ISSUE387|COMPUTER SHOPPER|MAY2020 95
Administrator accounts have full access to the
system, so they can formatdisks, change
critical settings, add users, install software
thatrequires administrator privileges and
more. AStandardaccount has far more
restrictions andwon’t let users change
important settings or install many applications.
In terms of safety,aStandardaccount is best
for aless knowledgeable user,asthey can’t
accidentally mess anythingup.
When aStandarduser tries to do
something that’snot allowed, such as
installing an application, they will get a
popup thatasksfor an administrator to
provide their password. Doing so allows
the one action.
When installing software, select the option
to install system-wide when given, as this will
makeitavailable for all users. Note that
softwareisoften customised per user,so
running Office 365, for example, will let
each user customise their own settings and
name under their own accounts. Note that
some softwareisautomatically installed
system-wide, such as security suitesthat
give protection to all users.
Whatabout Laplink PCmover?Laplink PCmover is awell-known
tool for copying files, applications,
settings and user profiles from an
old computer to anew one. The
main version, Laplink PCmover
Professional, costs £42 (web.
laplink.com/pcmover_feature_
overview), although thereare
cheaper versions thatoffer fewer
features thatmay suit your needs.
Themain benefit of using
softwarelikethis is thatitdoes the
job for you automatically,making
its best efforttoget your new PC
working likeyour old one. If you’re
after convenience, then PCmover
is agreat bit of softwarethatwill
do the job for you.
However,thereare afew
reasons why you may want to do
the job manually.First, you save
the money,asyou can do
everything thatPCmover cando
for free, even if it takes abit
longer.Second, PCmover can’t moveall applications, notably
security software, so you’ll still need to move these applications
manually.Third, PCmover can’t reactivate all software, so you may
still need to go through amanual process to get all of your
applications working. Finally,one of the benefits of getting anew PC is thatyou get to startfromscratch, setting up your new
computer withoutany of the hangovers of the old one.
Forthatreason, our advice through this featurewill help you
pick and choose whatyou want to do,soyou can get your new
PC working the exact way thatyou want it.MOVE BEYONDWINDOWS 7
RIGHT:Youdon’thave to use Microsoftaccounts
if you really don’t want to,although it can make
things easier in thefuture if you do
ABOVE:Laplink PCmover attempts to get your new PC working likeyour old one automatically