It's official: I'm going to have to get a new computer next year (I'd have to replace the motherboard and RAM on my currect
device to make it compatible with Windows 11). The prospect makes me wilt. Choosing what to get isn't a problem--I'll simply buy the latest version of the one I have--but installing programs and figuring out how to get all my peripherals to work is going to be hell. It exhausted me last time, and I was way perkier back then.
Woe, woe, woe is me.
Did mine over the weekend, I definitely recommend PCmover Professional. It copied all my programs without a hitch. Moment the copy ended I was up and running. I had around 20 programs I had downloaded for games, old modding stuff. Some I hadn't used for years. They all went over. Didn't have to worry about app registration codes or anything. Even got my favorites on Edge and stuff like that. All the desktop windows. 48 hours now and haven't found a single problem.
Some places I went to, like ECF, they recognised I was on a new computer and sent me an email to sign in from to confirm it was me.
It won't copy security / antivirus programs so download those before you do the copy. You need to remove trial versions of programs from the new PC. You have to block Win updates and Norton and cloud backups, etc, during the copy. Stop all running programs. Few other odds and ends like that. They have great detailed instructions.
Basically it makes your new computer look exactly like your old one. Don't know about peripherals. Printer was picked up automatically. Headphones and speakers.
It's around $50 for the PCmover program. You can copy through your home network or get a $30 USB link cable which goes way faster. Sometimes it's cheaper on Amazon. Mine took 7 hours with the cable, estimated 14 to 20 hours through the home network. They have free 24/7 online chat or phone support.
Best $80 I ever spent.
