A number of vendors are producing USB cables that allow you to connect two computers simply through USB ports instead of traditional wireless, Ethernet or other Internet-based connections.

Use Easy Transfer Cable Software That Recognize

Newer operating systems also are packaged with software that recognize the transfer cables and make moving the files easy.

Be sure the operating system is running fine on each computer.

The operating system will recognize the type of cable that has been attached.

They will guide you through the specific details of deciding which data you want to transfer from your old computer to your new computer.

Use Easy Transfer Cable Download And Install

If either computer is running Windows XP, you will have to download and install the Easy Transfer software on that computer.

This allows you to transfer data between the two computers using the Windows Easy Transfer program.

In the past when you wanted to transfer data you had to copy the data via a network, store it onto a DVDCDFloppy and then copy it back onto the new PC, or physically take the hard drive out of the old machine and install it into the new machine.

The main problem using these methods was that you could only move files such as documents, pictures, movies, saved games, etc.

Windows Vista changes all this with a new bundled application called Windows Easy Transfer that can easily migrate data from Windows XP SP2, Windows 2000 SP4, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 operating systems.

It is important to note that though you can transfer data from Windows 2000, you can not transfer settings.

This migration can be done via a myriad of methods including USB flash drives, DVDs, a network, or by using a new product called a Easy Transfer Cable.

What makes this program so powerful and easy to use is that it is wizard driven so you just answer questions, make sure all of your data was properly selected, and then press a button to start the transfer.

For this tutorial, we will focus primarily on migrating our data using the Easy Transfer Cable or via a network.

We chose these two methods as they are the easiest and quickest methods to transfer your data.

Below is a table describing the types of data and settings that can be moved.

You can also add other documents that are in other locations.

In order for this properly to work the program must already be installed on the Vista computer.

The three methods that can be used to install Windows Easy Transfer on the old computer are.

To install the software off of the Windows DVD just insert it into the old computer and when the setup menu appears click on the Transfer files and settings from another computer option.

If we have autorun disabled then open the DVD and double-click on the setup.exe program.

The setup screen is shown below.

If these two options are not available then follow the instructions below in order to create installation media using the Windows Windows Easy Transfer program.

We should select the option labeled No, I need to install it now.

Our options are to use a CD, USB Flash Drive, External Hard Disk or shared network folder, Windows Installation Disc or Windows Easy Transfer DVD.

Figure 2. Create installation media options.

Insert blank media into the writer and select its drive letter in the drop down menu.

Then press the Next button to create the installation software on this media.

Select the driver letter and press the Next button to copy the installations files to the drive.

Under this newly created folder will be a autorun.inf file and another folder called MigWiz.

To start the setup open the MigWiz folder and double-click on the Migsetup.exe file.

An Easy Transfer Cable is a cable that has a USB plug on each end of the cable and gets plugged into both computers.

How To Use Easy Transfer Cable