Customer Reviews

Laplink PC Mover Moving Kit

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(55)

 

 

We recently had to upgrade the main computer used by our family, and I was dreading it. We have several user accounts, with hundreds of gigs of data and more applications installed than I can count (many of which were installed so long ago that I'm not even sure that we still have the media.)

Besides that, the new computer came with Vista, so we we were doing an upgrade from XP at the same time (note: if you're using Vista make sure to get the newly-released version of PCmover so that it supports it.)

I was completely impressed by the way that this utility handled the transfer. It was simple to use, and went without a hitch. There were only handful of programs that needed minor tweaking afterwards because either their licensing or their configurations depended on the specific system - all of these were ironed out quickly and everything is running beautifully.

A recommendation... I would recommend "grooming" the old computer a bit before the move: 1) uninstall any applications and remove any data that you don't want moved, since you can't pick and chose during the move. 2) If you're moving to a new OS, upgrade your applications on the old computer to the latest version beforehand. It's easier to handle this separately from any cleanup you may need after the move.

I bought LapLink PCmover to transfer all the user files and applications from my old PC to my new one. The old PC had many, many applications and the new PC was brand-new. Both run Windows XP.

I think that PCmover did a great job with this task. It saved me hours and hours of time. It's important to understand that the pricing is service-based, not product-based. You don't buy the software for unlimited use. You purchase it on a per-transfer basis. Even at the list price of $50/transfer, I thought it was worthwhile as it transferred everything and saved me lots of time. If you have to do multiple transfers, you can get them cheaper in volume.

I was a bit wary because of some of the negative reviews. But, I found that the product worked very well. I strongly recommend that you read the instructions and follow the on-screen prompts. Moving files between PCs is pretty straight forward. But, moving applications is very tricky. Some applications are tied to your hardware. They may work on your old PC and not your new one. PCmover tries to figure out what these are, but I would recommend that you go through each application to be transferred to make sure that it only transfers the ones you want and doesn't transfer anything machine-specific.

Contrary to some of the reviews I've read, I found that PCmover gave me total control over which files and applications were moved. The recommendations it made were very good, but I did tweak a few things. Also, the transfer worked very well. I had minimal problems on the two transfers I have done now. On one transfer, I had to reinstall the software for my game controllers before they would work. On the other, there was a problem with a driver for my PDA. It's possible that I deselected this from the transfer in reviewing everything. In both cases, it didn't take me long to troubleshoot this and get the software reinstalled.

The good news is that everything else worked. That includes all my little system utilities, Microsoft Office (I had to re-authorize the apps, but they were installed correctly), iTunes (I had to authorize my new PC), and most of my browser settings. The cookies for my various web site logins didn't seem to get transferred, so I had to re-login to a bunch of web site. Not a big inconvenience, and something I would have to do with a new PC anyway. I estimate that PCmover saved me more than one full day of work for each transfer, well worth the price.

I did the transfer over a network. Be prepared for this to take a long time. My biggest transfer was 76GB of data (including a lot of music and email). This took almost 10 hours. But, it worked flawlessly and didn't require any attention once I set it up and started it.

My only other problems had to do with the purchasing process. They have a known problem with IE 7 on their website which makes one software download count as two. So, when you buy the service for the first time, you can only download the software once (not twice, once for each machine). Plan to copy the software to a USB drive or a CD so you can install it on each machine. You'll still have to buy a license key per transfer, but you can put the software onto as many machines as you like in advance of doing the transfers.

The other problem I had in purchasing had to do with LapLink's outsourced purchasing processor, Element 5. They randomly selected my order for manual processing, which was expected to take 12-24 hours. This didn't meet my needs as I was ready to go right then. I contacted LapLink's support and got the phone number of Element 5 (which was nowhere to be found otherwise). Over the phone, I got my purchase put through and was on my way. This delay was needless. It is somewhat out of the control of LapLink, but they still need to make sure that Element 5 processes the payments quickly. I should also mention that I got great response from LapLink on this matter, including from the CEO who I contacted out of frustration. The company is very committed to listening to customers and making their experience a good one.

It may not seem complicated, but moving Windows applications and making them work on a new machine is very tricky and detailed. I was very impressed with how well PCmover worked and have already bought a third license for another transfer. As long as you read the step-by-step instructions and pay attention to what is being transferred, PCmover should work very well to move a lot of data and applications from one PC to another. Highly recommended.

I used PCmover to move all the applications from my old Windows 2000 notebook to a new Windows XP notebook using the included USB cable. At first PCmover connected right up and started moving files over. Then, for no apparent or well explained reason, an error message popped up and the move failed. It was easy to roll back the migration and try again and the second attempt appeared to succeed. However, from that point on XP on the new notebook was hosed. Applications like Windows Update, ZoneAlarm and the Eclipse software development environment did not work correctly. Windows update could no longer install updates, when ZoneAlarm started up it would consume nearly all the CPU, and the Eclipse environment did not work correctly. That wouldn't have been a huge issue except that UNINSTALL no longer worked. The applications could not be uninstalled. And other base windows functions no longer worked right. For example, it took 30 seconds for Windows Explorer to start and pressing the shortcut keys to bring up the desktop worked erratically. After spending days trying to get the environment working correctly I ended up wiping the drive and reinstalling everything from scratch. PCmover was a complete waste of time and money and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Bought the product to move all my stuff from a XP computer to a new Vista one. After fooling around for some time I was getting an error message telling me that my operating system was not compatable. I contacted Laplink and they indeed do know that ther software will not work on a Vista computer, so unless you are transfering to an older XP system this software is useless. The line on the box says "The Easiest Way to Move into a Windows XP or Vista PC!" That is a lie!!! And of course since I have opened and installed the software it is no longer returnable. So let the waste of my $65.00 keep you from wasting yours!

I bought a new laptop in a few months ago, and like the other reviewers, was dreading doing the transfer from the old one to the new. In my case, it was only a Windows XP to Windows XP transfer, so I did not have to deal with the extra complexity of migrating to Vista.
PC Mover worked flawlessly. I had over 100 gigs of data and programs to migrate, and it was incredibly easy to do. I have done this sort of thing before - using a program no longer available called "Aloha Bob". PC Mover did a better job in, my opinion. All my data was transferred easily - I did not have to go folder by folder, or data type by data type - PC Mover just found all my stuff and moved it.
The most impressive thing is that it migrate PROGRAMS, not just files. That means if you have, say Photoshop or MS Excel on your old computer, it moves those programs to the new one without difficulty. (In my case, I do have both of those programs, and they work on my new machine quite well.)
PC Mover, after it is has transferred all your stuff onto the new computer, asks you about programs it thinks you no longer need. For example, my old computer was a Toshiba, my new one from a different manufacturer. So PC Mover figured out that the Toshiba specific programs things like tweaking my display or controlling the DVD burner - were not relevant to the new computer. What it did was to place these programs in a list and ask me if I still wanted them.
All in all, it really works and I am completely satisfied. It takes about 12 hours to migrate 100 gigs, but you can just set it in motion and then come back when its done. A great product!

(PS You do NOT want me to do a VIDEO review of this product, the FCC would file a lawsuit due to all of the expletives within it!)



A client needed to transfer data from their "old" computer to a "new" computer. Both computers were MSWinXPsp2. The "new" was brand new (Dell Vostro 200) and had nothing on it, plus I removed all junk put on by vendor prior to transfer. (The "old" was a Sony VAIO laptop.)

I proceed to install PCmover on both computers. I then start the software running on both computers.

First problem appears. I hooked up the included USB cable (as compared to using the network to transfer, because USB2 is faster than networking, right?). Well, it turns out it the cable WASN'T a USB2 cable but rather a USB1.1 cable. WHO THESE DAYS packages USB1.1 cables? That mistake cost me TONS of time (more below, continue reading)..

The "new" computer starts first, telling me to hook up the cable at both ends and start the "old" computer. That was fast! THEN I start the "old" computer. Well, it must've taken me 15 minutes to get thru all of the questions, options, etc. And the worst of it was that it appeared to start running, I went away 10 minutes for coffee, only to return to find it asking MORE questions prior to starting!

Once running it was VERY slow. 4+ hours estimated for 4GB of data. At the 1.5 hour point I go online to look for help, find out about the USB1.1 (not USB2) cable, stop the process which must've added to my problems (more below, continue reading). I restart, enter 15 minutes of options YET AGAIN, and run it over the network. AH HA, MUCH faster.

Not long later the process hangs. Again looking for help online, I find it hangs for MANY reasons (just look for yourself, you'll see). I think this restart again contributed to my problems (more below, continue reading).

OK. It's finally done. My client is hovering above me. I reboot the computer, it starts coming up. Error messages everywhere. Finally it arrives in Windows. I attempt to start Outlook, Word, and other client-required applications. The computer hangs. No way out. I can repeat the behaviour, after many reboots. The computer is completely corrupted.

The client is FURIOUS with me. I've kept him off his computer all day long. Now, I HAD created an operating system restore point PRIOR to doing this process. So I restore the system prior to the process. Turns out the system restore point logs were CORRUPTED by PCmover, too!

Next step would have to be to return the Dell to its factory default settings. That's not a big deal to do, as prior to running the process I had only applied Windows Updates. But now I won't be doing this. I WAS IMMEDIATELY FIRED BY THE CLIENT. THEN LATER MY PLACEMENT AGENCY FIRED ME!

GEE, THANX PCMOVER!

- You destroyed my client's computer! HOPEFULLY the factory default settings restore will work!

- You cost my client an entire day of work!

- I will NOT charge my client for my "work" that day; oops, I mean WASTE OF TIME.

- YOU COST ME MY JOB!

- I personally paid for your software so of course I will not be reimbursed by the client.

OH, and folks, the software is for ONE AND ONLY ONE USE! (Not that I'd ever use it again.) It's keyed via the parent company servers.

SO IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A MISERABLE DAY AND REMAINDER OF LIFE, PURCHASE AND USE PCMOVER!!!

I've used Intellimover, and Eisenworld's Aloha Bob (before they were bought out) with very little trouble. Yes, you do have to reinstall the essential programs, but in the current software market you have a limited number of installs anyway...They both transferred my files, as per my directions - no problems.

Laplink's product was a nightmare. It requires that the Internet Explorer programs be the same version, and if they aren't, you have to go back and update.... if the updated version is now newer than the other version, you have to go back and update both. They require that you disable all your security software. I don't know if you've ever tried to disable anything made by the wonderous Norton Products of the Symantec company, but those guys don't give up easily. Since the preinstalled security software was incompatible, THAT made the transfer not difficult - but impossible. When I decided to stop wasting my time (nine hours) and attempted to uninstall the Laplink product, I was informed that despite the fact that it had failed to run, if I didn't run it on that computer, it wasn't going to run anyplace else.

Save yourself the pain. Don't buy it. Just transfer the data and go ahead and buy the essential programs again. You'll spend less time in anger management classes.

I used PC mover to transfer all my data from an old computer to a new one. I was amazed at how efficient and effortless the move was. I had to re-validate my copy of Office XP and repair the Outlook install, but otherwise, there was no other effort needed on my part.
My old system had 3 partitions on the hard drive, the new one only one. PC mover seems to have migrated the data and the registry settings completely to the new machine.
I've worked in IT for 15 years and was extremely skeptical that this product would live up to its claims. It does, and I have been telling everyone about it.

I loaded PC Mover on my old computer and was actually able to move a program. The next time I tried to use the program it asked to check for updates. After the updates it asked for my serial number. I have never had a program ask for a serial number after an update. I had to call the company and get my serial number. After being told that PC Mover was DESIGNED to be used once, they gave me my serial number which did not work. I just wasted two hours! I never read that the program was designed to be used one time. This is an expensive program. You might want to try a different company. Anybody want some one time software and one time cables?

A few years ago, I migrated to a new machine using Aloha Bob's PC Relocator. Pure magic. Unfortunately, PC Relocator seems to have vanished off the market as part of a MS acquisition. Last year, I had to do another migration, which took literally days to do manually, even with the MS transfer utility.

This year, I needed to do the same, and took a chance on PC Mover which Dell is selling. I went from an XP desktop to a Vista notebook. Again, absolutely magic. Absolutely every program and customization, and I have some truly obscure ones, transferred perfectly. Control was excellent, as there were many programs which did not need to go to the new machine.

The only problem I had was in the method of transfer. I have an external HD which I use for backup on both machines. I first tried the method of writing the "moving van" to the HD from the old machine, and then reading if from the new one. Unfortunately, when I tried to read the data, I got an error message saying the file had an invalid header. Rather than trying again, I used the USB bridge cable, which worked flawlessly. One thing which speeds this up is that unlike some programs, PC Mover will take an inventory of the target machine, and selectively move only the programs and data needed, rather than a brute force transfer of all the data, and then sorting it out on the target computer.