Moving Files from Windows XP to Windows 8.1
By Don Trauger – Kennett
Windows XP security updates will end this month (April 2014) if Microsoft stays with their plan to discontinue further XP security updates. This means your security rests with only your anti-virus software program. This may be the time to seriously consider purchasing a new computer. If you are planning to buy a new Windows 8.1 computer to replace your old Windows XP computer, the following information will help to make the change as smooth as possible.
If you want to transfer your personal files, Address Book and Favorites from the XP computer to the Windows 8.1 computer, use a flash drive. Plug the flash drive into the USB port of the XP computer, open the Windows Explorer program under Accessories and copy your personal files and Favorites directly to the flash drive. To do this highlight My Documents on the left then highlight all the items in the right pane by clicking the first item then holding down the Ctrl key and pressing the “A” key. Right click on the highlighted group of items and click Copy. Select your flash drive on the left and in a blank space in the right pane right click and click paste. Answer “Yes to all” if you see a window pop up. This is also a great way to back up your data in case of a hard drive failure.
The Address Book need only be copied if you use Outlook Express. The best way to handle that is to open Outlook Express and “export” the address book. Click File, move the mouse to Export and click Address Book. Click Text file and click Export. Give the exported file a name then click Browse. In the window that opens, locate your flash drive by clicking the down arrow in the “Save in:” field. Select it then click Save. Click Next in the CSV Export window and click Finish. You should get a confirmation window saying the export has completed. If you use a browser such as Internet Explorer to view your email, then you should have no need to to go through the export process.
Once you have all your data on the flash drive plug the drive into the Windows 8.1 computer and copy the files to their logical destinations. For example, open Windows Explorer on the 8.1 computer, select the flash drive then select the appropriate document files in the right pane and paste them into the Windows 8.1 Documents folder. Note that the Documents folder in Windows 8.1 replaces My Documents in Windows XP. Repeat this basic procedure for the other folders such as My Pictures, My Music, etc.
Microsoft has said it will upgrade existing Windows 8.1 computers to make another change to the user interface. In other words it will look more like Windows 7 and maybe with a touch of Windows XP. We’ll see.
In the May issue I will cover the subject of setting up a Windows 8.1 computer.
The PC Club meets on the second Tuesday of every month at 7 PM upstairs in the Ardmore room of the Community Center. During the April meeting we will review some of the features of Windows 8.1 and show how to change the startup so it boots directly to the Desktop screen.