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Using Windows Easy Transfer Companion

Windows Easy Transfer Companion (WETC) is a tool that can be used to transfer programs installed on a Windows XP Service Pack 2 computer to a Windows Vista computer connected to it via an Easy Transfer Cable or a network connection. WETC is an independent tool that complements Window Easy Transfer, a wizard that makes it simple to copy user accounts, files and folders, program data files and settings, Internet settings, e-mail messages, settings, and contacts, digital data, and Windows settings from one computer to another.

System Requirements

To be able to use the WETC tool, the following system requirements should be met.

The two computers between which the data is transferred should meet the following requirements:

Source Computer: Should have U.S. English version of x86-based version of Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2.
Destination Computer: Should have U.S. English version of x86-based version of Microsoft Windows Vista.

Hard Disk Space: 200 MB
User Account: User with Administrative rights to the system.

Steps to Use WETC

In order to transfer programs using the WETC tool, perform the following tasks:

Install WETC on both Windows XP SP2 and Windows Vista computers.
Connect both computers using network connection or through Easy Transfer Cable.
Run WETC of Window XP computer.
Run WETC on Windows Vista computer.

Finally, follow the instruction provided by WETC to transfer programs from Windows XP computer to Windows Vista computer.

WETC Best Practices

To ensure successful transfer, it is recommended that you follow the best practices listed here:

Run full system antivirus scan on both computers before you start the transfer.
If one or both computers are mobile devices, such as laptops, connect them to power source before you start the transfer.
Ensure that programs being transferred work correctly on the source computer.
Try to configure drives on both the computers in such a way that configuration of both source and destination computers match.
After the transfer process is complete, wait for WETC to finish post-transfer tasks before you start using your Windows Vista (destination) computer.

Type of Programs You Can/Cannot Transfer

You can transfer several programs, such as AOL Instant Messenger, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Google Talk, Netscape, Mozilla Firefox, Corel, Macromedia DreamWeaver, Quicken, QuickBooks, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Project, Lavasoft Ad-Aware and WinZip using WETC. You can view detailed information on programs that you can transfer, from the following Microsoft Website:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931696.

You cannot transfer the following programs using the WETC tool:

Plug-in programs that do not use an installation program.
Operating system monitoring programs and antivirus tools.
Programs already installed on the destination Windows Vista computer.
Components that belong to the operating system.

WETC Limitations

The following are some of the known limitations of WETC:

The program does not support USB hub and this is the reason why, you will have to connect the Easy Transfer Cable directly to each computer.
You cannot transfer programs between:
- Two hard disks.
- Two operating systems in a dual-boot environment.
You cannot transfer the Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1. To be able to transfer and use .NET Framework 1.1-based programs, you must install the .NET Framework 1.1 on the destination PC before you proceed with the transfer.

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