Transfer everything from old HP laptop to new HP laptop

[RevMatthew]

Hello,

My new Pavilion Laptop - 15t will be arriving on 3/20/20 and I would like it to be set up exactly like my current HP 15 laptop. Both are running Win10 64-bit. My old laptop has 16 GB of RAM and a 1 TB HDD. My new laptop will also have 16 GB of RAM and a 1 TB 5400 rpm SATA HDD plus a 256 GB M.2 SSD. I imagine the OS will be installed on the SSD. How can I make a mirror image of a laptop with one drive and restore it to a laptop with two drives? I would love to put my most frequently used programs and files on the speedy SSD, if possible.

What I did once before was back up a mirror image of my old computer (1TB HDD) onto my 2TB external HDD and restore it to my new computer (1TB HDD). That was pretty easy but I was going from 1 drive to 1 drive. I did have to deactivate/reactivate all my licenses (they seem to be machine specific) but everything else was exactly like my old computer. Now I'm going from 1 drive to 2 drives so I don't know how, or if, something like that could work. I'm considering doing the same thing again. By that I mean, using the speedy SSD for the OS only and putting everything else on the slower HDD. I know it's a waste but I can only imagine the amount of time I'll spend getting my new computer just right. I'm currently using about 450 GB of the 1 TB HDD so I have quite a bit of data.

I'm really confused as to how to do this.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

[WAWood · Accepted solution]

@RevMatthew 

You can't transfer everything from one PC to another. Why?

First, because any image you make of the first PC will include the drivers native to that PC.  If you attempt to migrate that image to the second PC, it will not work -- due to driver differences.

Second, the image contains the Windows license -- which in the case of OEM PCs, is tied to the PC, not to the Owner.  Therefore, it is not LEGAL to transfer the image from the old PC to the new one.

However, there ARE ways you can migrate stuff that are legal and will work, in the following areas:

1) Personal files

2) Settings

3) Applications

As to 1), copying stuff to a USB stick and then using it on the second PC works well.

As to 2) there is a free app known as CloneApp that will save off your settings and allow you to restore those to the second PC.

As  to 3), there are commercial products that will allow you to migrate apps from one PC to another.  The best one I've used is EaseUS ToDo PC transfer.  There is also PCMove from Laplink.  Both of these cost money and there are no free apps that will do this.

[RevMatthew]

Thank you for your helpful reply. I have EaseUS Partition Master Technician Edition and I will download CloneApp. Between the two of them, I should be able to make a clean transfer. However, it will take me hours and hours which I was trying to avoid.

I do a lot of counseling work online and my old laptop is having hardware issues with the camera, mic, keyboard, touchpad, one USB port doesn't work and the D/C jack is very loose. All this started when my doorbell rang and two of my German Shepherds raced to the door taking my plugged in laptop with them.

I have to get my new laptop up ASAP. Not for me, as I don't charge for my work, but for the people that count on me.

Thanks again and if you think of anything else that could help me do this quickly, please let me know.