PCmover migration: in place upgrade

PCmover Professional and Business support all migration scenarios:

Scenario 1: Migrate to a New Machine

• Direct peer-to peer transfer over cable or network
• File-based transfer using storage device

Scenario 2: Upgrade an old Windows PC to Windows 10

• Custom Windows 10 install
• Reformatted Windows 10 install

Scenario 3: Recover directly from a hard drive or VHD

• Physical drive restoration
• Image file restoration (mounted as VHD)

In the second scenario, PCmover supports in-place upgrades where the new operating system is installed on top of an old Windows version. Microsoft does not support in-place upgrades from Windows XP or Vista. It also does not support an upgrade path from a 32-bit machine to 64-bit. It also recommends a complex re-installation of applications, data, and settings. This reinstallation is often too costly for an organization, especially if they must repeat this process many times, because they have a number of PCs that were purchased in the last 4 years but are fast enough to handle Windows 10.

This built-in technology in PCmover, the “Upgrade Assistant” tool, is the only technology to support this type of scenario. After Windows 10 is installed as a custom install (no formatting of the hard drive), PCmover’s Upgrade Assistant function can restore the applications, data, and settings from the old Windows directory and apply them to the new OS environment.

While PCmover can perform in-place upgrades, many customers prefer to “export” all data, settings and applications to a network location or external drive. This allows the PC to be updated with a full image, which includes the preferred settings and new applications of the organization, before the data, settings and applications are imported again. If no image is needed, organizations can use the Upgrade Assistant function of PCmover to preserve data, settings and applications on a new Windows version.

You can watch a video of how an in-place upgrade to Windows 10 works here.

In the next blog post, we will explore the third and final migration scenario PCmover supports.