Profile transfer
Transfer Windows profiles to a new PC.
Files, AppData, registry and saved passwords: MBI Clone creates the local account and transfers the profile into it, from the old disk or over the local network.
Transfer · by disk
Everything is done from the new PC.
The old disk, connected to a dock or over USB, is accessed read-only: MBI Clone carries over the profiles (data, AppData, secrets), not the machine’s identity.
- Connect the old disk to a dock or over USB, without booting from it.
- Open the transfer: the disk and profile scan starts on its own.
- Tick the profiles and choose the account: a new local account, or a local account that has never been used.
- Start: copying, permission mapping, read-back, then the final report.
BitLocker
A locked volume is opened with the 48-digit recovery key or the passphrase, without being decrypted. The scan restarts on its own.
Saved passwords
With the customer’s old password, DPAPI secrets (browsers, Windows credentials) are migrated. Otherwise, they appear in the “must be re-entered” list.
Printers
The old PC’s printers are listed and reinstalled with their drivers. A printer already present under the same name is never replaced.
Software
The old computer’s software is detected and offered for reinstallation, along with any software the customer asks for. Installation waits for your confirmation.
Wi-Fi
The old PC’s known networks are named: you know which keys to ask the customer for before handing the computer back.
Rescue mode
For a failing disk: each unreadable file is retried, then abandoned and logged. Readable files arrive intact and verified.
The end-of-transfer report
- Transferred
- Copied and verified.
- To re-enter
- To be set up again with the customer, for example the Windows Hello PIN.
- Degraded
- Completed, but unreadable files were skipped: each one is listed in the report.
- Failed
- The created account is deleted: no incomplete profile is left behind.
Transfer · over the network
From one PC to another, over the local network.
Sender
The old PC
It makes its profiles available, read-only. The signed-in user’s profile is not offered: its hive is locked by Windows.
Receiver
The new PC
It finds the sender on the local network, chooses the profile, creates the local account and writes. An address and port can be entered manually if needed.
Check the code
Compare the six digits on both screens before authorizing. If they differ, interception is possible: refuse on both sides. Until “Authorize this destination” has been clicked, no data leaves the old PC, not even the list of profiles.
- A direct, TLS-encrypted stream, with no intermediate storage.
- Randomly chosen port, temporary firewall rule limited to Private and Domain networks, removed in every case.
- Cancellation or dropped connection: the created account and its folder are deleted, leaving no partial account behind.
- One profile per pairing. For several profiles at once, use the transfer by disk.
The report: what was transferred, what is left to do
Transferred
- Local account recreated, permissions and SIDs mapped
- Profile files, AppData included, read back after copying
- Saved passwords (DPAPI), with the customer’s old password
- Printers and their drivers, when transferring from a disk
- The old PC’s software offered for reinstallation
Reported, to be handled separately
- Wi-Fi networks, named so you know which keys to ask the customer for
- Windows Hello PIN and user certificates
- Data outside the profile: redirected folders, other partitions
- Files blocked by the antivirus, named one by one
Good to know
What MBI Clone does not do.
We would rather tell you before you buy than at the counter.
- Domain accountsNot a possible destination. A Microsoft account profile lands in a local account, to be reconnected manually.
- Profile mergingAn account that has already been used is refused, as a safeguard.
- EFS-encrypted filesRefused for transfer: decrypt them beforehand, using the account that encrypted them.
- ARM64 PCsPCs with an ARM processor, such as Snapdragon models, are not supported.
See also
Cloning
Clone Windows to a new SSD
A faithful copy of the Windows installation to a new disk. MBI Clone does not duplicate the manufacturer’s layout: it rebuilds it, then checks the partitions, file system, boot and recovery before handing the disk back to you.
- Checks before the first write
- To a larger or smaller disk
- UEFI or BIOS boot verified
Equip your workshop.
A one-month pass at €30 excl. VAT without renewal, a monthly subscription at €30 excl. VAT or an annual subscription at €300 excl. VAT: one licence per company, with unlimited technicians, computers and migrations, and updates included.