[SOLVED] How to copy programs and data from one SSD to another?

[Maineman]

Didn't see this covered. Bought a new Windows 11 laptop. Need to copy, not clone, programs and data from old Windows 10 laptop with SSD to new Windows 11 with SSD. Cloning the old SSD will replace Windows 11 on new laptop with Win 10. I do not want to remove either SSD from the laptops. Have a WD Easy Store external HDD.

 

[Lafong]

Clarify:

After this is done, you want the new laptop to have Win 10 not Win 11....like a replica of everything that was on the old laptop, including all the data and installed programs that were on the old laptop?

You want to get rid of Win 11 entirely?

You don't want to clone?

You want the new laptop to still have the new SSD it came with, but with different contents?

Is ALL OF THAT that correct?

 

[USAFRet]

Programs...not gonna happen.
Reinstall in the new system.

 

[hotaru.hino]

Install programs on the new system.

Copy the data from your user folder in C:\Users\ over, including the normally hidden C:\Users\[username]\AppData folder.

 

[Maineman]

Clarify:

After this is done, you want the new laptop to have Win 10 not Win 11....like a replica of everything that was on the old laptop, including all the data and installed programs that were on the old laptop?

I want to transfer programs and data from old Win 10 laptop and keep Win 11 on new laptop

You want to get rid of Win 11 entirely? No, I want to keep 11

You don't want to clone? I do not want to clone. I think that will replace win 11 on new laptop with win 10o

You want the new laptop to still have the new SSD it came with, but with different contents? Yes, Keep Win 11 and add programs and data from old laptop.

My guess is only cloning will transfer programs and data but will colne the Win 10 OS too.

Is ALL OF THAT that correct? See answers above

 

[ex_bubblehead]

You cannot transfer programs (with the exception of any Steam content). They must be reinstalled from the original media (have your keycodes handy).

 

[Lafong]

You can copy personal data from old drive to new drive---pictures, movies, Word files, roast beef recipes, browser bookmarks, email sitting on your hard drive, etc.......it's up to you to know where that stuff is on the old hard drive.

The average user would keep most of that somewhere under C:\users\your user name.

But it could be anywhere, depending on how you may have deliberately chosen to organize stuff on the old hard drive.

Most likely, you copy it all to the WD Easy Store and from there onto the new hard drive.

You'd need to reinstall everything else.