LapLink®

PCmover® Image Assistant™ (US$39.95)

Richard L Grier

Hard & Software

There are a number of products that allow you to “image” a new PC from and older model. What does “image” mean? This means moving all critical components (programs and features) from one PC to another, without overwriting any part of the operating system on the new PC. Thus, you can upgrade your PC hardware and continue to use the programs (with a few caveats that I’ll note later) that you relied on from your old PC.

In the past, such “imaging” assumed, at least in general, that the operating system of both PCs was the same. This restriction is not true with PCmover Image Assistant. If the new PC has an OS that is the same or newer you can make the move. One of the problems that PC Mover attempts to solve, with good success, is the upgrade path from Microsoft Windows XP to Windows 7. No one likes to have to reinstall a lot of working applications and copy their associated data when upgrading – but Microsoft did not make this process simple for most XP users who chose to bypass Windows Vista and now want to use Windows 7. You may use PCmover Image Assistant to restore all or some of the programs, files and settings from that hard drive to a new PC. The User Guide that is furnished with PCmover goes into more detail, but here are the basic steps:

  1. Install PCmover on your new PC.
  2. Connect both old and new PC via a network (you also may use Laplink cables or a removable hard drive with sufficient capacity). I prefer a wired network connection, both for simplicity and speed, though the removable hard drive will be fastest, the mechanics of it use will not be!

There is one very good reason to use a removable hard drive (USB hard drive enclosures may be purchased for $15 to $50, depending on type and features). Suppose your computer crashes (or simply is unreliable), but the hard drive still functions.There is no need to reinstall applications and no need to find old serial numbers (which may be lost to the history of time). The old hard drive must be accessible on the new PC, so verify that files may be read from it before attempting to use PCmover. If there is any chance that the problems that you had with the older PC might be caused by a virus run a full virus scan and virus removal on the drive before starting PCmover.

  1. Make sure that the new PC has all updates installed, along with an up-to-date version of Internet Explorer.
  2. Turn of any scheduled tasks on both old and new PCs. Close all running programs.
  3. Run PC Mover and follow the instructions.

Caveats

Some programs, such as anti-virus and music sharing programs may not install correctly, so they may need to be reinstalled from the original media or download. Also, some programs require hardware drivers for which an update may not be available for the new PC. One example of this situation is for a somewhat popular transcription system used by lawyers that employs both a USB and serial interface and accompanying hardware. Old hardware may not make the transition, even if the software does. You may find that the only option is to upgrade attached hardwar. In such a case, you almost certainly will have to upgrade the application at the same time.

I recommend PCmover Image Assistant.