Trying out the Windows Easy Transfer Companion Beta

Posted by:
Brandon LeBlanc
05:34 AM Friday
Jun 29, 2007
18 Comments

Robert McLaws is letting folks know the beta of Windows Easy Transfer Companion is available at Microsoft.com. You can download the beta here. The beta works on both Windows XP and Windows Vista and is designed to help you move your applications from Windows XP to Windows Vista when upgrading to a new Windows Vista PC.

Windows Easy Transfer Companion will work with over 100 programs in transferring over to your new Windows Vista PC. It will also alert you if a program will not transfer or might have problems transferring (transferring without "high confidence"). You can transfer your applications though an Easy Transfer Cable (like the one offered from Belkin) or through your home network (LAN).

I decided to test Windows Easy Transfer Beta out myself. I prepped my Windows XP PC to transfer the applications I have installed over to my new Windows Vista Home Premium PC. Just like Windows Easy Transfer Companion, let's call my Windows XP PC my "Old PC" and my Windows Vista Home Premium PC my "New PC" for this post. After Windows Easy Transfer Companion prepares for the transfer, it tells me that my Old PC is ready and gives me Companion Key that I will need to enter on my New PC.

Once I enter the Companion Key into my New PC - my Old PC detects it is now connected through my network and the transfer begins on my New PC. It will first do a series of scans from my Old PC to my New PC. After those scans are completed, it will detect which applications are transferrable. They are displayed in groups of how well they transfer. As you can see, I have two applications that will "transfer well": Macromedia Flash Player and Windows Live Photo Gallery (very cool!). I am going to choose to just transfer Windows Live Photo Gallery.

It prepares for the transfer again and the transfer begins with statuses of the transfer appearing on both my Old PC and my New PC.

And the transfer is complete.

After the New PC rebooted, I went to test out Windows Live Photo Gallery after the transfer on my new PC. Windows Live Photo Gallery failed to open. Apparently Windows Live Photo Gallery requires the Microsoft SQL 2005 Compact Edition framework installed as a prerequisite. I neglected to transfer this from my Old PC as (see in above screenshots) it was not advised. No worries though! I went to Microsoft.com, downloaded the framework, and installed it. Windows Live Photo Gallery fired right up after that. Overall though, this tool worked great.

You can click here to view my Windows Easy Transfer Companion Screenshot Gallery.

For background information on Windows Easy Transfer and Windows Easy Transfer Companion, I suggest reading Nick's post from a few months ago that discusses using Windows Easy Transfer and the technology behind what is now Windows Easy Transfer Companion.

Comments

ds808

Posted on: November 25, 2007 at 8:28PM
I used Windows Easy Transfer Companion to transfer MS Office XP from my XP computer to my new Vista computer. The transfer was completed successfully. But when I run the program on the Vista computer it detects a configuration change and says I need to insert the CD. I don't have a CD. How can I solve this problem?
sksnumber1

Posted on: November 26, 2007 at 1:52AM
I just got a new laptop that came proloaded with Office (Office Vista? Student Home version?) but I have Office 2000 which I prefer (don't ask me why...stuck in my ways) anyway, the preloaded new Office is a trial version (30 day I think, or maybe 60, can't remember) but I wanted no part of that so I uninstalled it. But, when I try the east transfer companion, I'm told I can't transfer my old Office because the program already exists on the new computer. It must be finding something left behind, even though I ran the uninstall?!? What does the ETC look for on the new machine so that I can manually remove it, to allow the old Office to move over? Thanks!
ds808

Posted on: December 20, 2007 at 12:43AM
I found my Office XP CDs. All I needed to do was insert the CD. I guess it needed something on the CD to reconfigure for VISTA. It did not ask for a product key. I then needed to reactivate via the internet. No I'm good to go.
Rodger

Posted on: November 05, 2008 at 4:57AM
This article is out of date as the download link does not work!
Gypsy Miles From...

Posted on: February 09, 2009 at 6:31PM
Good afternoon;

I've been following dead end links for weeks now trying to find this "Vista Easy Transfer Companion." What happened to it? Is there still a place someone can get a hold of the download. I have two very expensive programs that need to be transferred and no can do. Help?

Gypsy
Brandon LeBlanc

Posted on: February 09, 2009 at 6:59PM
Gypsy, do you have the original media for those very expensive programs that need to be transferred? I believe the beta had ended for the Windows Easy Transfer Companion a while ago.
fvelasco

Posted on: March 19, 2009 at 12:43AM
Brandon, since the WETC beta is now closed, are there any options available for transferring programs from an XP PC to a Vista PC. I can reinstall most applications from the original media. The one exception is Office 2007. I purchased the Office 2007 upgrade for the XP machine and no longer have the original Office 2003 installation disks. Any suggesitons would be appreciated. Thanks.

Trackbacks

Posted by: Teamzille.de on June 29, 2007 at 12:22PM
Mit Windows Easy Transfer lassen sich Daten und Einstellungen ja schon leicht von einem Computer mit Windows XP auf einen mit Windows Vista bertragen. Der Windows Easy Transfer Companion hilft auch noch dabei, die dazugehrigen Anwendungen von einem PC