PC migration, in plain words.

Moving your files, folders, settings and app data from an old computer to a new one, usually when you replace a laptop or desktop. It covers choosing what to bring, copying it, and checking it arrived.

The general term for moving data from one system to another. For a home user or an office, it usually means the same thing as PC migration: getting everything from the old PC onto the new one.

A program that runs on both computers and handles the move for you: it finds what is on the old PC, lets you pick what to bring, copies it across the network and reports the result. OthTech Switch is PC migration software for Windows 10 and 11.

Any tool that copies files from one device to another. PC migration software is a kind of file transfer software built for a whole-computer move, with a plan, resume after interruptions and a final report.

Copying files straight from one computer to the other over your own network, without a USB drive or a cloud service in between. With OthTech Switch the two PCs pair with a one-time code and files never pass through OthTech's servers.

A short one-time code that links two computers for a transfer. In OthTech Switch the new PC shows eight characters, you type them on the old PC and confirm. No IP addresses or ports to set up.

The two computers must be on the same network. Wi-Fi works, but a network (Ethernet) cable to the same router is usually much faster and steadier for large moves.

Scrambling data while it travels so nobody else on the network can read it. OthTech Switch sends files over an encrypted TLS 1.3 connection between the two PCs.

Checking that a copied file is identical to the original. A fingerprint (a cryptographic hash) is taken when the file is read on the old PC and again after it is written on the new one; the file counts as verified only if the two match.

Stopping a transfer and carrying on later from the same point, for example after a restart or a dropped connection, without copying finished files again.

On Windows, your personal files live under C:\Users\<your name>, in folders such as Documents, Pictures, Videos, Music, Desktop and Downloads. These are the first things a PC migration moves.

Programs are tied to Windows, the registry and their licences, so copying them often fails. Installing them fresh on the new PC is more reliable. OthTech Switch lists the apps on your old PC so you know what to reinstall; it does not copy programs.

A record of what was moved, what was verified, what was skipped and what needs attention. OthTech Switch produces one at the end of every move, as HTML, PDF or CSV.

Microsoft's own migration tool in Windows Vista, 7 and 8.x. It is not included in Windows 10 or Windows 11, which is why people moving to a new Windows 11 PC look for other tools.

A long-established commercial PC migration tool from Laplink Software that also moves many installed programs. OthTech Switch takes a different approach: files and supported app data, moved directly and verified. OthTech is not affiliated with Laplink.

When a company replaces a batch of employee computers. The hard part is moving each person's files without losing anything and without IT reading them.