[Review] What Is Dell Migrate? How Does It Work? How to Use It?

What Is Dell Migrate

Dell Migrate makes it easier than ever to use Dell Data Assistant to move important files and personal settings from your old PC to your new Dell PC. Dell Migrate allows you to work on the new PC uninterrupted during the migration process without restarting the PC after the migration is complete. When you’re done, you can erase data on your old PC.

Is Dell Migrate Free?

• For newly purchased Dell PCs: Add Dell Migrate to your PC selection.
• For existing Dell PCs: Click the Buy Online button below and enter your Service Tag number. The price is $49.

Does Dell Migrate Move Programs?

No, Dell does not migrate programs when transferring files and settings. Instead, it transfers essential data and settings from one device to another. You can quickly transfer your important files, documents, and settings from one machine to another without losing any critical information.

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How to Use Dell Migrate

Before starting the Dell Migrate process, you need to make sure that both the old and new personal computers meet the following prerequisites.

1. The operating system installed on the new PC must be Windows 10 or later.
2. For data migration, the operating system installed on the old personal computer must be Windows 7 or later.
3. For data erasure, the operating system installed on the old personal computer must be Windows 8.1 or later.
4. Both the old and new personal computers must be connected to the same local network.
5. During the entire data migration process, both the old and new PCs must be connected to an electrical outlet.
6. Make sure no other applications are in use or open.
7. Applications must be closed before migration (browser, control panel, system settings, etc.).

Then, you can start to use Dell Migrate to start the process.

Step 1: Launch Data Assistant on the Old Dell PC

1. Go to the Data Assistant download page. Under the Dell Data Assistant tab, click the download icon. It will start to download Dell Data Assistant automatically.

2. Launch the Dell Data Assistant exe file, Dell Data Assistant will run the required pre-checks on the PC.

3. If your old Dell computer is not connected to a trusted network or if you see a prompt for an untrusted network, perform one of the following steps:

• If you identify and trust the network to proceed with the migration, click Trust Network.
• If you do not trust the network, click Cancel. Reconnect to your trusted network and restart the process.

4. Next, click Let’s get started to connect two personal computers.

5. Dell Migrate attempts to connect your old PC to your new PC.

Step 2: Launch SupportAssist on the New Dell PC

1. Type Dell SupportAssist in the Search box on your new Dell PC. Click the Open icon.

2. Click Yes on the green banner “Would you like to start using Dell Migrate?”. You can also click Go nowat the bottom left under Dell Migrate.

3. On the next screen, click Let’s get startedto begin connecting the old and new Dell PCs.

4. If the network on your new personal computer is not classified as a trusted network, perform one of the following steps:

• If you identify and trust the network to proceed with the migration, click Trust Network.
• If you do not trust the network, click Cancel. Reconnect to your trusted network and restart the process.

5. Dell Migrate attempts to connect your new PC to your old PC.

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Step 3: Start to Perform the Dell Migrate

1. Once Dell Data Assistant recognizes the new PC on the network, it generates a verification code. This verification code needs to be entered on a new personal computer for secure data migration.

2. Enter a verification code on your new PC After pairing, a green verification code will appear on both PCs.

Note: Both personal computers must remain connected to the same network throughout the migration process. Any problems connecting the two personal computers will cause the migration process to stop.

3. Once the two PCs are successfully paired, it starts searching the old PC for files and settings to migrate from the old PC to the new PC.

4. Now, on the old Dell PC, you’ll also see the Erase this PC button. After all, the data has been migrated successfully, you can click the button.

5. The PC is now ready to start the migration and you will see two options:

• Click Move everything for me to move all files and settings from the old PC to the new PC. Supported user files and settings are identified and preselected by Dell Migrate.
• Instead of moving everything from the old PC to the new PC, click Let me choose what to move to choose the files and settings to move.

6. When the process completes, click the Finish button to accomplish the transfer.

Dell Migrate Not Working

Sometimes, you may encounter the “Dell Migrate not working” issue. The following are some fixes you can try.

1. On the old PC, click Retry to retry the migration process. On the new PC, click Migrate again or start over from the Home page.
2. If you are still having issues, close Data Assistant on the old PC and SupportAssist on the new PC, then restart the old PC and the new PC. Restart Data Assistant and SupportAssist.
3. Try another tool to finish the Dell Migrate.

Dell Migrate with MiniTool ShadowMaker

There are multiple tools for you to choose. Here we strongly suggest using MiniTool ShadowMaker. Although it is a professional PC backup software for Windows 11/10/8/7, it can also be a hard drive cloning software because of its Clone Disk feature.

You can move all your disk data including Windows settings, applications, personal files, important documents, pictures, videos, etc. to let the new Dell PC keep the same as the old one.

In this case, you can choose to clone a hard drive, which allows you to create an exact copy of your old drive on a new hard drive. Once a clone is complete, the new disk should be bootable on the new Dell PC.

Now, don’t hesitate to get this freeware. Just click the following button to enjoy the program for a 30-day free trial.

MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Remove your hard drive from the new Dell PC after shutdown and connect it to the old Dell PC. Then, follow the steps:

Step 1: Open MiniTool ShadowMaker

1. Run this PC cloning software that has been installed on your old PC.
2. Keep using the Trial Edition.

Step 2: Select a Feature

1. Enter the Tools window by clicking the corresponding button in the toolbar.
2. Choose the feature – Clone Disk from the following page.

Step 3: Select Disks to Clone

1. Click the SOURCE and DESTINATION sections respectively to choose the source disk and target disk for cloning.
2. Ignore the warning to continue.

Step 3: Perform Cloning Progress

MiniTool ShadowMaker is performing disk cloning. If the data on the old PC is too much, the process will take some time. Please wait patiently.

After completing the disk cloning, just ignore the information. To transfer files from PC to PC successfully via cloning, you should do these things:

1. Don’t shut down your PC. Just enter the Toolspage and click Media Builderto create a bootable disc or USB flash drive in case the system doesn’t start up due to dissimilar hardware.

2. Remove the target disk from the old PC and put it to the new PC.

• If the hardware on your old computer is the same as the new computer, you can directly boot your new PC to the Windows desktop.
• If the hardware is different between your two PCs, the new PC will fail to boot after plugging the disk back. This is because of hardware incompatibility.

In this case, connect the created media in advance to the new PC and boot your PC from it to enter the MiniTool Recovery Environment. Next, use the Universal Restore feature to fix the issue. After that, remove the media and you should boot your PC properly.

Related article: How Can You Do Windows Backup Restore to Different Computer?

Bottom Line

Here is the end of this post. Until now, you know what Dell Migrate is and how to use Dell Migrate in Windows 10 with its free alternative – MiniTool ShadowMaker. Now, it’s time for you to transfer your Dell laptop.

If you have some questions while using MiniTool ShadowMaker, don’t hesitate to let us know. Besides, any suggestions for this post are also welcome. Just leave your idea in the following comment or send it to [email protected].