How to Move Your Data to a New Windows 11 Computer (Without Paying a Technician)

Picture this, you have your new computer sitting in a box. Somewhere on the old one sit years of photos, your documents, the bookmarks you use every day, maybe the grandkids’ pictures, and the thought of shifting it all across feels like a job for an expert. It is not. This is exactly the kind of thing people pay a technician to do for them, and most of the time you simply do not need to.

Moving people’s data onto a fresh machine is something our technicians have done countless times, over the years its become increasingly easier to do yourself. From years of industry experience, we have written this the way we would explain it to a family member, no jargon, no assumptions, one clear method at a time. Pick the one that suits you, take it slowly, and you will have everything on your new PC before you know it.

First, a five-minute plan

A little prep on the old computer, while it still works, saves a lot of head-scratching later. Do these five things first.

Still choosing the new machine itself? Our refurbished laptops and desktop computers for home or office arrive with a clean, genuine Windows operating system already installed and fully updated, so the machine is ready to receive your files the moment it is out of the box. If you are weighing up your options first, the refurbished buying guide is a good place to start.

The four easy ways to move your files

There is no single right answer here, only the method that fits how much you are moving and what you are comfortable with. Here are the four we would actually recommend, easiest first. You only need to use one.

This is the one we recommend first, because it always works and there is very little that can really go wrong. You copy your folders onto an external drive, unplug it, plug it into the new PC, and copy them off. No account, no internet, and no limit beyond the size of the drive. As a bonus, you end up with a spare backup copy of everything.

1. Plug the external drive into the old computer. Open File Explorer (the yellow folder on the taskbar). Your drive appears on the left under This PC with its own letter, for example “USB Drive (E:)”.
2. Open your user folders and copy each important one onto the drive: Documents, Pictures, Desktop, Downloads, Videos and Music. The easy way: click a folder once, press Ctrl and C together to copy, click the drive, then press Ctrl and V together to paste. Repeat for each folder.
3. Wait for each copy to finish. A little progress window shows you how it is going.
4. When everything has copied, right-click the drive in File Explorer and choose Eject before you unplug it. This stops a copy being damaged mid-way.
5. Plug the drive into the new Windows 11 computer, open File Explorer, open the drive, and copy each folder into the matching folder on the new PC (Documents into Documents, Pictures into Pictures, and so on).

Good to know: this moves your files, not your settings, so it is purely about your photos and documents. If you plan to shift a very large single video, a modern drive handles it fine. And always use Eject before pulling the drive out.

OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud storage, already built into Windows 11. You switch on folder backup on the old PC, your files upload to your account, and when you sign in on the new PC they come straight back down. It doubles as an everyday backup and lets you reach your files from a phone too.

1. On the old PC, click the OneDrive cloud icon near the clock, bottom-right. If you cannot see it, click the small upward arrow to show hidden icons. You can also sign up or install it from https://onedrive.live.com/
2. Click the gear icon, then Settings.
3. Go to Sync and backup, then click Manage backup.
4. Switch On the folders you want kept safe: Desktop, Documents and Pictures (and Music and Videos if you like). Click Save changes. A green tick on a folder means it has finished uploading.
5. On the new PC, sign in with the same Microsoft account during setup, or open OneDrive afterwards and sign in. Your folders reappear.

The one catch: a free OneDrive account only gives you 5 GB, and that space is shared with your Outlook email. A big photo collection fills it almost instantly. If that is you, use the USB hard drive in Method 1 instead, or look at a paid plan (100 GB or 1 TB) if you would like the ongoing cloud backup. Uploading a large library also takes time on a slow connection.

Windows 11 has a built-in Windows Backup app that bundles up your folders plus many of your Windows settings, your wallpaper, your taskbar layout, even your saved Wi-Fi networks, so a new PC can rebuild itself to feel familiar during setup. It is a lovely option when your new machine is still on its very first start-up.

1. On the old PC, make sure you are signed into Windows with a Microsoft account (check Settings > Accounts > Your info).
2. Click Start, type Windows Backup, and open the app.
3. Expand each section and switch on what you want kept: Folders (your Desktop, Documents, Pictures and more), Apps (remembers your app shortcuts), and Settings (personalisation, and your Wi-Fi networks and passwords).
4. Click Back up and let it finish.
5. On the new PC, during first-time setup, sign in with the same Microsoft account. Windows spots your backup and offers to restore from it, showing your old PC’s name. Choose it and carry on with setup.

Good to know: this restores your files, your look and feel, and your Wi-Fi passwords, and it brings back your list of apps as shortcuts. It does not move the actual installed programs (you still reinstall those, one tap for Microsoft Store apps), and it does not move your saved website passwords, which come across through your browser instead (more on that below). The file part still uses OneDrive, so the 5 GB free limit applies here too.

If both computers are Windows and sitting near each other, you can shoot files from one to the other wirelessly, with no drive and no cloud in the middle. It is best for documents and batches of photos rather than a huge video library.

1. On both PCs, go to Start > Settings > System > Nearby sharing and choose Everyone nearby.
2. On the old PC, open File Explorer, click the file or folder you want to send, and click Share in the toolbar at the top.
3. In the Share box, click the name of the new PC when it appears.
4. On the new PC, a message pops up. Click Save. Your file lands in the Downloads folder.

Good to know: both PCs need Nearby sharing switched on, and both should be on the same home Wi-Fi for it to be quick. It is perfect for a handful of files, less so for moving everything at once.

Which method is right for you?

Do not forget these four things

Your photos

Photos usually matter most, and any of the methods above will carry them, because they live in your Pictures folder. Two quick reminders: if your photos are on a phone, they may already be safe in Google Photos or iCloud, so you only need to sign in on the new PC to see them. And because a big photo collection blows past the free 5 GB of cloud storage, photos are the main reason we point most people to the USB hard drive.

Your bookmarks and saved passwords (the easiest win of all)

This one feels like magic. If you sign into your web browser, your bookmarks and saved passwords come across on their own. In Google Chrome, click the little profile picture at the top-right and sign in with your Google account on the old PC, then sign in with the same account on the new PC. In Microsoft Edge, go to Settings > Profiles > Sign in and use the same Microsoft account on both. Everything reappears by itself. It is well worth doing this before you retire the old machine.

Your email

If you read your email on a website (Gmail, Outlook.com, Yahoo or your internet provider’s webmail), there is nothing to move at all. Just sign in at the same website on the new PC and it is all there. If you use a mail program on the computer instead, you add your account to it again on the new PC with your email address and password, and recent messages download themselves.

Your programs (and why they do not come across)

Here is the one thing that surprises people, so we will say it plainly, none of the free methods move your installed programs. Office, your photo editor, games, printer software, all of it stays behind. On the new PC you reinstall each program from its website, the Microsoft Store, or its original disc, and sign back in. That is completely normal and nothing has gone wrong. The free methods move your files, which is the part you cannot replace. Programs you can always download again, which is exactly why that “list of programs” from your checklist is so handy.

The biggest issue even with paid solutions, is moving your programs does not always work, it often replicates and even further deteriorates critical issues with corrupt system files, outdated updates, and opens your new system to all of the same problems you were facing on your old machine. Most software is also intended to be installed rather than transferred, and some software licencing may even legally require you to reinstall rather than try to copy or move across programs from one device to another.

Best practise is always to start fresh with the latest, freshly installed programs. This keeps your computer safe from potential security exploits, corrupt files, and more importantly, ensures your system is setup optimally and without the added bloat of unnecessary, unused applications that were left over from years of computing.

Common questions