An eight-step migration checklist: list, back up, sync, copy, reinstall, verify, and only then wipe the old PC.
A new PC should feel like a fresh start, not a scavenger hunt for missing files. Follow these steps in order and you’ll arrive on the new machine with everything you need, and keep a safety net until you’re sure.
1. Make a list before you start
Walk through the old PC and write down what lives on it:
- Documents, Desktop, Pictures, Music and Videos folders
- Email, especially if it’s stored locally rather than in the cloud
- Browser bookmarks and saved passwords
- Apps you use, and where their licence keys or logins are
- Anything saved somewhere unusual, such as a folder on the C: drive or an old accounting app’s data file
This list becomes your checklist at the end.
2. Back up first, always
Before you copy anything, make a full backup of the old PC to an external drive. Follow the 3-2-1 rule if you can: three copies of your data, on two different types of storage, with one copy kept off-site. Migration is a copy, and copies can go wrong. A backup means a mistake costs time, not files.
3. Sign in to your accounts on the new PC
Sign in with the same account you used before. Cloud storage folders, email accounts and many app settings will then sync down on their own. Let this finish before you copy anything manually, so you don’t end up with duplicates.
4. Move the rest of your files
For anything that didn’t sync, copy folders from your backup drive to the matching folders on the new PC. Copy, don’t move: keep the originals in place until you’ve checked everything.
5. Bring your browser along
Signing in to your browser usually syncs bookmarks, history and saved passwords. If you don’t use browser sync, export bookmarks to a file on the old PC and import them on the new one. If your passwords live in a password manager, just install it and sign in.
6. Reinstall your apps
Download fresh copies of your applications rather than trying to copy program folders across, because that rarely works. Use your list from step 1 to find licence keys and logins. Some software needs to be deactivated on the old PC before it will activate on the new one.
7. Check against your list
Open a few files from each folder. Send and receive an email. Open your accounting or line-of-business app and confirm the data is there. Print something. Tick off every item from step 1.
8. Wait, then wipe
Use the new PC for a week or two before you retire the old one. When you’re confident nothing is missing, reset the old PC and remove all data, or have the drive securely wiped, before you sell, recycle or donate it.
Still on Windows 10?
If the old machine is running Windows 10, it stopped getting regular security updates on 14 October 2025. Here’s what that means for you. Not sure whether to replace it at all? Read repair or replace first.
Prefer to hand the whole job over? It’s part of our upgrade service.