transfering a program from one computer to another (laptop, operating system, flash)

[topher5150]

I have a copy of a Guitar Pro on my old laptop can I transfer it to my new laptop?

[EscapeCalifornia]

Not usually without reinstalling from the original media. Installing a program does more than simply creating a folder and copying files to it. You can try moving its program folder to a new computer and running it. Most likely, it'll complain about missing files and terminate. You can then look for those files on the old computer and copy them to the new one. Keep doing that until it either runs or terminates with some useless error message that gives you no idea how to proceed.

[bs13690]

This is probably the number one question I get when setting up a new drive for people.

[Tek_Freek]

Yeah, all that bootlegged software won't copy over. Not directed at the OP, but at all the clients I had that wanted it done. It felt good to tell them I couldn't do it.

[Tek_Freek]

topher5150, If there is data associated with the program you should be able to copy it over, but not the program itself. If you reinstall the prog, then copy the data across to the same folders it's in on the old computer it should work.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by Tek_Freek

topher5150, If there is data associated with the program you should be able to copy it over, but not the program itself. If you reinstall the prog, then copy the data across to the same folders it's in on the old computer it should work.

When moving to a new PC and reinstalling from the CD, I'll copy the program folder over first if I don't know exactly where the data might be mixed into it. Reinstalling then will behave more like a repair and adopt a lot of settings from the old installation. One note: When moving from a 32 bit system to a 64 bit system, move the folder from c:\program files\yourprogram to c:\program files (x86)\yourprogram.

[TurcoLoco]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

When moving to a new PC and reinstalling from the CD, I'll copy the program folder over first if I don't know exactly where the data might be mixed into it. Reinstalling then will behave more like a repair and adopt a lot of settings from the old installation. One note: When moving from a 32 bit system to a 64 bit system, move the folder from c:\program files\yourprogram to c:\program files (x86)\yourprogram.

That would make sense but technically it wouldn't matter unless the application in question had ties to the corresponding registry hive (HKEY_Local_Machine\Software for 64-bit apps opposed to HKEY_Local_Machine\Wow6432Node\Software for 32-bit apps).

Whenever I like an application and would like to include it on my flash drive, I simply do just that, copy the application folder to the flash drive and try to run it on another computer to see what happens. The real complex software that integrates itself deep and/or all over the operating system will most definitely either give an error or not run at all. This is typically due to missing registry keys/file formats, missing files and/or not-registered files and not to forget, due to unsupported system.

Besides the typical "C:\Program Files\" or "C:\Program Files (x86)\" directories, some applications also create and use folders they create with same name which can be located at one or more of these locations:

Windows 7:
"C:\Program Files\Common Files"
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files" (if it is a 64-bit system)
"C:\ProgramData"
"C:\Users\username\AppData\Local"
"C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming"
"C:\Users\username\AppData\LocalLow"
"C:\Users\Public\AppData\Roaming"

Windows XP:
"C:\Program Files\Common Files\"
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\" (if it is a 64-bit system)
"C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\"
"C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\"
""C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data"

Also, there is a chance certain files/folders might be dropped in user's "My Documents" folder or even in C:\Windows" or in one of its sub folders too.

I have never used Guitar Pro but you will have to do your own research to see what the program does when you install it on a system. Running a registry snapshot tool like RegShot will clue you in on exactly what is happening during the installation process (you run a registry snapshot before you start the installation, then another right after it is completed).
Typically, almost all all registered programs will creates a key at either one of these locations:

32-Bit system/32-Bit apps:
- HKEY_Local_Machine\Software\ = For standard application related info, program location, registration/version info, etc.
- HKEY_Current_User\Software\ = If it uses any user customization/configuration settings.

64-Bit system/64-Bit apps:
- HKEY_Local_Machine\Software\ = For standard application related info, program location, registration/version info, etc.
- HKEY_Current_User\Software\ = If it uses any user customization/configuration settings.

64-Bit system/32-Bit apps:
- HKEY_Local_Machine\Software\Wow6432Node\ = For standard application related info, program location, registration/version info, etc.
- HKEY_Current_User\Software\ = If it uses any user customization/configuration settings.

You can make most any registered application work by simply exporting its keys from above mentioned locations in the registry then merging them on the target system accordingly. If the program has any proprietary file extensions (formats) that it adds to the registry, you would have to copy them over as well....but at that point things get way too hairy for a novice user hence everyone's logical advice to re-installing the application on the target drive.

[tpk-nyc]

Do you have a Mac? They have a "Migration Assistant" that transfers all of your files, including applications, to your new computer.