How to Copy the Start Menu, Task Bar and Bookmarks to a New Computer
Buying a new computer is usually an exciting experience as you anticipate hooking up the machine so you can begin enjoying new features and faster performance. Nevertheless, you probably have custom Windows settings on your old computer that you want to transfer to the new PC, such as your Windows Start menu and profile picture, taskbar settings and Internet Explorer bookmarks. Manually configuring your new machine with the settings from your old computer is time consuming, to say the least. With Windows Easy Transfer, though, you can copy the settings to your new PC in minutes.
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Instructions
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Connect the USB cable to the external hard drive or flash drive and then to a free USB port on your the computer. Wait for Windows to detect the external drive and initialize it for use on the PC.
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Navigate to the Microsoft Download Center. Download and install Windows Easy Transfer for your version of Windows -- if transferring settings from a computer with XP or Vista installed.
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Click the "Start" button, then "All Programs." Click the "Accessories" program folder, "System Tools," then "Windows Easy Transfer."
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Click the "An external hard disk or USB flash drive" option after the Windows Easy Transfer window appears on the screen. Click the "This is my old computer" option. Wait a few minutes for Easy Transfer to scan the user accounts on the computer and create a list of files to transfer to the new computer.
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Review the user accounts listed in the "Choose what to transfer from this computer" window. By default, Easy Transfer selects all user accounts on the machine for the transfer. However, if there are user account settings you do not want to transfer to the new computer, click the check box next to the account name to remove the check mark. Click the "Next" button after you select the user accounts to copy to the new computer.
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Type a password in the "Save your files and settings for transfer" window. Entering a password is optional, but helps to protect the contents of the transfer file and keep others from viewing it. Enter a password or leave the fields blank, then click the "Save" button.
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Click and select the drive letter for the external hard drive or USB flash drive in the "Save Your Easy Transfer File" window.
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Enter a name for the transfer file, then click the "Save" button and wait for Windows Easy Transfer to copy files to the external device. Do not attempt to use your PC while the utility is saving the files for the transfer. If you interrupt the process, the computer may freeze as the program uses many hardware resources in backing up the settings, Windows Registry and other important files.
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Close Windows Easy Transfer after the utility finishes copying files to the external drive. Unplug the external hard drive or USB flash drive from the old computer and connect it to the new computer. Wait for Windows to detect the drive on the new machine.
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Click "Start," then type "Easy Transfer" in the search box and press the "Enter" key. When the Windows Easy Transfer dialog box appears, click the "Next" button.
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Click the "An external hard disk or USB flash drive" option when prompted. On the next screen, click the "This is my new computer" option.
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Click the "Yes" option when asked if Windows Easy Transfer has already saved the setting and configuration files to an external storage device.
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Double-click the drive letter of the external storage device. Select the name of the transfer file you created on the old computer, then click "Open."
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Enter the password for the transfer file if prompted, then click "Continue." Wait for Easy transfer to copy the settings from the old computer to the new PC. Restart the computer when prompted.
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Log in with the username and password you use on the old computer when prompted. Once you login, your Start menu picture, pinned taskbar settings and Internet bookmarks from the old PC are now visible on the new machine.
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Tips & Warnings
Windows Easy Transfer comes pre-installed on Windows 7 computers, so downloading the program on the new computer is not necessary.
