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How to transfer installed programs from old computer to new?

Transfer installed programs between external hard-drives?

  • ive lots of programs installed onto my external hard drive including downloaded programs, cd programs, files etc unfortunately the hard-drive is on its way out, but im getting a new one, so can i just drag programs across or do they all have to be re-installed?

  • Answer:

    Difficult to impossible on a Windows machine You can transfer the application folders just by dragging, but transferring the libraries, DLLs, registry entries and all the other 1000 things the software needs is very difficult. You can try cloning the hard drive with something like Acronis Disk Manager, HD Clone, or tools you can download from Seagate or Western Digital. If you can successfully clone, the most applications should run, although some might insist that you reenter the serial number and re register. Cloning software ---------------------- Acronis TrueImage or DiskDirector http://www.acronis.com/ HDClone http://www.miray.de/products/sat.hdclone.html Your hard drive manufacturer may also offer some software by download Seagate DiskWizard http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/discwizard Cloning Vista: http://www.multibooters.co.uk/cloning.html Cloning XP: http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=418&page=1

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Since they are usually registered in the registry keys you probably will need to install the programs new. Give it a try to use a backup program. That might work.

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