Let's say you want to migrate a Windows application from one PC to another. Not the entire hard drive, not your MP3 collection, but just one application.
Maybe for whatever reason you like the application, a lot, and don't want to fork over money for another license, nor do you want to compromise and purchase a replacement that does what you need it to, but makes you long for some quirky goodness your old app offers.
Utilities like Laplink PCMover and Move Me let you migrate applications, settings, files and all from one PC directly (via USB cable) or indirectly (via external hard drive) to another. There's also the excellent Acronis True Image, which enables you to clone your hard drive and copy every bit of data. Another possibility is a tool like the freeware Application Mover, which lets you move an installed application along with its files and registry settings to a new path on the same hard drive, or a new hard drive entirely.
Of these utilities, arguably the first few do the best, since they not only a working application, but most if not all data in the source and migrates it en masse to the target. If you wish to only transport one app, however, you're practically out of luck.
You could try simply copying the application folder, updating registry settings and all that manually, and it might work, but it's rather hit-or-miss. What if some crucial file the app needs for a very specific task wasn't copied over? What if a very old app has some stupid bug that didn't emerge when it lived in an old 8.3 naming system, but does once you try to stick it into a folder under "C:\Program Files"?
Thankfully, a solution exists, in the form of a utility included in the Symantec Ghost Solution Suite called Client Migration. As this article mentions, one of its features includes the ability to create installation packages for installed applications.
Maybe for whatever reason you like the application, a lot, and don't want to fork over money for another license, nor do you want to compromise and purchase a replacement that does what you need it to, but makes you long for some quirky goodness your old app offers.
Utilities like Laplink PCMover and Move Me let you migrate applications, settings, files and all from one PC directly (via USB cable) or indirectly (via external hard drive) to another. There's also the excellent Acronis True Image, which enables you to clone your hard drive and copy every bit of data. Another possibility is a tool like the freeware Application Mover, which lets you move an installed application along with its files and registry settings to a new path on the same hard drive, or a new hard drive entirely.
Of these utilities, arguably the first few do the best, since they not only a working application, but most if not all data in the source and migrates it en masse to the target. If you wish to only transport one app, however, you're practically out of luck.
You could try simply copying the application folder, updating registry settings and all that manually, and it might work, but it's rather hit-or-miss. What if some crucial file the app needs for a very specific task wasn't copied over? What if a very old app has some stupid bug that didn't emerge when it lived in an old 8.3 naming system, but does once you try to stick it into a folder under "C:\Program Files"?
Thankfully, a solution exists, in the form of a utility included in the Symantec Ghost Solution Suite called Client Migration. As this article mentions, one of its features includes the ability to create installation packages for installed applications.
"Client Migration 3.0 by Symantec migrates data and application settings to a new computer. It enables you to
create application packages for the purpose of updating or installing applications on the new computer..."
Being able to simply migrate a single application can be handy by itself, but the ability to create an installation package is even better, for several reasons.
create application packages for the purpose of updating or installing applications on the new computer..."
Being able to simply migrate a single application can be handy by itself, but the ability to create an installation package is even better, for several reasons.
- Portability. If you enjoy a particular application, and don't want to give up its usefulness, you can just install it on new hardware and enjoy.
- Licensing. Rather than being stuck with buying another license for a program you already bought, you can simply move it to a new system.
- Comfort. You love PhotoShop, but in the far future it becomes abandonware and is eclipsed by DodoShop, yet you just loved PhotoShop's way of doing things. Migration capability enables you the comfort of extending the usability of this one app that may no longer be available for purchase, let alone for download off some random site.
There can, as with everything in life, be a few pitfalls.
- If the app you're migrating has any low-level conversations with your hardware, these peculiarities might translate with difficulty, if at all, to a new system with updated hardware and firmware. The app itself might not function, or worse, might cause your system to crash.
- If the operating system evolves to the extent that certain OS-specific resources the application depends on to do it's thing are no longer present in the current OS, you might need to enable any compatibility features (e.g. Windows ability to run applications in compatibility mode), or use something like Microsoft Virtual PC to emulate the desired operating system environment.
Clearly, there are advantages and disadvantages in preserving a very useful old application. At least the Symantec product described above gives you the valuable option of being able to breathe new life into an old application despite upgrades to your hardware and operating system.
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