Transferring Files and Settings

Have you ever bought a new PC, and then spent days and days trying to get your new PC configured the same way your old one was? Have you ever had to manually add all your Internet Explorer favorites and Address Book contacts to a new installation? Have you ever searched all through your old hard disk, hunting for all the document files you created in the past few years that absolutely, positively have to be copied to your new system? Have you ever wished you'd just stuck with the old PC, because you'd spent so much time getting it configured just so?

Microsoft felt your pain.

Windows XP includes a new Files and Settings Transfer Wizard. This wizard lets you pick and choose which files and configuration settings you want to keep when you move to a new machine. It then copies those files, templates, and settings to some form of removable storage (you can burn a CD or use a Zip disk, or beam the files and settings across a network), which you can take with you to your new machine. Then you run the wizard on the new machine, and copy your old files and settings to the new PC.

So, with a minimum of fuss and muss, your new PC will assume all the personalization of your old PC complete with all your personal files.

Not a bad deal, eh?

You can run the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard from within Windows XP, or from the Windows XP installation CD (for those older systems running a different version of Windows). Within Windows XP, you launch the wizard by clicking the Start button and then selecting All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Files and Settings Transfer Wizard.

Copying Your Old Files and Settings

Here's how you copy the files and settings from your old PC.

1.	When the wizard launches, click the Next button.
2.	When the Which Computer Is This? screen appears, check the Old Computer option, then click Next.
3.	When the Select a Transfer Method window appears, select how you want to transfer the files over a home network, on multiple floppy disks, or from some other removable drive (such as a Zip disk). Click Next.
4.	When the What Do You Want to Transfer? screen appears (as shown in Figure 23.4), select whether you want to copy settings, files, or both. Figure 23.4. Use the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard to copy all the important stuff from your old PC to your new PC.
5.	If you want to select specific files and settings to copy, check the Let Me Select a Custom List of Files and Settings option. When you click Next, you'll be able to select specific items to copy.
6.	The wizard now collects everything it needs to copy to the new PC. This takes several minutes.
7.	You'll now be prompted to insert a disk in your disk drive, or connect to the network, or do whatever is necessary to begin the transfer. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the procedure.

Transferring Your Files and Settings to a New PC

Now you have to transfer all those files and settings to your new computer. Launch the Files and Transfer Settings Wizard on your new PC, then follow these steps:

1.	When the wizard launches, click the Next button.
2.	When the Which Computer Is This? screen appears, check the New Computer option, then click Next.
3.	When the Where Are the Files and Settings? screen appears, select how you've stored the files, then click Next.

The wizard now transfers the files and settings to your new computer. If you're asked to insert disks, do so. Otherwise, sit back and wait for the whole thing to finish. When it's done you might have to reboot your computer, but then it will be up-and-running and looking and acting just like you're used to!