Appendix A: Installing or Upgrading to Windows XP

Transferring Your Data Files and Windows Configuration Settings

If you get a new computer that runs Windows XP, you can transfer your data files and some of your configuration settings from your old computer to your new one. You can move the files over a LAN, over a direct cable connection, on floppy disks, or on other removable disks (like Zip or Jaz disks).

If you have Zip, Jaz, or other large-capacity removable disks, you can use the Files And Settings Transfer Wizard to back up your configuration and settings before you upgrade to Windows XP, and then restore them after you upgrade.

You can choose to transfer your Windows settings, your data files (specifying the folders where they are stored, or all files with specific file extensions), or both. The Files And Settings Transfer Wizard can transfer the configuration settings for Windows itself, as well as for Microsoft programs that come with Windows, like Outlook Express and Internet Explorer. The Wizard works with a small number of third-party programs as well.

If you plan to use floppies to transfer your settings, you better have a lot of them! If you want to transfer your files, chances are that you'll have too many files to fit on floppies.

You will need to reinstall your application programs from their installation CDs or floppies. We recommend that if you installed Windows from scratch, you reinstall your programs first. Then run the Files And Settings Transfer Wizard to transfer the program settings (the settings can't be transferred if the programs aren't already installed on the new computer).

If your old and new computers are connected over a network, you can transfer your files and settings from one computer to the other over the network. Make sure that you can access the old computer's hard disk from the new computer over the network.

When you move programs from one computer to another with the Files And Settings Transfer Wizard, you must move them to a drive with the same letter. For example, if your programs are on D: on the old computer, the Wizard moves them to drive D: on the new computer.

To transfer your files or Windows settings, you can start by running the Files And Settings Transfer Wizard from either your new computer or your old one. The Wizard runs under previous versions of Windows as well as Windows XP. There are three ways to run the Wizard:

• Put the Windows XP CD-ROM into the CD drive on your old computer and run the Setup program. It may run automatically, or you may need to choose Start | Run, type d:setup.exe (replacing d with your CD drive letter), and press ENTER. You see the Welcome To Microsoft Windows XP window (shown earlier in Figure A-1). Click Perform Additional Tasks, and then click Transfer Files And Settings.
• In Windows XP, choose Start | All Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Files And Settings Transfer Wizard.
• Run the Wizard on another computer and create a Wizard Disk that contains the Wizard program. Run the Wizard from that floppy disk.

After you start the Wizard, you see the Files And Settings Transfer Wizard window. Click Next to move from screen to screen. Tell the Wizard whether this is the new computer or the old one, how you are going to transfer the files (cable, network, floppies, or other disks), and whether you want to transfer settings, files, or both. If you are transferring via floppies or other disks, the Wizard determines how much data is to be transferred and stores it on floppies or other removable disks, prompting for additional disks as needed.