How to restore from W10 to new W10 laptop?

[Pyrrhus]

How to restore from W10 to new W10 laptop?

Lots of sites and info, but none I have tried seem to work.

Going from W10 (over 7) on old laptop, to W10 supplied with new HP laptop.

Here’s what I have done:
Backed up old laptop with following procedure:
Start menu – Settings – Update &security – Back up – Add a drive – Backup.
Ended up 6 hours later with a “File History” backup of some 13.5 GB – so something is there.

I then went on to create a “restore point” of File History which may of may not be necessary, which seemed to work satisfactorily.

Then went on to try to restore from ext drive to new W10 HP:
- “Restore Files” from taskbar and selected “Restore your files with File History”;
- Saw a list of folders which I’ll never use: Music, etc.
- Selected File History and “restore” button
- It then seemed to start a restore process “from C: to C:” with no mention of the backup ext drive G:
- I cancelled this process
- Then tried to “restore to a different place” (right click Restore button, select Restore, then choose new location), but couldn’t see the G: drive “History Files” option to choose from.

Help! Please!
Before I go nuts ... or bananas.

 

[dilettante]

If you had a retail Windows 7 license then you can transfer it to a new machine, and as far as I know this carries over to Windows 10 after an "upgrade" as well. But that doesn't mean an installed image can just be dumped into different hardware and have any expectation that it'll work.

You'll probably have to begin again using the license key and a new install.

OEM licenses have no transfer rights at all. Once used they can't legally be moved. Time to buy more!

 

[rclarke250]

Not sure I understand what you are trying to do, are you trying to transfer the files and installed applications from one laptop with windows 10 to another laptop with windows 10? So you don't have to reinstall the applications?

 

[linney]

See if this program works for you.


"PCmover: The easiest way to set up a new PC. The ONLY software that automatically transfers files, settings, profiles, and applications to a new PC or upgrades to a new OS, including Windows 10."


PC Mover

http://www.laplink.com/index.php

You could just copy all your data across and install the programs and Apps that you need on the new machine. Things like Favorites, or E-mails, can be imported and exported as required via program settings or preferences.

 

[Pyrrhus]

To rclarke250 (TechnicalUser):

Thanks for your reply. I'm simply replacing one older model HP laptop with one current model HP laptop. I have already loaded all the main applications that I want. I'll download the rest as soon as I get operational. I simply want to move across all my data files, the most important being MS Word and Outlook. Plus, of course, IE Favourites and similar files.

Last time I did it was to Windows 7. I suspect that my problem is that a whole lot of changes came with W10 so that what was once a simple exercise of backup and restore has now been "improved" so that it is no longer so.

 

[Pyrrhus]

To linney (TechnicalUser):

Thanks, Linney. I'll certainly give PC Mover a try. Sounds like a good utility.

But first I'd like to understand why I can't do it using standard MS procedures. I don't like to think that I'm the only person in the Western World who is confounded by MS's "user-friendly" W10!

 

[Pyrrhus]

Also, Linney, you say :

"You could just copy all your data across ..."
That's exactly what I'm trying do!

 

[linney]

You can copy data, you cannot copy programs. Programs and Apps need to be reinstalled.

I would just copy everything in Documents, Pictures, Music, Videos, etc. to a USB and carry that across to the new machine. That way you don't have to worry about networking the two machines.

There use to be a Windows Easy Transfer program but that seems to a have vanished with Windows 7 or 8 and is no longer available.

 

[Beilstwh]

Every machine, even if made by the same manufacture uses different drivers to interface with the hardware. Just moving an exact image of the boot drive from one machine to another will almost always fail. Install the Operating system and move just the data, just like Linney said.

Bill
Lead Application Developer
New York State, USA

 

[strongm]

Just to confirm: you have a full retail version of Windows 7, yes?

 

[rclarke250]

Easy transfer is not available in windows 10, but they provide a free version of pc mover express from laplink. Link

 

[Pyrrhus]

Hi strongm ...

Yes, I have licensed version of W7 on the "old" laptop (the one I have backed up from), overlaid/replaced by the free version of W10 ...

... and on the "new" laptop, the one I am trying to restore those files to, I have fully licensed W10 which came with the HP purchase 2 months ago.

A couple of days ago there was a 2GB "update" bundle dumped on me so the new W10 should be up to date now.

But it wasn't up to date when I was trying the restore. Maybe that's the reason I'm having difficulties, but unlikelyl ...

 

[strongm]

>I suspect that my problem is that a whole lot of changes came with W10 so that what was once a simple exercise of backup and restore has now been "improved"

Sort of ... the old Windows 7 backup program was Windows 8.1.

Fortunately (and you may already be aware of this), Microsoft actually restored the old W7 backup utility in Windows 10, they just don't make it obvious (the W10 Update & Security interface seems to suggest that you can only use it to restore from old W7 backups - but you can actually happily use it to do backups on W10 as well).