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General => Technical Help => Topic started by: suey on Wednesday 26 July 23 09:27 BST (UK)
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I am about to collect a new laptop..Windows 11. My old machine is Windows 7.
My questions are - do I ask the fix it man to transfer everything from one machine to the other ? I do have a lot of ‘stuff’ that could be junked.
Do I have everything put onto an external hard-drive and attempt do it myself…not terribly tech savvy, but have used this method before for moving documents and photos.
Apart from my family history program it is only used for documents and photos.
I’m a bit concerned. Everything important is backed-up on external hard drive and tribalpages. I’ve used Paf5 for years but have heard that it doesn’t work with W11…..
Or do I simply start anew….?
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I got a new computer early this year and got rid of a lot of dross beforehand. Everything was transferred over and there was a file named "Files from old computer". There were some broken files that were not supported by windows 11. You may want to check things out with the assistant at the shop where you intend to buy from first before you buy. That's what I did.
Carol
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PAF works with Win 11 but you may need to upgrade to 5.2 to be certain.
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I got a new computer early this year and got rid of a lot of dross beforehand. Everything was transferred over and there was a file named "Files from old computer". There were some broken files that were not supported by windows 11. You may want to check things out with the assistant at the shop where you intend to buy from first before you buy. That's what I did.
Carol
Thank you, I think I’m really only concerned about my word documents. I will ask though. My old laptop is still working fingers crossed 🤞 and I do have hard copies.
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PAF works with Win 11 but you may need to upgrade to 5.2 to be certain.
Thank you, can I do that afterwards or should I do it before ?
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Re word documents.
Most new Win 11 laptops/PCs come with Microsoft 365 loaded, you will need to pay for a yearly subscription to use 365 though. Or you can search for Microsoft office downloads if you prefer a one off fee (my preference).
Alternatively there are other free apps which open word documents.
So long as they are backed up, your documents are safe until you are ready to make your choice on application.
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Re word documents.
Most new Win 11 laptops/PCs come with Microsoft 365 loaded, you will need to pay for a yearly subscription to use 365 though. Or you can search for Microsoft office downloads if you prefer a one off fee (my preference).
Alternatively there are other free apps which open word documents.
So long as they are backed up, your documents are safe until you are ready to make your choice on application.
Many thanks for reply, I have purchased office, was offered the subscription option but declined as it would have been more costly in the long run.
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FREE Libroffice offers all the programs which comprise Office 365 and opens Word Documents and offers to save them in Libreoffice format or keep them as Word docs.
Just make sure you Download the App from LIBREOFFICE to avoid getting a 3rd party installer adding unwanted extras.
cheers, Ian
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Thanks for reply’s everyone, much appreciated :)
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Don't forget that you will STILL have your old machine after the new one makes its appearance.
That means that should anything not make the transfer first time round, you can examine the old box and decide what to do on an individual basis, without worrying too much about timescales.
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Don't forget that you will STILL have your old machine after the new one makes its appearance.
That means that should anything not make the transfer first time round, you can examine the old box and decide what to do on an individual basis, without worrying too much about timescales.
I have had everything from the old laptop put onto an external hard-drive. I took a look and decided that eleven years worth of ‘stuff’ just wasn’t worth sorting through and deleting the dross and duplicate files. Soooo, I’m on holiday just now but have decided to start fresh when I get home.
Can’t believe my old lap-top was 11 years old, I found the original receipt for it !
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If you do not have a USB powered portable Hard Drive then I suggest that you buy one.
Plug it into your old Laptop and using Windows Explorer drag and drop the My Documents folder from your old Laptop to the portable Hard Drive.
Repeat for any other folders that you have stored on the Laptop that are not in the My Documents folder.
Reverse the procedure with your new Laptop.
It is always great computer management to have at least two and ideally three copies of all documents with each being stored on separate Hard Drives.
I use Western Digital Elements 2Tb Hard Drives that currently cost c£65, but other makes are fine. I prefer these because they are powered via the USB socket other can require their own power supply.
Finally, on my PC I regularly make an exact copy of the content on the My Documents folder on to my USB Hard Drives using a free program called Free File Sync, it is very easy to use