[SOLVED] Why I haven't replaced my old computer.

[tae111]

I have a desktop computer that is getting pretty old. It is running Windows 10. The issue is I like everything on that computer and it has taken years to get it the way I like. I would probably purchase a new computer today if there was an easy way to move everything exactly the way it is from my old computer to the new one. I have Googled this and there seems to be options like using and external drive or using cloud services or purchasing a special USB cable and program. All of those options seem to require tedious time consuming processes and is the main reason I haven't pulled the trigger. If I was a computer maker and wanted to sell more computers I would add an option to hook the two together select clone or copy or something and it's done. You open the new computer and there everything is ready to go. Why don't they or can't they do this?

 

[USAFRet]

Its not the computer manufacturers, but instead how Windows works.


You can usually clone between drives in the same system.
Moving that OS between systems often fails.

 

[tae111]

Since the new computer would also have Windows 10 I would want to move everything else but the operating system. Something like clicking on start the process. When it's finished restart the new computer and everything is there. Same desktop, same files, just like you had it on the old computer. Everything accept the operating system is just programs and files. The last time I did that I had to reload all the programs from the original disks. If I didn't have those I would have to go to the websites and reload the programs then make copies of all the other files I wanted to save on either thumb drives or burned CD's. It took hours.

 

[USAFRet]

Since the new computer would also have Windows 10 I would want to move everything else but the operating system. Something like clicking on start the process. When it's finished restart the new computer and everything is there. Same desktop, same files, just like you had it on the old computer.

And you can't move applications like htat either.

When an application is installed, it makes dozens, sometimes thousands of entries in the Registry and elsewhere.
These can't simply be applied to the new OS.

Some few applications can be moved like that. But nothing complex.

Yes, we'd all like it to not be like that. But it is what it is.

 

[tae111]

And you can't move applications like htat either.

When an application is installed, it makes dozens, sometimes thousands of entries in the Registry and elsewhere.
These can't simply be applied to the new OS.

Some few applications can be moved like that. But nothing complex.

Yes, we'd all like it to not be like that. But it is what it is.

And that's why I wait until the very last minute before I buy a new computer. I bet I'm not alone either.

 

[68malibu383]

You are not alone. It is a huge hassle that takes about a full day or day and a half for me to get one set up with all programs and files working.

 

[USAFRet]

And that's why I wait until the very last minute before I buy a new computer. I bet I'm not alone either.

No, you're not alone.

Yes, a day or two setting it up again is a pain. But in the 3,4,5 year lifespan of a PC...that is less than a tenth of a percent of that time.

But, this is also a chance to get rid of a lot of gunk that you've collected over the years, and start with a clean slate.