FAQ

Do I need the app's original setup file? No. WinAppMigrator works from what is installed. That is what it is for.

Does the old PC have to work? No. You can take its drive out, connect it to a working PC, and build from there. You can also build from a disk image of that drive. See Moving from a connected drive or a disk image.

Can I build from the old PC without taking anything out of it? Yes, if it still starts, has Windows 7 or later, and is on the same network as a PC with Windows 10 or 11. Choose Network PC… in the app, save WinAppMigrator Client to a USB drive or a shared folder, run it on the old PC, and type the code it shows. Only what the build reads crosses the network, encrypted. See Moving from a PC over the network.

Does it change anything on the old PC? It does not change the app or its settings. It only reads them. It keeps a log, your light or dark choice, and the installers you build, and while reading another account or a connected drive, temporary copies of registry files. While it reads a disk image, it keeps folders the image is opened on. See Files it keeps on a PC. It never writes to a connected drive, or to a disk image. Over the network, the client keeps a snapshot of the old PC's drive, two firewall rules, a record of them, and a copy of itself in Program Files there while it runs, and removes them when you stop it.

Can I move several apps at once? One installer holds one app. Build one for each app.

Can I move my whole PC, or Windows itself? No. It moves one installed app at a time.

Can I move Microsoft Store apps? No. They are not listed.

Will my settings come along? Only if you tick User Data before you build. With it off, which is the default, the app starts on the new PC much as it would for someone new, apart from what it keeps in its own program folder and machine-wide settings. See What goes in an installer.

Will my license come along? Only if you tick License and Activation Data. Even then, a license value in the machine-wide registry is only named, never carried, and a license tied to the old PC may need activating again. WinAppMigrator never gets around activation. See Privacy and security.

Will my saved passwords come along? Mostly not. A value or file named as a password, token, or key is never put in an installer. One an app keeps inside its own settings file is not recognised, and can go in with it. Treat every installer as private. You may have to enter your passwords again.

Can I install the app in a different folder, or on a different drive? Yes. Change Install Location in the installer. Paths to the old folder in registry values, services, tasks, shortcuts, and environment variables are changed to the new one. A path written inside one of the app's own files, such as a settings file, is not, so try it before you rely on it.

Can I install on Windows 10 an app that came from Windows 11? Often, yes. The installer checks what each of the app's programs says it needs, and refuses one that cannot run. If the new PC's Windows is older, it says so before you install, since the app may rely on something the older Windows lacks. Desktop Windows 10 itself has not been run in the project's tests. See Requirements and testing.

Can it move apps off Windows 7? Yes, onto Windows 10 or 11, and off Vista, 8, and 8.1 too. Connect the old PC's drive to a PC with Windows 10 or 11, or pick an image of it, and the app says which Windows it has. It takes care of what was different there: settings Windows kept aside for older apps, apps from 32-bit Windows, and the DirectX 9 runtime. Some things cannot work on Windows 11 at all, such as a 16-bit program. This has been tried by hand from Windows 7 virtual machines onto Windows 11, not in the project's tests. See Apps from Windows 7, Vista, 8, or 8.1.

Does it run on Windows 7? No. The app and the installers run on Windows 10 and 11 only. Run the app on a Windows 10 or 11 PC, and have it read the Windows 7 PC's drive, or an image of it. If the Windows 7 PC still runs, Sysinternals Disk2vhd can make that image while it does. A PC that still runs can also be read over the network: the small WinAppMigrator Client does run on Windows 7. See Moving from a PC over the network.

Can it read a disk image, such as a .vhdx? Yes, from 0.6.0: a .vhd or .vhdx, with Disk Image…. The app attaches it read-only itself, and detaches it afterward. With 0.5.0, mount the image in Windows so it has a drive letter, and pick that drive with Connected Drive…. See Pick a disk image.

Can it read a VMware or VirtualBox disk? Not as it is. Windows cannot attach a .vmdk or a .vdi, so save the disk as a .vhd or .vhdx first. VirtualBox can do that itself.

Does it work on Windows on Arm? On Windows 11 on Arm, yes. The app and the installers run through Windows' x64 emulation. An x64 app installed on an Arm PC runs through emulation too, and the installer says so. The project's tests run on Windows 11 on Arm. Windows 10 on Arm cannot run x64 programs, so the app and installers do not run there.

Does it work for apps with drivers? Drivers the app itself owns are registered again on the new PC. No test has loaded one. Drivers that belong to Windows or another company are named instead, for you to reinstall from their maker.

How big will the installer be? The screen shows Up To, the most it could be before compressing. It is usually smaller. Past about 4 GiB, it comes as two files. See Big apps.

Does it need internet? Not to build, and not to install, as long as the runtimes the app needs were downloaded into the installer when you built it, and the app does not need .NET Framework 3.5, which Windows may have to download. That download needs internet on the PC you build on. An app that needs the DirectX End-User Runtime, as many games from Windows 7's time do, needs internet on the new PC too, because Microsoft's installer for it fetches it from Microsoft. See Runtimes.

Does it send anything anywhere? The programs' own code only goes online to download runtimes from Microsoft when you build. Over the network, what the build reads from the old PC goes to the PC that paired with it, on your local network, encrypted, and the old PC needs no internet. On the new PC, winget, Windows turning on .NET Framework 3.5, or Microsoft's DirectX installer may go online for a runtime that is not inside the installer.

Why does Windows say "Unknown publisher" for my installer? Installers you build are not signed unless you sign them yourself. See Privacy and security.

Can I sign my installers? Yes. The project's scripts/sign.ps1 signs one with Azure Artifact Signing, and you give it your own account. Sign the .exe only. So far only a throwaway test certificate has been tried on an installer. See docs/signing.md.

Why is the uninstaller always "Unknown publisher", even for a signed installer? Because it is a copy of the part of every installer that must never be signed. See Privacy and security.

Is it safe to share an installer? Treat it as private, like the PC it came from. It can hold more than you expect, especially with User Data on, and its own files can hold anything the app keeps in them. Never post one publicly. See Privacy and security.

I have an installer built with an older version. Is it fine to share? No. Installers built before 0.5.0 can hold your PC's name, your account's name, recent files, and more, whatever options were chosen. Build it again with 0.5.0 or later.

Can I see what it will do before it does it? Yes. The installer lists what it sets up beyond its files and its own settings before you click anything. Preview Changes works out every change and makes none.

What if the install fails half way? Everything it did is put back, except a runtime it installed, and it says if anything could not be. If the PC loses power part-way, the next installer you run puts it back first.

Can I install without the window? Yes. See Command line.

What does --force do? It lets an install use a folder that already has files, and replace what is there. Use it only for a folder you know belongs to this app. See Command line.

How do I uninstall an app installed this way? From Settings, like any other app. See Undoing an install.

Will uninstalling delete my documents? No. User data and licenses stay unless you tick Also Remove User Data and License Data. Files you added or changed stay too.

Will uninstalling remove the Visual C++, .NET, or DirectX runtime it installed? No. Other programs may be using it.

What is a .before-install file? The original of a file the install replaced, kept because you had changed the replacing file since. See Undoing an install.

What does it cost? Nothing. It is open source, under the MIT license.

Which version does this wiki describe? 0.6.0. Three things in it are new in 0.6.0: reading a disk image, moving apps off Windows 7, Vista, 8, or 8.1, and reading another PC over the network. The repository's documents are the authority. See Home.

Where do I report a problem? In the issues. Never attach an installer. A security problem goes privately, through GitHub's security advisories. See Troubleshooting.

Last changed 2026-11-11. Describes WinAppMigrator as of its latest release, 0.6.0.