

We are fans of Ninite, which is great at taking the chore out of reinstalling some of the most popular apps like VLC Player, Chrome, and iTunes. You are better off downloading newer versions when you set up your new computer. Migrating and Reinstalling Apps and Programsįor programs freely available on the internet, there’s no need to migrate the old setup files. If you don’t have the original discs, backing up the Driver Store is your next best option. Ideally, you should locate all the OEM installation discs and pass them on to the new owner. One more thing: Some PCs come with recovery discs made specifically for that hardware model. This could also be handy for reinstalling drivers for peripherals you are keeping, such as your printer, scanner, or even components like a discrete video card. You can burn it to a blank DVD, which can be later used to reinstall drivers for all components. If you have the original installation media and it still works, great! If you can’t find the discs, try creating a backup of the Driver Store in Windows 10 navigate to C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore, then make a backup copy of the FileRepository folder. If there are any third-party applications and utilities you are currently using on the old machine installed from discs or downloaded setup files, you should back them up. Back-Up and Migrate Drivers to a New Windows 10 Computer For larger files such as images, video, and audio, the built-in File History setting can backup all your data to an external hard disk, which you can then restore on the new computer. When it comes to backing up larger sets of data, OneDrive might not be your best option. Log in to OneDrive on your old PC, sync the files you want to keep, and then log in to OneDrive on your new PC.

It’s ideal for moving small files like Office documents. Microsoft’s OneDrive is an easy way to move your files, especially if you’re already using it. If you are planning to buy a new PC, then give away your old one the biggest chore you need to prepare for is migrating your personal files to the new device. Back-Up and Migrate Personal Files from an Old PC Lastly, you want to make sure that the next owner has everything they need to use your old PC and make it their own. You can take steps to sanitize your drive and prevent this from happening, but they take a little longer. Even if you delete something, a user with intermediate hacker skills can easily undelete files or scrub an old hard drive for residual data. Second, you want to ensure that none of your personal data is recoverable by the next owner. First and foremost, you want to make sure you don’t lose any of your personal files or any licensed software you’ve paid for. There are three main concerns when you are giving away or selling an old PC after buying a new PC. Prepare Your Computer to be Resold or Given Away
