Moving to a New Windows PC —
Transfer Everything

A new computer shouldn't mean losing anything

A lot of households are moving to new PCs right now — Windows 10's security updates run out for good on October 12, 2027, and the new machine is often the sensible fix. Then the box gets opened and the real worry starts: the photos, the tax files, the bookmarks, the saved passwords. How does it all get across — and what if something gets left behind?

Here's the honest news: moving is easier than it's ever been. Windows 11 now has a built-in transfer that moves your files and settings right over your home Wi-Fi during the new PC's first setup — and there are two other good routes if that one doesn't fit. One thing genuinely doesn't transfer: your installed programs. Files move; programs get reinstalled fresh. Know that going in, keep the old computer as your safety net for a few weeks, and this becomes a Saturday project instead of a scary one.

The golden rule: don't wipe the old PC yet

The old computer is your safety net. It stays intact — closet, not trash — until everything is confirmed on the new one. Give it two to four weeks. A forgotten file is a five-minute fix while the old PC exists, and a permanent loss after. Everything else in this guide flows from that one rule.

Your three transfer routes

1. Windows Backup through your Microsoft account. The old PC backs up folders and settings to OneDrive; the new PC signs in with the same account and offers to restore it during setup. Free under 5 GB; about $2/month buys 100 GB if you have lots of photos.
2. PC-to-PC transfer over your home Wi-Fi. The new built-in way. During the new PC's first-time setup, it finds the old computer on your network, you match a code between the two screens, and files and settings flow straight across. Free, no cables, no cloud bill. Old PC can be Windows 10 or 11; you'll need a personal Microsoft account on both.
3. The external drive. Copy Documents, Pictures, Desktop, and Downloads to a $20–$60 drive, plug it into the new PC, copy them off. Works with no internet and leaves you a spare backup of everything — keep that drive in a drawer afterward.

What transfers — and the one thing that doesn't

• Your files, photos, music, and folders: yes, by any route.
• Bookmarks and saved passwords: yes — they ride your browser account, not the file copy. Sign in to Chrome (Google account) or Edge (Microsoft account) on the new PC and they appear.
• Email: almost always yes — Gmail, AOL, Yahoo, and Outlook.com live on the provider's computers, not your PC. Sign in on the new machine and it's all waiting.
• Windows settings and Wi-Fi passwords: mostly, with routes 1 and 2.
• Installed programs: no. Not by any route, not by any tool. Programs get reinstalled fresh from official sources — for most households that's 5–10 programs and about an hour.

Before moving day: three five-minute checks

• Test your Microsoft account password and your email password on the OLD computer. The new PC asks for the first one in its first ten minutes.
• Make sure your browser is signed in and syncing on the old PC — that's what carries bookmarks and passwords across.
• List the programs you actually use (click Start and skim the list), plus any sign-ins they need: Microsoft 365, tax software, Quicken, paid antivirus.

The files people forget

• Tax return data files — in the tax program's own folder under Documents.
• The Downloads folder — years of statements and emailed attachments hide there.
• The Desktop — it's a real folder and it counts.
• Quicken data, scanned documents, and the family recipe file from 2009. Not sure you got everything? Copy your entire Users folder to the external drive — oversized, inelegant, and worth it.

Retiring the old computer safely

After a quiet month with nothing missing, wipe it properly before it leaves the house: Settings → System → Recovery → Reset this PC → Remove everything, and choose the full drive-cleaning option (let it run overnight). Deleting files is not wiping — a resold PC with a merely deleted drive still holds your tax returns. Then donate, recycle, or trade in with a clear conscience. And a word of calm for setup week: nobody legitimate will call about your new computer, and a pop-up with a phone number is a scam every time.

What's in the 27-page PDF

• Why so many households are moving right now — the Windows 10 countdown, minus the panic
• The 60-second version: six checkboxes that are most of the battle
• What moves and what doesn't — the honest table, including why programs get reinstalled
• The 10-minute inventory to do before you touch anything
• Route 1: Windows Backup and OneDrive, with the real storage math
• Route 2: the new PC-to-PC transfer over your home Wi-Fi, step by step
• Route 3: the external drive — old reliable, with drive-size buying advice
• Reinstalling your programs from official sources — and the old-Office trap
• Bookmarks, passwords, email, and photos — each with its own calm page
• The sneaky stuff that gets left behind: tax files, Quicken, the printer, Sticky Notes
• The refrigerator moving checklist, and how to wipe and retire the old PC safely
• New-computer scams, kitchen-table questions, a plain-English glossary, and your fill-in cheat sheet

Why I wrote this

Moving a household to a new computer is one of my most common $99 visits — and most of the fear I meet at the kitchen table comes from not knowing the map: what moves by itself, what needs carrying, and what gets reinstalled fresh. So I wrote the map down. I serve Portage County out of Atwater, I write these guides as printable handouts, and if you'd rather hand the whole move off, the 30-day follow-up exists precisely for the file that turns up missing in week three. — Bill