Thanks to folks that gave inpyut on moving my files and pics. I used an external hard drive.
Now my question is how to move programs and make them work on the new puter. Example, on MS Word I purchased it (cheapo here) as a download. It serves my needs and would like to transfer it and some other programs without tossing thru my junk looking for CD's.
It surely is not probable. You will need the installation CD/DVD. The problem is that when software is installed quite often files get placed in multiple folders and settings are changed in the registry.
You can find someone with the CD/DVD/Downloaded install file and then download one of the free programs that get you the key from your old computer. Then you can install it on the new one. When moving the programs you don't always get all the files needed like registry files, dll file in the system folders and such. It's not worth the time to do that. Plus there are usually someone around with an old computer with disks that you can borrow or get from them if they don't have that old computer any more or you have a code for that software.
You can stick with free software like OpenOffice that you can download free and works with Office documents.
Dave H M wrote: Example, on MS Word I purchased it (cheapo here) as a download. It serves my needs and would like to transfer it and some other programs without tossing thru my junk looking for CD's.
It surely is possible?
thanx
Yes it surely is possible... I had a couple of paid downloaded programs I needed to put back on my old computer. I contacted the outfit that I downloaded em from & told them what had happened & needed to put them back on the computer. Give em the ID #, they let me redownload em again for free.
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Yes it surely is possible... I had a couple of paid downloaded programs I needed to put back on my old computer. I contacted the outfit that I downloaded em from & told them what had happened & needed to put them back on the computer. Give em the ID #, they let me redownload em again for free.
True, you didn't have to find the CD's again. But you did have to re-install the programs. And with a very few exceptions, programs cannot be transferred and must be reinstalled.
To help the OP understand, programs not only store their files in multiple locations that are unique to each installation, but they add their configuration data to the registry. The registry is a huge database that contains configuration data for all programs, including Windows itself. When the program is installed, it is assigned a new random, unique "class ID" number, and many entries in the registry are listed not by program name but by that ID number. This number is not the same as the license ID mentioned on the previous post. Since only the program needs to reference it's class ID after installation, there is no index that says "program XX = ID 12345". And to further compound matters, various sub-programs (like printer or CD drivers) get their own ID number and are stored in a different location in the database.
To make a long story short, you *could* move the program if you took the time to find EVERY file and EVERY registry entry, copied them to the new computer, and then edited every one to guarantee every ID is still unique. And if any of those referenced drivers, printers, etc by class ID, you would need edit those to reference the appropriate ID's on the new computer. Add to it that there may be tens of thousands of items to reconcile, and you have a very time consuming process with a high probability of errors. And since each installation is unique, there is no automated software for doing so.
I've done it with tiny older(1) programs I needed that are no longer available, but there is no way I would elect to do it if re-installation media was available for download or even for purchase.
Hope that helps.
(1) Very old windows programs (Win 3.1/Win95) did not make extensive use the registry for configuration data and relatively few entries were actually placed there. They also tended to keep program files, configuration files, and data in a few locations (often just one) making them much easier to relocate.
Best Buy says that they can move programs from one computer to another without the installation disk. A friend had them to that and it was successful. I am still a little skeptical.
I have used Seagate Disk Wizard to Mirror my hard drive, making an EXACT copy. If you have a Seagate drive, it is free to use.
I bought a new 500GB drive for my HP laptop. I used the Disk wizard to make a mirror image of my original drive, to my new drive. I removed my original drive and replaced it with my New HD. It booted and works perfectly. My original is also still a bootable drive which I have if needed.
So, YES, it can be done and it is practically painless with Disk Wizard.
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