If you've just bought a new Windows PC, the first thing you want to do is to move all your files, applications, and data to the new machine from your old one. While there are several ways you can do this, one of the easiest ones is to use Windows Backup.

Windows Backup is an application available on Windows 11 PCs that not only lets you back up your important data and keep it safe but also lets you transfer it quickly and easily to a new Windows PC. So, let's see how you can use this tool to set up your new Windows PC with all your files and apps intact.

Prerequisites

The first thing you need to do to transfer files to a new Windows PC is to sign in to your Microsoft account or create one if you don't have one. This is because the backup that the Windows Backup application creates is stored in Microsoft's cloud storage solution OneDrive.

Note: You can only use Windows Backup to transfer files and apps to a new PC using a personal account. School and work accounts are not supported. Additionally, since OneDrive only offers 5GB of free space, you may need to pay for a Microsoft 365 plan if your data exceeds this amount.

You will also need installation tools for traditional desktop applications since these are not backed up by the Windows Backup tool. So, make sure you have the setups for all your favorite apps and know how to install them into your new PC.

Backing Up Data with Windows Backup

Windows Backup is available on both Windows 10 and Windows 11 PCs. To start the backup process, you need to launch it from the Start menu.

  1. Open the Start menu, type Windows Backup , and click on the app when it appears.
  1. When the app launches, it will allow you to configure four different options for backup. These include Folders, Apps, Settings, and Credentials. To configure an option, click on the small arrow pointing downward to the right of each option.
  1. Each option contains multiple items. For instance, the Settings option contains items like Accessibility, Personalization, etc. You can choose whether to back up some or all items within each option.
  1. When you've selected the items for each option, click on the 'Back Up' button at the bottom right to start the backup process.
  1. The app will then ask you to sign in to your Microsoft account. To do so, click on the 'Sign In' button.
  1. This will open up a pop-up page where you need to enter your Microsoft email address. Click on the 'Next' button after entering your email address.
  1. On the next page, enter the password for your Microsoft account.
  1. Once you enter your password, Windows Backup will start backing up the data on your PC to Microsoft OneDrive.
  1. When Windows Backup has finished backing up your items, you will be notified within the app. Depending on the items selected, the backup can be partial or full.

Setting Up Your New PC

Once you've backed up the data on your old PC, it is time to set up your new Windows 11 PC.

  1. When you enter your credentials on your new PC for the first time while setting it up, it will inform you that you have backups available from your previous PC.
  1. Click on the name of your previous PC to select it and then click on the 'Restore From This PC' button. Windows will restore your apps and settings and you can continue with the setup process.
  1. Once the setup is complete, log in to your new PC and check whether all your apps and files from your previous PC have been restored. You will need to reinstall desktop apps manually.

Windows Backup makes it incredibly easy to transfer all your files and applications to a new PC. All you need to do is to create a backup of your data for that purpose. This is also great from a security perspective, as your data will always be safe in the cloud even if something happens to your PC.

You can save a lot of effort and time with this tool. Just make sure you can access the setups for desktop apps since you will have to install them manually.