I’ve only used a Migration Wizard once, and that was as research for a book. But for my new PC, I actually took the plunge and used a migration wizard. It worked as advertised, but I don’t know whether I’ll use one again.

A Migration Wizard is a program that helps you move files, settings, and personal information from one computer to another. It’s a handy tool for anyone getting a new PC, or Mac. I recommend using one in my books. But it’s not really necessary if you understand computers.

Because I know what I need and what I want from an old computer, I prefer to copy files to the new computer manually. I just connect both old and new systems to the network, then copy over the files I need. I copy only personal files, not programs; programs must be installed on a computer, not copied.

Despite feeling uncomfortable about using the migration wizard, I went forward with it anyway.

The procedure worked surprisingly well, though it involved me crossing the room a few times as the program configured itself.

The migration wizard I used is provided by Lenovo, the PC’s manufacturer. I assume that other manufacturers provide similar tools that work along similar lines: Copy the user’s files, Windows settings, and options from certain programs. And it worked between XP and Vista as well, as my old PC used Windows XP and the new one is on Windows Vista.

When the operation completed, my personal files were copied, even desktop icons and my wallpaper. That was good. And the various settings seemed to make it over okay as well. The entire operation worked rather well. But I probably won’t do it again (unless I have to write about it).