...
This requires more effort initially, but you retain your new operating system with its installed drivers and customizations for your new hardware. We suggest you make an image of your old computer; you can explore the image on your new computer, copying files as you need them. This article explains how to access files from the backup image. All applications, however. will need to be reinstalled. You can also use the Windows Easy Transfer feature to transfer the most common files, email, pictures, and settings. It is available here for Windows XP, Vista and 7 and built into Windows 8 (use the win8 search, search for transfer and follow the wizard).
...