A reader wants to know the best way to transfer information between computers.
“How do I transfer my info from my Windows 10 laptop to Windows 11 on a new laptop?”
Great question. If you have your desktop backed up on OneDrive, you can pretty much seamlessly sync it instantly to your new computer. The same is true for any files you have backed up to OneDrive. Just sign onto your OneDrive account from your new PC and sync those files to your laptop.
The cloud is also a great way to transfer files. Copying your documents, pictures, music, and video files to an external drive or USB drive is as simple as dragging and dropping or copying and pasting the whole files. Then plug that external drive into your new computer and copy the items into the appropriate folders.
When it comes to programs, many programs these days are web-based. So, for example, if you subscribe to Microsoft Office or Creative Cloud, or a security program like Norton, just log onto your account from a browser on the new PC and download the apps.
If you receive your email via a web-based client, you don’t need to do anything. Just log on on your new PC and the message will be in your online inbox. If you use an email client and download copies of files onto your PC, you’ll need to export that data and import it into the email client on your new PC. Those instructions vary depending on which email client you’re using.
There are programs that are capable of transferring entire programs between computers, but in most cases that’s just not necessary these days. As long as you still have your product keys, you should be able to redownload any programs and reactivate them.