transfer programme first:

updates

Once it has washed that, information technology will browse the user accounts on the sometime computer (which takes a few minutes) and tell you exactly how many MBs worth of data will be transferred:

account transfer

You can click on the Customize link to see exactly how large each folder volition exist and you can uncheck specific folders if you don't want to transfer everything like Music or Videos, etc. If y'all click on the Advanced link hither, yous will get an Explorer dialog where you tin check and uncheck specific folders under each of the main folders.

customize transfer

If you click on Avant-garde Options, you can change how the mapping of the user accounts will occur. If the names of the accounts on both computers are the same, it will automatically link them, merely y'all can change it here:

advanced options

That'due south pretty much it. Click on Transfer and your files and settings volition exist transferred over! The about important thing here is the App Settings, which is really useful if you installed some heavy-duty programs on your computer like MS Office, customized them, and at present have to reinstall them on Windows 10. If you transfer the settings using the Easy Transfer wizard, yous can install the app on Windows 10 and retain all those settings and customizations. If y'all have whatever questions about the transfer process, post a comment hither and I'll attempt to assistance. Bask!