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Remember when you backed up the user data files before installation? You don’t? Well, check again, because now is the time to restore that data. Your method of restoring depends on how you backed up the files in the first place. If you used a third-party backup program, you need to install it before you can restore those files, but if you used the Windows Backup utility (Windows 2000 or XP) or the Backup and Restore Center (Windows Vista), you are in luck, because they are installed by default (with the exception of Windows XP Home edition). If you did something simpler, such as copying to optical discs or a network location, all you have to do is copy the files back to the local hard disk. Good luck!

Migrating and Retiring

Seasons change and so does the state of the art in computing. At a certain point in a computer’s life, you’ll need to retire an old system. This means you must move the data and users to a new system or at least a new hard drive—a process called migration—and then safely dispose of the old system. Microsoft offers a few tools to accomplish this task, and because it’s important to know about them for the A+ exam (not to mention for your next new computer purchase), I’m going to go over them.

Files and Settings Transfer Wizard

You’ve already heard a bit about the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard (FSTW) back in Chapter 4, “Understanding Windows,” but the CompTIA A+ exams expect you to have more than just a passing knowledge of it. When migrating to a new system, you would run the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard on the newer computer (assuming the newer computer is running Windows XP, but more on Vista’s migration options later), which would then use the wizard to pull files off of the older one. You start the wizard by going to Accessories | System Tools in Windows XP’s All Programs menu. Once you’ve fired it up, you’re presented with the screen in Figure 14-40.

Figure 14-40 The Files and Settings Transfer Wizard’s initial screen.

When you click the Next button on the wizard’s first screen, you’re asked whether the computer you’re using is the new or old computer, as in Figure 14-41.

Figure 14-41 Is this the new computer or your old one?

Note that the old computer can be running any version of Windows all the way back to Windows 95. Older Windows operating systems didn’t come with the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard installed, so if you’re migrating from an older version of Windows, you’ll have to either install the wizard onto the older computer with the XP disc or create a Wizard Disk that will enable you to do the same thing. You’re given the option to create such a disk by clicking Next with New computer selected, as in Figure 14-42.

Figure 14-42 Creating a Wizard Disk

Once you’ve either created a Wizard Disk (or told the wizard that you’re going to install the wizard from the XP CD), you’re taken to a screen that asks where to look for the files and settings that you’ve collected (Figure 14-43). The first two options are slightly outdated, because the first refers to a direct serial connection, now a rarity in the personal computing world, and the second asks for a floppy disc, though you can use it with USB thumb drives as well. The third option is the most likely candidate for a migration, because it enables you to look for your older computer on your home network.

Meanwhile, to actually determine which files and settings are going to be transferred, you need to run the wizard on your old computer. If you’re migrating from another Windows XP machine, you need to tell the wizard where it’s being run; otherwise, you skip to the next step, which asks how you want to transfer the files (Figure 14-44). The best option is to transfer them over a home network, but you can also save the files on a USB thumb drive or simply on a folder on your computer, though, obviously, that doesn’t do a lot for transferring the files.

When you click Next, the wizard shows its default list of folders and settings to save, but being the savvy PC