Skip to main content

I’ve been waiting for this possible Windows 11 transfer tool

Windows 11 on several devices.
Microsoft

A new transfer app for Windows 11 may be in the works, as Dongle and Microsoft watcher Phantomofearth discovered it in a preview build, as Windows Latest reports. If released, the transfer app could offer options like “Back up to this PC” and “Transfer files to a new PC,” streaming the migration process without needing an external storage device or cloud services.

Once you’ve made your selection, the process continues. The app could ask you to connect your old PC to the same Wi-Fi network, highlighting that it’ll use wireless transfer mode. If you’ve used Nearby Sharing, the transfer app’s process will feel familiar since it might be used to make the transfer process possible. The app could ask you to pair the two PCs to begin the transfer. The app should start the transfer session on the new PC and recommend connecting to a power source since the process could take a while. However, the app could not show the available controls or the set of files it’ll copy.

Recommended Videos

The Migration app is reportedly part of Windows 11’s Backup app, but its final form remains uncertain. Microsoft has not officially announced its development, though we hope it becomes official soon. However, we shouldn’t get too excited just yet since the code is hidden in Windows 11 and not being tested. Microsoft could abandon it at any time.

However, it’s about time Windows users had an app that would make setting up a new PC easy. The thought of transferring files could be why many decide to keep their PCs longer than they would like. Hopefully, if this app sees the light of day, it will allow you to choose all the files you want to transfer and will not charge you if the file is huge.

Judy Sanhz
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Judy Sanhz is a Digital Trends computing writer covering all computing news. Loves all operating systems and devices.
I hope these 3 long-lost Microsoft Windows 8 features stay gone forever
Windows 8 Start screen

If you used a Windows computer in the early 2010s, chances are you experienced Windows 8. Whether it was a good experience is another matter entirely, though. If you ask me, it was a bit of a disaster.

For me, updating to Windows 8 was an unexpected jumpscare. Maybe you had a similar experience; perhaps you just updated your computer one day to discover that the beloved Start Menu vanished without warning. In its place, you saw a full-screen tile interface that probably made you feel like you were using a phone rather than a desktop.

Read more
This Windows 11 update makes Start Menu much more desirable and usable again
The Dell XPS 13 on a table with the Start Menu open.

The Start Menu has been the central element in Microsoft Windows for nearly three decades. Though loved initially for its resourcefulness, the Menu went through some debatable -- I call them abhorrent -- changes with Windows 8, but eventually returned to occupying less space in the interface with Windows 8.1, and then Windows 10 and 11. Despite the rescuing, it is still reeling under the damaging changes in the form of recommendations and random automatically populating lists that reduce it to a mere glorified search interface. However, Microsoft may now be looking to resolve these issues and bringing back a more simplified interface with an upcoming update.

Microsoft is testing a new interface for Start Menu on Windows 11, reducing the existing clutter of randomly interspersed apps and files. X user @phantomofearth, renowned for testing new features in Windows Insider builds, gave us a good look at the new interface in a detailed video walkthrough.

Read more
Windows’ infamous blue screen of death is changing
The blue screen of death in Windows.

The infamous Blue Screen of Death — oft-shortened to BSOD — is changing, and many fans aren't happy with its new look. While seeing the BSOD was never a good thing, the long-time version displayed a fair amount of information regarding the cause of the crash or error. And in a way, sentimentality also plays a role. The BSOD has been a part of Windows since 1990, although it has changed its look a couple of times over the years.

Now it looks like the BSOD is changing to the...well, the BSOD. The black screen of death. In Windows 11 24H2, the iconic frowning emoji is gone, replaced with a much more straightforward screen: a black background with the words, "Your device ran into a problem and needs to restart." It has a progress counter beneath, and a few lines at the bottom detailing the stop codes as well as what failed.

Read more
OSZAR »