How to Transfer from One Surface Pro to Another? (Files and OS)

Hi all, I recently bought a new Surface Pro 7 because my Pro 3 started to break down and I was running out of storage space. I was wondering if there was any method or program to move all of my files, documents, programs, and settings from my old surface to my new one aside from copying everything over manually with an external hard drive.-from Reddit

Whether you want to replace a problematic Surface Pro with a new one or move from an old Surface Pro to a new one, you may need to transfer data from one Surface Pro to another. This post contains two parts – transfer all files from one Surface Pro to another and transfer systems, programs, and data from one Surface Pro to another.

Transfer All Files from One Surface Pro to Another

If you just want to transfer files from one Surface Pro to another, the following lists 4 tools for you. Choose one of them based on your needs.

1. MiniTool ShadowMaker

You can transfer data from one Surface Pro to another with MiniTool ShadowMaker. The best backup software is compatible with Windows 11/10/8/7 and supports multiple devices including a USB drive, external hard drive, NAS, and more. It has various features such as data backup and recovery, sector by sector cloning, etc.

To transfer all files from one Surface Pro to another, you can try its Backup or Sync feature to back up or sync files to the external hard drive in the original Surface Pro and then go to the new PC to locate the folder to access data.

MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Sync:

Step 1: Launch MiniTool ShadowMaker and go to the Sync tab.

Step 2: Click SOURCE to check the files that you want to transfer and click OK.

Step 3: Click DESTINATION to choose your external hard drive or USB drive as the target path.

Step 4: Click Sync Now to start synchronization. This will take a few minutes.

Backup: 

Do the following things on the Surface Pro that contains files you want to back up.

Step 1: Run MiniTool ShadowMaker to its main interface.

Step 2: Under Backup, click the SOURCE tab. Then, choose Folder and Files.

Step 3: Browse the source check the desired files/folders you want to back up and click OK.

Step 4: Then, click DESTINATION to select the destination path. Choose the external hard drive as the destination.

Step 5: Next, choose Back Up Now to start the backup task.

Do the following things on another Surface Pro:

Step 1: Download and install MiniTool ShadowMaker. Connect the external drive that contains the backup files to this Surface Pro.

Step 2: Launch it and go to the Restore tab. Click Add Backup to import the file backup image.

Step 3: In the pop-up window, select the file restore version and click Next. Then choose the files/folders to restore and click Next.

Step 4: Click Browse to choose a destination location to save the restored files. Then, click Start to begin the operation. 

2. Use One Drive to Transfer All Data

The second option for you is OneDrive which is a cloud storage solution. You should sync data from your Surface Pro device to your OneDrive account. After syncing the files, you need to sign in to the same Microsoft account on your new Surface Pro device. Here are the detailed steps:

Step 1: Make sure both of your Surface Pro devices have installed OneDrive.

Step 2. On your old Surface Pro device, go to File Explorer and choose the OneDrive location where you want to keep your files.

Step 3: Move the files that you want to transfer to the OneDrive folder.

Step 4: Log into the same OneDrive account on another Surface Pro. Open the stored folders to access your files.

Related post: How to Access OneDrive from Another Computer? Two Ways Here!

3. Built-in Tools in Surface Pro

You can use Windows’s built-in sharing features to transfer all your data from one Surface Pro to another Surface Pro device. These tools are Nearby Sharing and Network Sharing.

#1. Nearby Sharing

Nearby sharing in Windows lets you share documents, photos, links to websites, and more with nearby devices by Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. You can share files between PCs that are running Windows 10 or Windows 11.

Step 1: Press the Windows + I keys together to open Settings.

Step 2: Navigate to System > Shared experiences. In the right pane, make sure the button under Nearby sharing is turned on.

Step 3: You can choose to share or receive content from all nearby devices by choosing Everyone nearby from the list. You can click the Change button to change the default storage path of the received files.

Step 4: Enable this feature on the new Surface Pro.

Step 5: Open File Explorer and select the file you want to share.

Step 6: Switch to the Share tab, click Share, and select the name of the device you want to share the file with. On the destination device, just click Save to receive the shared file.

#2. Network Sharing

Network sharing means that you can share files over a Local Area Network (LAN), such as connected computers within your home or workplace. Here is how to transfer from one Surface Pro to another via network sharing.

Step 1: Turn on the network discovery and file sharing:

1. Go to Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Centre > Change Advanced sharing settings.
2. Turn on network discovery and file sharing under Private, Public, and All Networks.

Step 2: Turn on the Share Permission:

1. Right-click the shared folder to choose Properties. Then, click the Sharing tab and click Share.
2. Choose Everyone to share with and click Add.
3. Choose Read/Write under Permission Level and click Share.
4. Go to the Sharing tab again. Click Advanced Sharing… and check the Share this folder In the same window, click the Permissions button and check the Allow box next to the Full Control option.
5. After creation, go back to the Sharing tab and copy the network path.

Step 3: Share Files to Another Surface Pro

1. Open File Explorer by pressing the Windows + E keys together and click Network.
2. Paste the noted-down network path in the address bar and double-click to access it.
3. Browse and open the shared files. You can view, copy, and save these files to a local drive on the target Surface Pro.

4. Via USB

It’s easy to transfer all your data from one Surface to another via an external hard drive or USB. Connect the USB to your old Surface Pro, copy the required data, and paste it into the USB. This way, you can transfer the entire data or part of selected folders/files.

Transfer System, Programs, and Data from One Surface Pro to Another

For personal data transfer, you can transfer files using an external hard drive or USB drive. How about transferring systems, programs, and data from one Surface Pro to another? To do that, you can also try MiniTool ShadowMaker. With its powerful feature – Clone Disk, you can efficiently and effectively achieve the goal.

MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Move 1: Clone Disk

Disk cloning is a way to transfer all contents from one hard drive to another one and it does not need the transfer cable. This feature can help you transfer everything between two Surface Pros.

Step 1: Connect the destination Surface Pro hard drive to your old PC and launch MiniTool ShadowMaker Trial Edition. 

Step 2: Go to the Tools window and you can see many features. Click the Clone Disk feature.

Step 3: Next, you need to choose the source disk and target disk. Before the selection, you can make some settings for the cloning by clicking Options.

• Disk ID mode: Same disk ID or New disk ID.
• Disk clone mode: Used sector clone or Sector by sector clone.

Step 4: After that, click the Start button to begin the cloning process.

Move 2: Universal Restore:

In most cases, after moving the hard drive to a new Windows computer, your PC should run properly. However, sometimes the cloned hard drive not booting due to the incompatibility of hardware between your old Surface Pro and the new one. 

To solve this boot issue, you can also ask MiniTool ShadowMaker for help. Its Universal Restore feature enables you to transfer data from one Surface to another with dissimilar hardware.

Step 1: Create a bootable disc or USB flash drive with its Media Builder which is located on the Tools page.

Step 2: Then, boot your new Surface Pro from the boot drive to enter the MiniTool ShadowMaker recovery environment.

Step 3: Go to Tools to click the Universal Restore feature.

Step 4: MiniTool ShadowMaker will then automatically detect the installed operating system on the hard drive. Just click the RESTORE button to perform a repair.

Step 5: Later, turn off your PC and enter the BIOS by pressing the certain key continuously. Then, change the boot menu to make your new PC boot from the cloned hard drive.

Bottom Line

This post shows you transfer from one Surface Pro to another including files and systems. Just choose the proper way based on your situation. If you have any questions regarding MiniTool ShadowMaker or have any suggestions related to this topic, you can contact support via [email protected].