ISSUE387|COMPUTER SHOPPER|MAY2020 99
T
he chances arethatyour old computer
is full of applications thatyou’d liketo
move to the new one. How you do this
depends on the application and whether or
not it’s compatible with your new operating
system. We’ll look at each type here.
UTILITYSOFTWARE
If you’reafter installing utility software, such as
WinZip,Google Backup and Sync, Chrome
and so on, the best advice thatwecan give is
to use Ninite (ninite.com). Go to the website,
tick the softwareyou want to install, then scroll
to the bottom of the page and click Get your
Ninite. This will download asmall file to your
new computer.Just open this file and the
applications will install automatically,all
without spywareoradware.
OLD APPLICATIONS WHERE
YOUHAVEALICENCE CODE
Most old applications just requirethe
installation media and licence code to install.
Much of this softwareisn’t activated online,
so you just need to insertthe installation
media into your new computer and,
assuming the softwareiscompatible, install
it and provide your licence key.
If you don’t have your key, you can try to
extract it from your Registry using Magical
Jelly Bean Keyfinder (www.magicaljellybean.
com). Thefreeversion workswith over 300
bits of software, so is worth trying first, but
there’sapaid-for version thatworkswith
moresoftware. Forthe latter,it’sworth using
Google to search and see if Keyfinder will
work with your chosen software.
Once installed, run Keyfinder and it will
give you alist of licence keys thatyou can use
to install softwareonyour new computer.
NEW SOFTWARE THAT
REQUIRES ACTIVATION
It’s now becoming increasingly common for
softwaretobeactivated online, and for you to
be allowed to install it
only on aset number of
computers. Once you
exceed your limit, you’re
prevented from installing
it again. This is typical for
security software, Office
365, Adobe CS software
and more. To move this
kind of software, you first
need to deactivate the
HOW TO MOVE
OLD APPLICATIONS
softwareonyour old computer.It’sworth
checking your software’shelp guide for
instructions on howtodothis, but typically,
the instructions aresimilar.
First, you need to log into your online
account via aweb browser.Fromhere, you
should be able to findasection thatlists the
devices on which your current softwareis
installed, typically under an account section.
Find your old computer and use the disable
or log out option. This frees up alicence
code for your new computer.
Once you’ve done that, move to your
new computer and follow the installation
instructions for your software. It should now
install without any problems.
LEFT:Ninite is agreat way
to get lots of commonly
used softwareprograms
on to anew PC
ABOVE:Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder will scan your computer to findold softwarekeys
ABOVE:Youmay need to sign out of an
application on an old computer beforeyour
softwarecan be moved to anew PC
