Orlogix®'s "Transfer MyPC®" "Profile Migrator" User Guide

The only software that moves a users applications, files, and settings
Now updated for Windows 11!

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Orlogix's Transfer MyPC product range is powered by Laplink®

Orlogix's "Transfer MyPC" is an automated Windows OS user-environment migration tool capable of transferring installed applications, user profiles, files and settings to a user's new physical or virtual personal computer.

Transferring a Windows PC or Notebook across any TCP/IP LAN, Laplink Transfer Cables, any standard Ethernet crossover cable, or using file storage media such as optical discs, USB drives or file servers can be as simple as a single click. Computers with multiple users have the option to transfer some or all the users at once, with security information about file ownership and access control preserved for each user.

Note: This user guide provides instructions on using the Transfer MyPC Profile Migrator Client to perform a transfer.

By using policy files with Transfer MyPC Enterprise Edition, you can completely customize the transfer experience by choosing which screens (if any) you want shown during the transfer and configuring other settings.

Before running the "User Client" application, a suitable policy file should be configured and saved. Policy files can be configured and saved using the included "Policy Manager" graphical interface. Policy files are encrypted XML files and cannot be created manually.

Glossary

"Old PC"/Source PC: The source PC is the "old" user environment that contains the applications, files, and settings that you wish to move to the destination, or "new" PC. The source can be a physical desktop or notebook, a virtual PC, a drive image or a bare physical hard drive.
"New PC"/Destination PC: The "new" PC is the user environment to which the applications, files, and settings are moved. Only transfer to physical or virtual PCs is supported. You cannot migrate to a drive image or a bare physical hard drive.
Transfer: The process of copying all the selected applications, files, and settings from the "Old PC" to the "New PC". Note that this process is very careful to not over-write any existing data on the "New PC" or equally to delete any data on the "Old PC".
Serial Number: This is the developers term for the code they provide after purchase of one or more licences. A single serial number can indicate any number of usable license activations from zero to many 1000's. You will be required to input the serial number at some point to activate the purchased license and be permitted to use the product. Another commonly used term for this is "license code". Note that the "serial number" is in no way related to any hardware you purchase. You will not see it on a label stuck to your hardware by an OEM such as Dell.
Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) User: Domain user profile in Microsoft's Azure AD cloud-based domain.
Local Active Directory (Local AD) User: Domain user profile in an on-premise, physical server-based domain..
Local (Non-Domain) User: User profile set up on one PC not connected to any domain.
Old/Source User Profile: A user with files, settings, and/or applications that you wish to transfer to the target, or "new" user profile.
New/Target User Profile: user to which the files, settings, and/or applications are transferred.

Profile Migration Scenarios

Local AD or local user to Azure AD on the SAME PC: The PC must be on Windows 10 Creators Update or later, with user joined to Azure AD. Then use Transfer MyPC Profile Migrator to transfer to the Azure AD user.
Local AD or local non-domain user to another AD or non-domain user on the SAME PC: If transferring to an AD, join user to target AD. Then use Transfer MyPC Profile Migrator to transfer to the target user.
User on an old PC to a user on a DIFFERENT new PC: If the source user and target user are on different PCs, whether Azure AD, local AD, or non-domain users; Transfer MyPC Professional or Transfer MyPC Enterprise must be used for the transfer. Information about Transfer MyPC editions.

License

License: A license is legal permission to use the product under certain circumstances. A license is "activated" to use the product and is thus consumed and cannot be used with a different pair of "Old" and "New" PCs.

Checklist, pre-install

System requirements

CPU

Same as required by installed Windows OS.

RAM

Same as required by installed Windows OS.

Available hard-drive space

300 MB.

Microsoft OS

Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/Vista SP2. Both 32 and 64 editions are supported. Transfer from 64 to 32 bit is not supported.

Note: Operating system for transfers to Azure AD user profiles: Windows 10 Creators Update or later (Windows 10 version 1703).

If you are on Windows 8 or below and want to set up and transfer to an Azure AD user, first upgrade the PC to at least Windows 10 Creators Update or later (Windows 10 version 1703). Then, join the user to Azure AD and transfer to the new user using Transfer MyPC Profile Migrator.

PC setup

Windows Updates: Windows Updates must be applied to the PC. To open Windows Update in Windows 10, from Windows Search ("Search the Web and Windows"), type "Update" and Enter. Click Check for Update. You may also Click Here to check for updates on this PC.
Running Applications: Exit all applications that are running on the computer.
Network Domain PCs: Corporate PCs on a network domain should be connected and logged into the domain at least once prior to the transfer.
Join AD user to the new Active Directory: For transferring to an Azure AD or local AD, join the user to the New Active Directory, if not already completed. See next section for specific steps for completing this.

Joining a User to a New Active Directory

Disconnect user from the Active Directory
1. On Windows 11/10, click the Start button, and then Type "Account" and press Enter.
2. On the left, click Access work or school. You will see the name of the local AD. Click this name, and click Disconnect. Click Yes to confirm disconnect, and again click Disconnect
3. Enter the credentials for a local administrator account, which can be a Microsoft account or a local account. Click OK.
  Note: If you don"t have a local administrator account, you will need to create one before disconnecting from the old Active Directory.
4. Click Restart Now when prompted. After restart, sign in with the same local account
Join User to the New Active Directory
1. To join user to a New Local AD
  1. Click the Start button, then Type "Account" and press Enter.
  2. On the left, click Access work or school, and click the plus symbol. In the second dialog box, click Join this device to a Local Active Directory domain, enter the Domain name, followed by your Sign-in credentials and click Join to confirm. Click Done when complete.
  3. Restart your PC when prompted.
2. To join user to an Azure AD
  1. Click the Start button, then Type "Account" and press Enter.
  2. On the left, click Access work or school, and click the plus symbol. In the second dialog box, click Join this device to Azure Active Directory, enter your Azure AD credentials and click Join to confirm. Click Done when complete.
  3. Click the Start button and sign out of the local user account.
  Note: Your user account must have permissions set allowing you to join an Active Directory. Contact your System Administrator if you see any errors logging in.
Sign-in with the New Active Directory User Profile
1. For a Local AD: At the sign-in page, click Other User. Enter the user name and password for the account you just joined to the Local AD.
2. For an Azure AD: At the sign-in page, click Other User. Enter e-mail address and password for account you just joined to the Azure AD.
  Azure AD utilizes two-factor authentication and requires a PIN. Click Set Up PIN. Your mobile device will be sent a text message with a verification code. Enter this code. Click OK when setup is confirmed.
  
  Note: If you don"t have a mobile device number set up in your account, you will be prompted to set this up. Contact your System Administrator if needed.

Install Profile Migrator

To install Transfer MyPC from a downloaded file

Double-click on the Transfer MyPC EXE file in the folder where the file was saved. Follow the onscreen prompts.
You may see the User Account Control dialog. If so, click Yes to allow "Setup Launcher" to run, which will start the Transfer MyPC installation.

Note: If you see a Windows Security Alert (User Account Control dialog), select "Unblock" or "Yes" to proceed with running Transfer MyPC. The Security Alert is a standard Windows message that appears when starting most programs on your PC.

Set Up Profile Transfer

Welcome to Transfer MyPC Profile Migrator
If Transfer MyPC is not already running, start Transfer MyPC. Click Next

Note: If the Next button stays grey and you see an error, please use this support solution.
Select User Profiles

Transfer MyPC will analyze the PC, and then display the source and target user profiles available for transfer.
- Map Users: Select at least one source user profile and target user profile pair for the transfer, and click Map. You may map multiple sets of users if desired. Note: The source and target users for each pair must be unique. Transfer MyPC will not transfer multiple source users to the same target user in the same transfer attempt.
- Customize Option: To make selections about the data that is transferred, including user-specific applications, files, and settings, click Customize and go to Transfer Summary. To transfer all data from the source user(s) to the target user(s) without making selections, click Done. Skip Transfer Summary and go to Enter Serial Number.
Note: If the transfer is not customized, Transfer MyPC will by default, copy all data from the source user profile to the target, leaving the source unchanged. However, if Transfer MyPC detects that your PC has less than 10 GB of available hard disk space, Transfer MyPC will perform a "move", putting all selected data on the target profile and deleting the source data.

Transfer Summary

You can now use the Transfer Summary screen to customize the transfer.

Select an item you wish to customize. Once finished with an item, you will return to this screen.

Click Next when finished customizing the transfer and continue to Enter Serial Number.

Note: Any applications, files, or settings that already exist on the target do not need to be transferred.

Enter Serial Number

Enter a name, email address, and Transfer MyPC serial number, and click Next. Orlogix recommends using the name and email associated with the order to simplify possible later queries but any relevant name and email is acceptable.

Note that, despite what the screen says, the serial number is not actually validated and consumed at this stage. No internet connection is required.

If you enter incorrect details, the validation will fail at a later point and this form will be displayed again allowing you to enter correct details and thus proceed with the transfer.

The serial number you enter now will be used automatically in the following steps.

During the Transferring step, in the moment before actually starting the data transfer, the application will connect to the developer Laplink's validation server on the internet and attempt to validate that the serial number is valid and has at least one unused license remaining. If successful, Transfer MyPC will permanently attach it to the OS and thus consume a single license.

Consume License and Transferring

Before the actual transferring of data begins, Transfer MyPC checks the serial number entered earlier to verify it is valid and if so to register it permanently with the current PC OS and consume a single license attached to that serial number. You must be connected to the Internet, even briefly, at the start of the transfer for this process to succeed.

Serial number invalid

If the validation attempt fails due to the serial number being invalid the Validate Serial Number form will be displayed again for you to enter the correct data.

Failure to connect to validation server

If a connection cannot be made with the validation server for any reason you will see a pop-up window with more information.
screen-capture of

You must now use the offline serial number validation process to proceed with the Transfer.

Transfer MyPC is now transferring from the source to the target user.

Transfer Complete

Congratulations! You have successfully transferred between user profiles.

You will need to restart your PC for all of the settings to take effect. Click Finish to restart automatically.

Technical Support

Enterprise Support

Unlimited free email support from enterprise.support@orlogix.com

Email support is only availble in English.

Consumer and Business Support

Unlimited free email support from support@orlogix.com

Unlimited free phone support from

European Freephone : 00800 3883 2000
ROI number : +353 61 226 935

Times of Operation
Monday - Friday
(Republic of Ireland public holidays excepted)
Please note that we are also closed on Dec 24th
08:00 - 13:00 open
13:00 - 14:00 closed
14:00 - 16:00 open
14:00 - 15:00 open(Fridays only)
Republic of Ireland Time Zones used
During "Irish Winter Time"
from last Sunday in Oct to last Sunday in Mar
WET/GMT (UTC+0)
and
During "Irish Standard Time"
WEST/BST/IST (UTC+1)

Email and Telephone support is available in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish.

Customer Feedback

We welcome all feedback to john@orlogix.com

FAQs

Is Laplink PCmover Profile Migrator v11 really free? What's the catch?: Laplink have decide to offer the application free until March 31, 2022. See ppm.laplink.com for the latest details.
Profile Migrator only works on a single device? What if I need to move from one PC to another?: That is correct. Profile Migrator is engineered to migrate applications, data, and settings between users on the same device. In order to migrate to another PC, please consider Transfer MyPC Pro or Enterprise.
Will Profile Migrator delete the old user profile?: Laplink plan to add functionality to optionally delete the old user profile in future updates. Note that in cases where there is less than 10GB available, Profile Migrator will perform a "move", putting all selected data on the target profile and deleting the source data.
What is best practice for rolling out Profile Migrator at scale?: Utilize our commandline options to install silently and then automatically launch Profile Migrator in minimal UI mode.
What do I need to do to the PC prior to the transfer?: Make sure laptops are plugged into a power outlet and that screen savers, hibernation protocols, and power-saving options should be turned OFF (i.e. All power management options in the Control Panel should be set to "Never" so they are completely disabled). The PC needs to remain on and completely "awake" during the transfer and must not go into screensaver or sleep/hibernation mode.
How long will this take?: Migrating on the same device can be very fast! This depends on several factors: the size of the user profile(s) you are transferring, the level of fragmentation, the number and size of applications and other files and folders you are transferring, and other factors.
Is it possible to install Profile Migrator Silently?: Yes! You can find all necessary commandline options here.
Is internet access required to run Profile Migrator ?: Internet access is required to auto-activate Profile Migrator. If you cannot fulfill this requirement please read Registration / Activation Failure, No Internet Access or contact support.

Support Solutions

Welcome Screen, Unable to Advance

If the Next button stays gray and you see an error, please follow these steps:

Close the "Transfer MyPC" application.
Open Windows Task Manager: Press the "Windows Key + X" and then press "T".
In Task Manager, expand your view if needed, and click the Services tab.
Locate "Transfer MyPCService" or "PCmoverService" in the list, right-click on it and click Restart.
Close Task Manager.
Start the "Transfer MyPC" application.

Undoing a Transfer

Transfer MyPC Enterprise Edition allows you to restore the "New PC" to its original state before the transfer. If you wish to undo the transfer, please start Transfer MyPC Enterprise Edition on the "New PC" and follow the screens.

Welcome to Transfer MyPC Enterprise Edition. Click Undo Transfer and click Next.
Undo. Follow the wizard screens to finish the Undo process.

Commandline parameters

Silent install

pcmoverpm_en.exe /s /v" /qn"

Silent install and launch

pcmoverpm_en.exe /s /v" /qn LL_PCM_LAUNCH=1"

Silent install and launch with minimal interaction

pcmoverpm_en.exe /s /v" /qn LL_PCM_MINUI=

Registration / Activation Failure, No Internet Access

You must be connected to the Internet for Transfer MyPC Enterprise Edition to validate the serial number and start the transfer.

Failure to connect to validation server

If a connection cannot be made with the validation server for any reason you will see a pop-up window with more information. screen-capture of 'registration_failure' pop-up screen in Transfer MyPC Enterprise application

Click OK and you will be shown the Validate Serial Number form.
Click the "Validate Using Another PC or Device" text link.
A screen will appear with the Old Machine (PC) Name and New Machine Name, along with a Session Code.
You will need the Machine Names and Session Code, along with the Transfer MyPC Enterprise Edition Serial Number, in order to obtain the Validation Code, which will be used in place of the serial number to activate the product.
On another device with Internet access, such as a phone or tablet, go to: www.laplink.com/validate
Follow the instructions on the page to enter the required information and obtain the "Validation Code".
Then, enter the "Validation Code" in the "Validate Using Another PC or Device" screen and click OK.
The serial number is validated and the transfer will now begin.

Appendices

Let me Choose(aka Transfer Summary)

screen-capture of 'Transfer Summary' screen in Transfer MyPC Enterprise application

Select an item you wish to customize. Once finished with an item, you will return to this screen. Click Next when finished customizing the transfer.

Applications: All applications that can be transferred are selected by default. If desired, you may deselect specific applications that you don't want transferred to the "New PC". See Applications for further instructions.
Documents / Pictures / Videos / Music / Other Files: On each screen, all folders with files in each category are selected by default. Deselect any folders you don"t want transferred. See Documents / Pictures / Videos / Music / Other Files for further instructions.
User Accounts: You may review and edit the settings for how user accounts will be transferred. See Users for further instructions.
Advanced: You may review and edit settings for how drives and certain file types are transferred. Other custom changes can also be made to the transfer settings if needed (advanced users only). See Advanced for further instructions.

Applications

List of Applications: On this screen is a list of the applications on the old computer. All applications that are likely to transfer successfully are selected by default to transfer to the "New PC". You may deselect any applications that you do not wish to have transferred. Click Done when finished. Any applications not selected by Transfer MyPC Enterprise Edition are not likely to transfer successfully and should not be selected. See list below for applications and programs you should not transfer.

Do not transfer:

Applications incompatible with the operating system on the "New PC". Occasionally this may occur when transferring from an older operating system to a newer operating system, or when transferring from a 32-bit OS to a 64-bit OS.
Applications already installed on the "New PC".
Applications with a trial version installed on one PC and the full version on the other PC. IMPORTANT: Trial versions of applications should always be uninstalled from the "New PC" before transferring a full version of the application from the "Old PC".
System tools, such as virus scanners, spyware detectors, firewall software, and desktop search utilities, which are unlikely to transfer correctly.

Documents / Pictures / Videos / Music / Other Files

screen-capture of 'Documents' screen in Transfer MyPC Enterprise application

For each file type, Transfer MyPC Enterprise Edition allows you to deselect and exclude specific folders from the transfer. If, for instance, you do not want to transfer specific folders containing Documents, you can deselect those folders on the Documents screen, and they will not transfer to the "New PC". You cannot exclude specific files, but you can exclude specific folders.

All folders that remain selected on each screen will transfer to the "New PC".

Click Done on each screen when you have finished deselecting folders.

Note: To change the transfer destination for a folder, select the folder that you want to transfer to a different location. On the right side of the screen, the "Path" text field will show the location of the folder on the "Old PC", and the "Target" will show the current default transfer destination on the "New PC". Enter a new transfer destination in the "Target" text field as needed. Leave the "Path" text field as is.

User Accounts

The settings and associated files for the users on the "Old PC" will be transferred to the user accounts on the "New PC" as shown in the list. If you have already established settings for the users on the "New PC" prior to the transfer, these settings will remain the same and will not be overwritten by the transfer. The user names and passwords for the users on the "New PC" will also remain the same.

To transfer all users to the "New PC" as listed, click Done.

To modify how a user is transferred to the "New PC", select the user in the list and click Edit. In the dialog box that appears, you may choose to transfer to a different user on the "New PC", or you may create a new user on the "New PC". You may also choose to not transfer the user at all. Click OK when finished, and then click Done.

Advanced

Drives: If the "Old PC" contains more disk drives than the "New PC", Transfer MyPC Enterprise Edition will create a folder for each drive that does not exist on the "New PC".

To modify how a drive is transferred to the "New PC", click Change. In the dialog box that appears, you may modify the drive and/or default folder to which the drive from the "Old PC" is transferred. You may also choose to not transfer the drive from the "Old PC". Click OK when finished, and then click Done.

File Filtering: To exclude certain file types from the transfer, click File Filters.

Some file types are already set up for you in this screen, such as temporary files (.tmp). These files are generally small, but if you have a large number, they can take up quite a bit of hard drive space. To exclude any of these file types, select the check box(es).

To exclude other file types not shown on this screen, click Add and type the file type extension(s) of the file(s) you wish to exclude. For instance, if you want to exclude all files in .jpg format, this is where you list "*.jpg". Click Done when finished listing file types.

Preferences and Settings: Other custom changes can be made to the transfer settings if needed. Only advanced users should modify selections in this section.

Click Done when finished making changes on the Advanced screen.