Date Reviewed: 7 May 2007
Introduction
PCMover from LapLink Software is a hardware/software combination designed to ease data migration from a computer user's current PC to a newly purchased system. It is currently marketed as an easy solution for moving user programs and files from PCs using older Windows operating systems such as Windows XP to new PCs now being sold with Windows Vista.
Other migration solutions are available, such as Microsoft's Windows Easy Transfer, which will transfer user data files and program settings. PCMover, however, also claims the ability to transfer installed application programs between old and new PCs. This claim makes it unique among migration solutions.
Setup
LapLink provided a review copy of PCMover as well as a LapLink USB cable for use in this review. The cable is not strictly necessary, as the migration can also be done using a local area network or a flash drive. However, as novice users are likely to purchase the cable for use with this software, this review was done using the cable.
PCMover was tested between two laptop systems. The old (source) PC was a four year old Toshiba Satellite using Windows XP Service Pack 2. The new (destination) PC was a three month old Toshiba Satellite using Windows Vista. The Vista PC has had very little customization done to it, and is almost in the same condition as when it came out of the box. This setup replicates the expected typical conditions: a user who has purchased a new Vista PC and who wants to transfer his programs and data from his old XP PC to it.
Using the Product
Setup of both software and hardware was straightforward. A single page of documentation in the package emphasizes the order of installation and usage of the product for successful migration:
- Install the software on both old and new systems.
- Connect the PCs with the cable.
- Close all programs, especially antivirus and firewall programs.
- Run PCMover on the new system.
- Run PCMover on the old system, and enter the serial number.
The serial number found on the CD cover must be entered to activate the full version of the software. Without this number, the software is in trial mode, in which it can be used to transfer data files, but not programs or settings.
Following this setup, a full migration was conducted from the old to new PC, using the default program settings. A total of 21 GBs of data was transferred in slightly over three hours.
PCMover also claims the ability to undo a migration, should that be necessary. After verifying the success of the migration, PCMover was invoked again to verify this claim. The migration was reversed in ten minutes, leaving both PCs in their original state.
Observations
Installation of the product was not difficult, and the product itself was easy to use. However, a few idiosyncrasies were noted.
Early in the software installation process, the user is encouraged to click a button to check for software updates. If one is found, the installation is aborted, the update is downloaded from the LapLink website, and the software must be installed again before starting the installation process. It might be easier to just tell the user in the documentation to check for updates before starting installation.
The installation process emphasizes to the user not to connect the USB cable until after installation of the software. However, if the user runs the software prior to connecting the cable, he is instructed to close the program, connect the cable, and begin again.
The installation process takes pains to present useful information to the user, such as liability warnings and information regarding licensing issues when migrating applications. However, at least twice windows are presented which indicate clicking on the next button will initiate a certain action. Instead, another window will open rephrasing what is about to happen, and again asking for the user to click the next button. This adds unnecessary length to the installation process and tends to be aggravating.
The documentation warns the user to disable any running applications, especially firewalls and antivirus. However, entering the serial number includes a validation process in which the program must be connected to the Internet. This could lead to a user being vulnerable to a worm while using the program if not located behind a router.
Setting up the migration itself has very few options. This prevents a novice user from getting into trouble, but is also limiting to an advanced user. The major shortcoming of PCMover is that there is no way prior to the migration to select which programs will be migrated. Essentially, it is an all or nothing approach when migrating programs.
The migration itself was trouble-free. Following the migration, it appeared that all programs and settings were transferred from the XP to the Vista machine. Upon rebooting the Vista system, another program called Start This launched. Start This lists all of the programs transferred over that were set to start automatically on bootup. Start This indicates which programs will probably not work (highlighted in red) and which ones will (highlighted in green), and gives the user the option to decide which ones to run.
As far as determining which programs that were transferred over will run under Vista, that seems to be a matter of trial and error. A couple of programs that are not really dependent on Windows worked well, but a program such as Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 did not run. LapLink does state in the documentation that programs that are not Vista compatible must be upgraded and installed manually. However, as there is no way to select what programs to migrate, the user is left to manually discover which programs will work, and which ones must be manually deleted or upgraded.
Additionally, another complication that arose is that PCMover also transferred all platform specific utility programs, including all of the Toshiba utilities from the old laptop. The result was that the new Toshiba had both old and new versions of the same utilities. This could lead to confusion and problems for the novice user.
On the plus side, PCMover migrated over Microsoft Outlook with all contact and calendar entries intact. This is something that would probably be of prime importance to most users. It also detected a user account on the old PC that was not on the new PC, and offered to migrate that account as well.
Reversing the migration worked quite well. It only took about ten minutes, and both systems were left in pristine condition afterwards.
Conclusion
Overall, PCMover was easy to use, and seems to be designed specifically with the novice user in mind. The migration process itself seems to be solid, and the program does what it is supposed to do. If the user's goal is to bring all of their programs and data from their old computer onto the new one, PCMover does that quite nicely. If they have a number of programs that are not Vista compatible, however, they may encounter some frustration in tweaking the new system once the migration is complete to determine which programs need to be upgraded or uninstalled.
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Date Revised: 27 May 2007
