Vista has now taken a strong hold on the PC market. I for one really do like Vista and in my profetional opinion it is a better operating system. I know it has gotten a bad rap with all those Mac commercials but Vista is a far more robust operating system over XP.

Now that you bought your new slick looking Vista system you are all ready to go. Except for the part of all your files being stuck on your old XP system. The purpose of this guide is to talk about different methods of moving your old data from XP over to Vista. While this sounds like a daunting task many of these tasks are not all that hard. If you are NOT computer literate then you may want to consider purchasing some data transfer software to help out in this process.

I do not recommend you transfer over programs from your old XP computer to the new Vista system. This often times causes many headaches. The best thing to do is just re-install all the programs you want to use. If you lost the re-install disk then contact the manufacturer and see if they allow you to just download it online.

After the software you want to use has been installed you are now ready to move all the core data like your documents and pictures over to the new computer.

To do this you have several methods. We will briefly cover your options here. Once you have chosen a method of transfer you can visit our data transfer site online and get more details on how to do the method you chose.

1. The first method is 100% free and not a bad way to go. It involves using the built in data transfer wizard in XP and Vista. Hit the windows start button and browse to Program Files > Accessories > System Tools > Files and Settings Transfer Wizard. This built in tool works great for moving over your documents and settings from one computer to another. This will transfer over not just your documents but your users setting. You can also pipe over all other users on the system at the same time. Just start the system you want to transfer data from and you will see step by step guides on how to proceed. You will have the option of doing the data transfer live over the network or coping the data to a disk or another hard drive.

2. Another way to do this is manual. This is the route I go when doing data transfers. I prefer to have my clients start over with a fresh account. Normally is what I do is network both systems together or just hookup a USB hard driver and manually copy over the My Documents folder and favorites. To find were your documents are stored hit the Windows Start button and browse to My Computer > C: > Documents and Settings > Your USER ACCOUNT. From there you will see the My Documents folder as well as your IE favorites folder and your Desktop folder. This is the main place were your data is stored and for most people the only thing they want to transfer over. Just copy and paste it to the new computer over the network or copy it over to the USB hard drive and then copy it to your new Vista System.

3. Your third method is a little easier then the above but with ease comes cost's. You can always go out and purchase software to make the data transfer a breeze. Windows Easy Transfer Wizard is not all that hard to use but they could make the process more straight forward. With Data transfer software you can just hit a few buttons and call it a day. If purchasing software you should consider paying the extra 20 bucks or so and get the data transfer cable. This way even if you are not computer savvy at all it's hard to screw up. There are data transfer programs that will even copy over software from your old computer to the new one. I still would not recommend coping over programs but if you have lost the disc this may be your only option.

4. The last method is the easiest of all but the most costly. Consider hiring a pro to do the data transfer for you. Not only will they get all the documents you need but many local computer repair companies will spend a few extra minutes to teach you a thing or two about Vista. You can always search online for something like "Online Computer Repair" and find an online company that may be willing to do the data transfer at a better price then hiring a tech to come out to do the Data Transfer.

The above are all goods methods to consider when transferring data from XP to Vista. Look them over and choose one that you feel comfortable with. Only you know what skill level you are at.