PCmover supports 2 core migration scenarios:
1. The Standard PC to PC Migration
The easiest way to enjoy the latest Windows release is to buy a new PC loaded with the new OS, and to use PCmover to migrate all of the applications, data, and settings to the new PC using a Laplink Ethernet or USB Transfer cable, a network connection, or external media (e.g., external USB hard drive).
An alternative way is to either create an image on an external hard drive (PCmover provides the necessary functionality to do that) or to take the existing hard drive out of the old PC and to connect the old hard drive (or the image) to the new PC, load PCmover, and all applications, data, and settings will be transferred to the new PC.
2. The In-Place Upgrade: Custom Install without Drive Formatting
All Windows XP, Vista, and 32-bit Windows 7/8/8.1 users who upgrade to Windows 10 will be required to perform a clean (custom) install. The user will likely be able to choose between re-formatting their hard drive and installing Windows 10 without a re-format.
For users who have no external device or do not want to take the extra step, and still want to upgrade their PC to Windows 10 without losing all of their data and settings (without having to re-install all their applications), PCmover offers an easy solution.
Simply install Windows 10 without re-formatting the hard drive (customer install), subsequently install and run PCmover which will automatically restore all the applications, data and settings from the Windows.old directory. This is the only method to perform an in-place upgrade from Windows XP, Vista, and 32-bit Windows 7 to Windows 10 without having to re-install all your applications and without having to back up all your data in advance.
Users might insist on a clean install or need to have a pre-defined image of Windows 10 installed. In this case PCmover (Business Edition only) can run PCmover on the source PC and move all applications, data and settings to external storage. After the PC is reformatted and Windows 10 is installed, the user can then re-install PCmover, which will automatically restore the applications, data, and settings to the PC.
Depending on the size of the installed data, it is recommended to use an external or network hard drive rather than online storage, as bandwidth and speed limitations can throttle performance dramatically.
