Use a System-Image to migrate DOCUMENTS to a new pc?

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[rick41]

I was Googling like crazy, and all the results lead me to people who want to try using a system image to restore their system to a new pc.

That’s not what I am proposing.  Instead, I want to copy my files — primarily documents and media (which I keep on the C partition) — to a new pc, and thought connecting a system image as a virtual drive, and then copying from that to the user file areas on my new pc, might be an efficient way to do the documents migration.

For one thing, with this method I would have to copy only one large file (the system image) from the usb drive to the new pc’s SSD.  That alone, I’m thinking, would be quicker than copying many thousands of smaller files from the USB drive to the new pc.

Any thoughts on whether this approach makes any sense?

I use R-Drive Image, which has similar capabilities to Macrium Reflect.  Also, as an FYI, regardless of my transfer method I’ll use Beyond Compare for copying because it has an option to preserve creation dates for files (not folders, but that’s of less importance to me).

• This topic was modified 1 month ago by rick41.

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Why not just zip the documents into one file, and copy that to the new PC? You’d have a much smaller file that would be quicker and faster to copy.

Documents (unless they are PDFs or graphic intensive) usually shrink down to an amazingly small file. You should always check your zip though afterwards (just check zip documentation for how to confirm a good zip).

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rick41

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If you have a router and a home network I would transfer thru the LAN using Robocopy and keep your folder tree intact.
If not I would transfer the files using an Ethernet cable connecting the two PCs directly. Gigabit Ethernet network adapters transfer files at a fast rate.

HTH, Dana:))

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rick41

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What are file transfer speeds like over home network (which I would have to set up)?  I have used XXCopy for pc migration in the past, so I suppose Robocopy would be the successor to that?  My newer PC doesn’t have ethernet, so I’d have to get an adapter.

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On my Home network I have following PCs connected.
Windows 10 Home connected by 1 GB Ethernet adapter to router
Windows 10 Home connected by WiFi to router
Windows 7 connected with GBE Ethernet controller and platter drives (slower writes)

Windows 10 Home Ethernet to Window 7 Ethernet Explorer transfer = 11.5 MB/s (~ 1GB/1.5 minutes)
Windows 10 Home Ethernet to Windows 10 WiFi Explorer transfer = 32 MB/s (~ 1GB/31 seconds)
Windows 10 Home Ethernet to Windows 10 WiFi Robocopy transfer = 80 – 100 MB/s (~ 1 GB/10 – 12 seconds)

If the newer PC doesn’t have an Ethernet adapter the WiFi network does pretty fast transfers and even faster with the new WiFi protocols.

HTH, Dana:))

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Cybertooth, rick41

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All very interesting, including how much faster Robocopy is than Explorer.  Thanks for all the detail.

 

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The method you propose is fine. It also means you have a copy of anything else you may want – quite a lot of data is not stored in “Documents”, particularly app data. This is why an image backup should always be your first backup.

cheers, Paul

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rick41

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Paul T wrote:

It also means you have a copy of anything else you may want – quite a lot of data is not stored in “Documents”, particularly app data. This is why an image backup should always be your first backup.

Yes, I did have this in mind as well.  Probably should’ve mentioned it in original post.

 

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johnf wrote:

Why not just zip the documents into one file, and copy that to the new PC? You’d have a much smaller file that would be quicker and faster to copy. Documents (unless they are PDFs or graphic intensive) usually shrink down to an amazingly small file. You should always check your zip though afterwards (just check zip documentation for how to confirm a good zip).

I considered zip.  But I do have a lot of pdfs and media files (pics and video), and the system image is already available.  And, in line with what Paul T mentioned, I sometimes find I have a need for app data that is not stored in the Documents folders.

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rick41 wrote:

thought connecting a system image as a virtual drive

If by this you mean simply mounting (double click) your image file on a external drive, that would by my choice. It will then just show as another drive in “This PC”.

Anything you want to copy will be easy to find. Since you have a lot of files, I’d suggest using the free “FreeFileSync” app. I use for everything even high counts over 150,000 files.

Yes, it will take some time but it’s simple process. Just turn it loose and do something else.

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rick41

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TechTango wrote:

If by this you mean simply mounting (double click) your image file on a external drive, that would by my choice. It will then just show as another drive in “This PC”.

Yes, that’s what I meant.  And thanks for the tip on FreeFileSync.  Beyond Compare, which I mentioned in the OP easily and efficiently handles mass copy tasks, but after looking at FreeFileSync’s website I see some features that could prove very useful.

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TechTango

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Which version or BC do you use?

cheers, Paul

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Paul T wrote:

Which version or BC do you use?

I have the final update of BC 4, namely 4.4.7 (build 28397).

I only use a fraction of its capabilities.  Need to tinker with more of them, and find out if the enhancements in v5 justify an upgrade.   If you are already a user, which version do you have?

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I don’t use it – always survived with Robocopy. I was interested to know if you had Standard or Pro as the cost difference is significant.

cheers, Paul

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