Using Software to Transfer Files from One PC to Another

Every time you send an email, upload photos, videos or anything else to the Internet, you are using software to transfer a file from one PC to another. Whether files are uploaded in your browser to Facebook, or using File Transfer Protocol (FTP) software such as FileZilla or Cute FTP, you're using software to create a copy of a file on a remote machine. So using software to transfer files isn't as daunting as you might think, even if you want to transfer all of the files, settings and programs on your old machine to a new one.

If you just want to transfer a few important files, you could email them to yourself, but that's a slow process. Also, if you need to access the file on the source computer and make changes after you've sent it, any changes you've made on the destination computer will be lost, unless you merge the files after sending the file again. Using software such as Dropbox, which allows you to share files across multiple computers, mobile devices and on the Internet, and more importantly, keep changes made on different machine synchronized, makes file sharing and management quicker and easier.

File sharing software like Dropbox will only help you share your files, not your programs. So if you want to transfer your programs and settings from an old PC to a new one, you will need to use file migration software. Newer Windows PCs come with an inbuilt Easy Transfer Wizard, which can be accessed by typing "migration" into the search bar on the programs menu. This will walk you through transferring files and settings either using an easy transfer cable, across a network, or using external storage media such as a USB flash drive. Macs similarly have a Migration Assistant. However, while these programs will transfer files and settings and provide a list of programs you may want to install on your new PC, they won't transfer your programs for you.

If you want to transfer everything on your old PC to your new one, programs and all, you will need commercial software such as PC Mover from Laplink. PC Mover works much like the Windows Easy Transfer Wizard or Mac's Migration Assistant. You simply install the software on both source and destination PCs, connect them via cable or wireless, and it will transfer selected files, settings, programs and licences from the old PC to the new one.

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