Smith College Technology And Resource Adviser

PREPARING TO RECEIVE A NEW WINDOWS COMPUTER

Before you receive your new computer from ITS, please print this page and complete the following steps to ensure that your personal files and as many system settings as possible are preserved during the transition to your new computer.

Copy all important data and document files to another location.
Copy your browser bookmarks.
Identify any special non-standard software.
Record information about your special desktop shortcuts.
Record information about your networked printer(s).
Save your Microsoft Word default settings and templates.
EndNote users: Save your EndNote files and record your library location.
Dreamweaver users: Save your Dreamweaver site definitions.
After you receive your new computer, set a workstation password.
Copying your My Documents to a Windows 7 computer.

Information about how to complete each of these steps is provided below.

Step 1. Copy all important data and document files from your C: drive to another location.

If you have any important data or document files saved on your hard drive (C:), they will be lost unless you save them to another location before your computer is replaced. Once you have your new computer, you can copy them from that temporary location onto your new C: drive.

Note: If you always save all your data and document files on your network drive (H:) or shared drive (P:), you can skip to step 2.

To save important files that are currently on your hard drive:

Using Windows Explorer or My Computer, navigate to your C: drive.
Locate all data and document files (or entire folders) you want to keep. One likely place to look is your My Documents folder.
Select the data files and folders of interest, then go to Edit/Copy.

Important: Do NOT attempt to copy any actual software applications. All Smith-standard software applications will come pre-installed on your new computer, and any non-standard applications must be installed from scratch to work properly on your new computer. More details appear in step 3 below.
Navigate to your H: drive and paste your selected files into that location. Alternatively, you can copy your files onto a jump drive or writeable CD.

Note 1: If you think the total volume of files you want to copy to your new computer may exceed 1 gigabyte, please use an external hard drive instead of your H: drive to temporarily store your files during the transition. To borrow an external hard drive from ITS for this purpose, contact Sandy Bycenski at x4487.

Note 2: If you use Palm software, be sure to make a copy of your Palm [your name] folder, which contains all your preferences and personal information:

On your old computer, open Windows Explorer.
Go to C:\Palm, and locate the folder called [your name].
Copy the [your name] folder onto your H: drive, a CD, or a jump drive,
After reinstalling the Palm software on your new computer, copy the [your name] folder from its stored location into the Palm folder on the C: drive of your new computer.

Step 2. Save any browser bookmarks you've stored in Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox.

The directions below explain how to save your browser bookmarks to your H: drive, so you can copy them to your new C: drive later.

INTERNET EXPLORER 6.x

Save (export) bookmarks to your H: drive:

Open Internet Explorer
Go to File/Import and Export
In the Import Export Wizard, click Next
Select Export Favorites and click Next
Select Favorites and click Next
Select Export to a file or address and click Browse
Change Save in location to H:
(If you save your bookmarks inside a folder on your H: drive, be sure to note the location so you can retrieve the file later)
Click Next then Finish. Your bookmarks are saved in a file called bookmarks.html

Copy (import) bookmarks to your new C: drive:

Open Internet Explorer
Go to File, Import and Export
In the Welcome Wizard and click Next
Select Import Favorites and click Next
Select Import from a file or address and click Browse to locate your exported file
Select Favorites and click Next
Click Next then Finish

MOZILLA FIREFOX 3.x

Save (export) bookmarks to your H: drive:

Open Firefox
Go to Bookmarks/Manage bookmarks or Organize Bookmarks
In the Bookmarks Manager window, go to File/Export
Change the Save In location to H:
(If you save your bookmarks inside a folder on your H: drive, be sure to note the location so you can retrieve the file later)
Click Save. Your bookmarks are saved in a file called bookmarks.html.

Copy (import) bookmarks to your new C: drive:

Open Firefox
Go to Bookmarks/Manage bookmarks or Organize Bookmarks
In the Bookmarks Manager window, go to File/Import
Change the Look In location to H: and open the file bookmarks.html

MOZILLA FIREFOX 4.x

Save (export) bookmarks to your H: drive:

Open Firefox
Click on the Bookmarks button in the upper right and choose Show All Bookmarks
In the Library window, click on Import and Backup and choose Export HTML.
Navigate to the location on your H: drive where you want to save your booksmarks and click Save. (Be sure to note the location so you can retrieve the file later)
Your bookmarks are saved in a file called bookmarks.html.

Copy (import) bookmarks to your new C: drive:

Open Firefox
Click on the Bookmarks button in the upper right and choose Show All Bookmarks
In the Library window, click on Import and Backup and choose Import HTML.
In the Import Wizard window, choose From an HTML file.
Navigate to the location on your H: drive where your booksmarks.html file is saved, select the file, and click Open.

Step 3. Identify any special non-standard software you use.

All Smith-standard software applications will be pre-installed on your new computer. However, any non-standard applications you currently have on your computer must be re-installed from scratch.

For a list of standard software installed on all FCAP and staff computers, click here. The list also includes a form for requesting assistance with re-installation of non-standard applications.

Step 4. Record information about special desktop shortcuts.

If you have any shortcuts on your desktop that point to a specific document or file (e.g., Excel spreadsheet, Access database) on a network drive (H: or P:) :

Right-click on the shortcut.
From the pop-up menu, choose Properties.
In the Properties window, click on the Shortcut tab.
Write down the pathway shown in the Target field, so you can later recreate your shortcut on your new computer.

If you wish to save a picture of your current desktop for future reference:

Close or minimize all your application windows.
Click on the Print Screen button on your keyboard.
Open a new Word document.
Select Edit / Paste.
Print the resulting document and/or save it to your H: drive.

Step 5. Record information about your networked printer(s).

Please record the following printer information from your old computer, to help us set up your network printer(s) on your new computer:

For all Hewlett-Packard or Okidata printers you use:
1. Open Word.
2. Select File, then Print.
3. In the Print dialog box, locate the Name and Type fields.
4. The first name you see in the Name field is your default printer. Write down the Name and Type information for this printer, and whether it is set up to do 2-sided (duplex) printing.
5. If other printers are listed in the Name drop-down list, select each one in turn and write down its Name and Type.
If you use a Xerox Multi-function Device (MFD) for printing:
1. From the Start menu, choose Settings, then Printers and Faxes.
2. Right-click on the icon for your MFD and select Properties, then write down the name of the printer and the model number.
3. Make sure you know your department account code, so you will be able to update your MFD configuration on your new computer.
4. After you receive your new computer and the iPrint driver for the MFD is installed, your account code must also be entered before you can print. Instructions are here:
  
  http://www.smith.edu/its/tara/smith_network/mfd_printing.html#accountcode_win

Step 6. Save and restore your Microsoft Word default settings and templates.

If you have ever added new words to your Word dictionary, created macros, or changed your auto-correct settings, auto-text settings, default page margins, or default font, you should make a copy of your Templates folder (which contains the Normal.dot file) and store it on your H: drive. After you receive your new computer, you can use your saved file to restore your settings.

Click here for instructions for Office XP or Office 2003.

Click here for instruction for Windows XP Office 2007 to Windows 7 and Office 2007.

Step 7. Copy your Endnote files and record your library location.

If you use Endnote, be sure to copy all your Endnote library files ( .enl files) from your hard drive (C:) to your network drive (H:).

The default location for Endnote library files is on your C: drive, but you can change it to H: if you wish. If you want to continue using your C: drive, copy your .enl files to the default location on your new C: drive when you receive it.

Step 8. Saving your Dreamweaver site definitions.

Your Dreamweaver site definitions are stored on your hard drive (C:), so you must take explicit steps to save them for later use on your new computer. Follow the instructions below to export your site definitions to your H: drive while you still have your old computer. Once you have your new computer, import your site definitions to your new hard drive.

Part 1. Export your site definitions to your H: drive:

Open Dreamweaver on your old computer.
Open the Site menu and choose Manage Sites (or Edit Sites in older versions.)
In the Manage Sites window, highlight the name of the site you want to export and click Export.
In the Export Site dialog box, select Back up my settings and click OK.
In the next dialog box, navigate to your H: drive and save your [sitename].ste file in a place that will be easy to locate later, then click Save.
Repeat steps 3 through 5 for each of your site definitions.
When you're finished, click Done to close the Manage Sites window.

Note 1 : Always use the Done button to close the Manage Sites window. Dreamweaver may behave strangely if you close this window using the X in the upper right corner.

Note 2 : When you export a site definition, Dreamweaver writes the settings into an XML file with a ".ste" extension. Do not change, add, or remove anything in these files.

Part 2. Import your site definitions to the hard drive of your new computer:

Open Dreamweaver on your new computer.
Open the Site menu and choose Manage Sites.
In the Manage Sites window, click on the Import button.
Dreamweaver will a new site name called Unnamed Site 1 to the list. This is a placeholder for the name of the site you want to import.
Navigate to the [sitename].ste file you want to import, select it, and click OK.
In a few seconds, your imported site name will appear in the list, replacing Unnamed Site 1.
Repeat steps 3 through 6 for each site definition you wish to import.
When you are finished, click Done to save your new site list and close the Manage Sites window.

Step 9. After you receive your new computer, we strongly advise you to set a workstation password to help keep your files secure. Follow the instructions on the appropriate web page below:

Setting a workstation password on a Windows 7 computer
Setting a workstation password on a Windows XP computer

Step 10. Windows 7 places My Document in the Libraries folder in order for the documents to be searchable.

Right-click on the Start button, select Windows Explorer, now locate your back up copy of My Documents. This could be on your H: drive or an external hard drive.
To find your H: drive, click on the arrow next to Computer. Click on the H: drive, your files will be displayed on the right. Locate and copy your My Documents.
From the left hand column, open the Documents Folder listed under Libraries.
Paste your copy of My Documents into this folder.

If you have any questions about the information on this web page, please contact the User Support Center at x4487.