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I bought a new computer recently. Then I spent the better part of a week moving files, reinstalling applications, and figuring out how to make the new PC behave like the old one.

As soon as I was satisfied, a PC World editor asked me to review V-Communication's PC Upgrade Commander, a utility designed to ease the process of transferring your programs, data, and setup to a new computer. If only he'd asked me a week earlier.

The idea behind PC Upgrade Commander is tantalizing. You install and run the program on both computers, clicking your way through the very short and simple Transfer Wizard, which determines which files to transfer and how they are to be transferred. The program then transfers your files via your LAN or the included parallel cable. The process takes anything from about 30 minutes to several hours (depending on the amount of data and the transfer method). You can also use removable media such as Zip or Jaz disks (CD-RW will probably work, but is not officially supported).

In contrast to a ghosting utility such as Norton Ghost, PC Upgrade Commander doesn't turn your new hard drive into an exact copy of the old one: Any programs already on your new PC will remain. And your new PC will retain the currently installed versions of Windows, Office, and other programs already on both computers.

No Panacea

But don't expect miracles. PC Upgrade Commander makes the job easier, but it doesn't do everything for you. You'll still have a lot of work to do after the transfer. V Communications warns in its documentation that some applications won't transfer properly and may have to be reinstalled on the new computer (although all of the applications I tried transferred without requiring a reinstallation).

The program has more serious problems: The way it works means that some things don't get transferred at all. For instance, you'll have to configure many programs all over again on your new PC. If a program is already on both computers, PC Upgrade Commander won't overwrite it, and it won't update the registry. This means that your settings and preferences, will not turn up on the new machine.

Consider Outlook Express, a program that will almost certainly be on both the old and new computer, and therefore doesn't need to be transferred. But you will want to transfer your inbox folders, address book, e-mail accounts, and rules (which say, for instance, that e-mail from a particular address be forwarded to a particular folder) onto your new computer. Despite several attempts, the new computer consistently found the transferred address book and accounts, but not the inbox folders or rules. And if your new computer has Microsoft Office installed, you won't see any of the customizations you made to its applications on your old computer; no default formatting, altered toolbars, autocorrect preferences, or anything else that differs from the default settings.

The program didn't always do its job dependably, either. Out of seven tests I ran, two failed. One died in mid-transfer, and another left Windows unbootable outside of Safe Mode on the new PC. PC Upgrade Commander comes with an undo feature, which worked for me in the second of these disasters but not the first. Fortunately, in both cases, the old computer, with all of the valued data and applications, remained untouched, so I never lost any data.

PC Upgrade Commander doesn't do everything it should, but it may still cut several hours out of a large and difficult job, and it won't endanger your data. If you value your time, it's probably worth the $40 or so the program costs on the street.

SUMMARY

PC Upgrade Commander $40 V Communtications 800/648-8266 www.v-com.com

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