PC Upgrade

Billy McCombs · Post by **Billy McCombs** » 3 Mar 2011 9:20 pm

I'm getting ready to switch to a new HP desk top Windows 7. My old PCs a HP Windows XP I have Norton Backup. My question is, Will BIAB, Real Band, Reaper,My MP3 down loads, will they be backed up? Thanks

Mitch Drumm · Post by **Mitch Drumm** » 3 Mar 2011 10:50 pm

I know very little about this specific product, but backup products generally fall in 2 categories:

1: File by file backup programs
2: Imaging programs

As far as I know, Norton's imaging program is called Ghost. I think Norton Backup is a file by file backup product.

Even if it were an imaging product, you don't want to restore an image of XP onto a new machine that has Windows 7.

In your case that would mean that you will have to reinstall all of your programs on the Windows 7 machine.

Norton Backup may in fact copy all of your installed programs, but you could not then simply copy them back to the new PC and have them work.

Norton Backup is likely intended to backup your personal data: email, pictures, Word files, Excel files, videos, mp3s, and even the uninstalled versions of any programs you may have on your hard drive. It should be configurable to backup whatever folders you specify and then restore them to the destination you specify. Of course, you could do that manually with the mouse as well.

But plan on manually re-installing your programs.

Windows 7 has its own built in backup program that does both imaging and file by file backup, but it is temperamental and not very flexible.

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 3 Mar 2011 11:56 pm

You can migrate all of your installed programs and settings from your XP computer to your Windows 7 computer, using Laplink's PCMover. You purchase a license per use. The program gets installed on both computers, which you connect together by a cable, or network router. The XP program runs first to create an image of the installed programs (not Windows and not drivers) and compresses them, then sends them upon request to the Windows 7 PC. There, the programs are distributed to their corresponding locations, ready to run.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 4 Mar 2011 3:01 am

Windows 7 includes the free "Easy Transfer" program, there is no need to buy third party software to do this. You will need a special "crossover" (easy transfer) USB cable but that's all.

However, as was previously noted, you can migrate SOME items such as user data over using Easy Transfer but Programs will have to be reinstalled, you can't copy programs over. Windows 7 does not come with an E-Mail program as older Windows OS' did (and the Outlook Express is dead - the free Windows Live Mail is the Microsoft e-mail program but it must be downloaded).

The Norton program is basically usesless when transferring to a new PC.

I you have a LAN setup at home with a Router, you can connect both PC's, allow "sharing" (access) to the old Windows XP and just copy over what you want via the sharing method. This does not involve any costs since you already have all the hardware.

Another way is to take the hard drive from the old PC and temporarily connect it to the PC and just copy over what user items you want to keep. However as new PC's use SATA connections and the old XP machine may be PATA and if it is the drive connections are different and in this case you could buy a USB enclosure for the hard drive and then connect it that way (may be cheaper than the special USB cable).

Billy McCombs · Post by **Billy McCombs** » 4 Mar 2011 7:15 am

Thanks Guys I think I will hire a PC Tech. this my be over my head.

Billy McCombs · Post by **Billy McCombs** » 5 Mar 2011 4:37 pm

Went to Best Buy and one of the Geeks there sold me on a Seagate External Drive that down loaded all my pictures and files and will back up my PC.Im no PC tech by no means but it worked. $80.00