Hi Peter,
Thank you for asking your questions and posting on our forums.
The Bravura Easy Computer Sync software will only transfer part of the data on your disk, depending on which settings you select at the main window. By default it will only transfer files found in the typical user folders like My Documents and My Pictures. It won’t automatically transfer data that is stored in an unusual place, such on another disk, or folders outside of the user’s directory. Also, if several users had their own user directory on the old computer, it will only transfer data from the user that is currently logged into the computer to the same user on the new computer (so you need to log in as each user on the old computer and the new computer) and run it again in this situation. This is to keep the data properly organized and protect personal files.
You can use the Drag and Drop feature to access everything on your old computer and transfer it, even hidden files and system files by checking the appropriate boxes at the upper right of the window.
However there are several points to keep in mind as you do this.
Programs won’t transfer. This is because they make changes to each computer’s environment when they are installed, and these changes won’t transfer over. So the only thing you might consider transferring from the Program Files folders is if a program stores some of the data it creates in it’s own folder instead of in the user folder. This is not good behavior on the part of the program, but some do it.
Transferring system files is dangerous if a system file on the new computer gets overwritten by one with the same name from the old computer. There really is no ordinary situation where you would want to transfer over a system file.
Easy Computer Sync does not transfer over email files. This is because each program stores them in a different location or in different ways. It can also vary between operating systems versions even with the same program. These files can be transferred using the cable and the drag and drop feature. You can usually Google the name of the program and your Windows version with “file storage location” to find out where they are. We can also help with this.
The easiest way to tell what was not transferred is to eliminate things that are not transferred automatically. For example, if you know you have set up your own directory structure for photos or music, it probably wasn’t transferred automatically.
You can right click on your Program and Windows folders and select Properties. It will tell you how much data is in those folders. They would not have transferred over.
You can go to Control Panel > Folder Options > View tab, and Check Show hidden files, folders, and drives, and you can see the folders in your C:\Users folders that were not transferred, basically anything hidden and from another user than the one currently logged in. A lot of that is stuff you wouldn’t want to transfer, like temporary internet files and temporary program files, but your emails might be in your C:\Users\AppData\Local folder.
I hope this helps. If you have more questions, I would be happy to help.
David
Plugable Support