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Migrating Setup From Windows 10 to Windows 11

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brentnhunter
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Migrating Setup From Windows 10 to Windows 11

Post by brentnhunter »

I just had to stop using my old Windows 10 machine and am now using a new Windows 11 desktop. Is there an easy way to just copy the settings from the old computer to the new computer? I recall spending quite a bit of time customizing it before, and I'm hoping I won't have to spend anywhere near so much time this time around.

Thank you for your assistance!

Brent
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SilverAzide
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Re: Migrating Setup From Windows 10 to Windows 11

Post by SilverAzide »

brentnhunter wrote: May 3rd, 2022, 1:27 am I just had to stop using my old Windows 10 machine and am now using a new Windows 11 desktop. Is there an easy way to just copy the settings from the old computer to the new computer? I recall spending quite a bit of time customizing it before, and I'm hoping I won't have to spend anywhere near so much time this time around.

Thank you for your assistance!

Brent
Assuming you have the same version of Rainmeter installed on both machines, and assuming you are using a standard install on both, here's what I would do:
  1. Exit Rainmeter (it must not be running).
  2. Copy the entire folder C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Rainmeter from your old machine to your new one, replacing everything. If the usernames are not the same, adjust accordingly.
  3. Copy the entire folder C:\Users\<username>\Documents\Rainmeter from your old machine to your new one, replacing everything.
  4. Restart Rainmeter.
Your entire setup should be preserved exactly.
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balala
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Re: Migrating Setup From Windows 10 to Windows 11

Post by balala »

brentnhunter wrote: May 3rd, 2022, 1:27 am I just had to stop using my old Windows 10 machine and am now using a new Windows 11 desktop. Is there an easy way to just copy the settings from the old computer to the new computer? I recall spending quite a bit of time customizing it before, and I'm hoping I won't have to spend anywhere near so much time this time around.
Not very sure what are you talking about: copying general settings or copying Rainmeter related settings? In second case see SilverAzides reply above, however the first case is not something related to this forum.
SilverAzide wrote: May 3rd, 2022, 3:10 am
  1. Copy the entire folder C:\Users\<username>\Documents\Rainmeter from your old machine to your new one, replacing everything.
Just additionally note that even if in many cases this is correct, it is not always. I mean that the Rainmeter skins (and the Documents folder) are not always in the default location. So instead of recommending copying the C:\Users\<username>\Documents\Rainmeter folder, better is to copy the Documents\Rainmeter folder, which can be placed to another location. For me for instance its path is D:\Documents\Rainmeter, this folder contains the Skins folder (and implicitly the skins).
Sorry, but just to be precise...
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SilverAzide
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Re: Migrating Setup From Windows 10 to Windows 11

Post by SilverAzide »

balala wrote: May 3rd, 2022, 3:14 pm Not very sure what are you talking about: copying general settings or copying Rainmeter related settings? In second case see SilverAzides reply above, however the first case is not something related to this forum.

Just additionally note that even if in many cases this is correct, it is not always. I mean that the Rainmeter skins (and the Documents folder) are not always in the default location. So instead of recommending copying the C:\Users\<username>\Documents\Rainmeter folder, better is to copy the Documents\Rainmeter folder, which can be placed to another location. For me for instance its path is D:\Documents\Rainmeter, this folder contains the Skins folder (and implicitly the skins).
Sorry, but just to be precise...
This is why I specifically stated
Assuming you have the same version of Rainmeter installed on both machines, and assuming you are using a standard install on both...
Perhaps you didn't read that part. No need to endlessly nitpick; we get it.
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balala
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Re: Migrating Setup From Windows 10 to Windows 11

Post by balala »

SilverAzide wrote: May 3rd, 2022, 5:27 pm No need to endlessly nitpick; we get it.
I'm sorry I endlessly nitpick you, I do, right?
I have a standard instalation of Rainmeter, however my Documents folder is not in the default location. It is not absolutely necessary to be there.
But I got I annoying you. Sorry...
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Yincognito
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Re: Migrating Setup From Windows 10 to Windows 11

Post by Yincognito »

balala wrote: May 3rd, 2022, 6:42 pm I'm sorry I endlessly nitpick you, I do, right?
I have a standard instalation of Rainmeter, however my Documents folder is not in the default location. It is not absolutely necessary to be there.
But I got I annoying you. Sorry...
Gotta love the little tough love on the forums, LOL. And just to do my own share of precise nitpicking (probably not endless though since I take a break from time to time to recharge my [or is it my laptop's?] ... batteries, as you can see), a standard installation also means that the user is pressing Next till he finishes the installation, in other words that he installs the software - Rainmeter, in this case - in its "standard" i.e. default location on the C: drive. That is what SilverAzide meant, because having the skins folder on another drive means you performed a "custom" installation, instead of a "standard" one (or, to be even more precise, that your system having a customized location of the Documents folder means, by extension, that the Rainmeter installation is not identical to a standard one either).

Obviously, it goes without saying that if the approach for the standard installation is the one mentioned above (which it is, as we all know), then adapting the method in the case of a (direct or indirect) custom installation, including using the custom path, is needed as well.

Hopefully, this clarifies things for the handsome and smart Rainmeter loving people reading the beautifully colored pixels of the forum. Oh, and nice to see that both of you didn't lose a single bit of the qualities that make you ... you, and valuable members of the Rainmeter clan. :sly:
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balala
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Re: Migrating Setup From Windows 10 to Windows 11

Post by balala »

Yincognito wrote: June 8th, 2022, 11:07 pm a standard installation also means that the user is pressing Next till he finishes the installation, in other words that he installs the software - Rainmeter, in this case - in its "standard" i.e. default location on the C: drive.
This is exactly what I did when installed Rainmeter. However if the location of Documents folder is not the standard one, Rainmeter looks for the skins into the appropriate folder of Documents, wherever they are.
Yincognito wrote: June 8th, 2022, 11:07 pm because having the skins folder on another drive means you performed a "custom" installation, instead of a "standard" one
No, it didn't mean this. As said above, I installed Rainmeter with the default settings, but Rainmeter sees the Documents are not on the standard location, without having to do anything special.
Yincognito wrote: June 8th, 2022, 11:07 pm Hopefully, this clarifies things for the handsome and smart Rainmeter loving people reading the beautifully colored pixels of the forum. Oh, and nice to see that both of you didn't lose a single bit of the qualities that make you ... you, and valuable members of the Rainmeter clan. :sly:
Yep, definitely should have to shut up my mouth from time to time. Will try to...
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Yincognito
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Re: Migrating Setup From Windows 10 to Windows 11

Post by Yincognito »

balala wrote: June 10th, 2022, 8:05 pm This is exactly what I did when installed Rainmeter. However if the location of Documents folder is not the standard one, Rainmeter looks for the skins into the appropriate folder of Documents, wherever they are.

No, it didn't mean this. As said above, I installed Rainmeter with the default settings, but Rainmeter sees the Documents are not on the standard location, without having to do anything special.

Yep, definitely should have to shut up my mouth from time to time. Will try to...
Well, you kind of answered yourself with this, really. If the location of the Documents folder is not the standard one, how can an installation based on that be a standard installation? The meaning of 'standard' is by definition a general, and not a relative one - it's the other things that are relative to the standard, since it's a reference used for comparisons. Example: even if some building company follows the standard plan to build a house (like you did when installing Rainmeter), if it uses a non-standard aka custom structure in the process, e.g. a water or gas pipe of a different material / size, or another unorthodox electrical system than common for the building (like your custom Documents folder location), then the result will also be a non standard one.

Anyway, it's not a big deal, it's not like the definition is set in stone. All I wanted to convey is that the common understanding of a 'standard installation' refers to where most software and most users install things when the defaults are used, and that is on C: drive paths. Other than that, I don't think the idea was for anyone to shut up, but rather focus on correcting things that are fundamentally wrong and not necessarily on the details that don't invalidate the main point.

That being said, many times such details are important. It's not always the case though, it depends from situation to situation. Some people like dissecting things to the finest level and find it useful, some don't and only mention them when they feel it's an absolute necessity - there's no universal way to proceed here. Personally, I understand both points of view, but yeah, couldn't help noticing the back and forth on the subject. so ... :D
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