Ricky Says

Let's say you recently purchased a new computer or laptop, and you'd like to move or copy the installed applications from the old computer to the new one... or maybe you purchased a second hard drive that's bigger and faster than your current hard drive, and you'd like to move programs from the old hard drive to the new one.

If you've lost or don't have access to your original installation CDs, then it could cost you hundreds of dollars to buy licensed versions of each software application to install on the new system or hard drive.

Fortunately there are a couple easy ways to transfer your software programs from one hard drive to another, or from one computer to another - and without breaking the bank.

1. Laplink PCmover is a migration utility that moves programs, files, and settings from your old PC to your new PC.

Windows writes certain keys to your computer's registry when you install a program, and makes associations with other modules and/or installed programs. It's almost impossible to manually transfer these settings to another computer, which is what PCmover does automatically.

Question: "It seems like the only way I can get pictures from my phone to my computer is to email them, which costs about 75 cents a picture depending on the picture size (at least with my Cingular wireless service plan). Is there another way to transfer them?"

Answer: Yes, there are two other ways to transfer photos from your Razr phone to your PC (or vice versa) without paying any wireless provider fees:

1. USB Data Cable
2. Bluetooth

I'll discuss each of these approaches in this article.

Transfer Pictures To Your PC with a USB Data Cable

Cell phone manufacturers want you to transfer photos from your cell phone using email, because that way they can charge your for the data transfer. However, if you have a USB data cable or a bluetooth connector (discussed below), then you can transfer pictures, video, and ringtones directly without recurring carrier service fees.

You'll need software to recognize your cell phone and handle the transfer with a USB data cable. There are several affordable programs that will let you transfer photos, videos, and ring tones from your cell phone to your PC. They also let you copy them from your PC to your cell phone.

Motorola PhoneTools

Motorola's PhoneTools software is built specifically for Motorola phones like the RAZR or the new KRAZR.

PhoneTools allows you to transfer photos and videos directly from your Razr phone to your PC (or from a PC to your Razr phone). The PhoneTools' Multimedia Studio and File Transfer Studio let you see all your photos, audio and video clips in the same window. You'll see your computer on the left and your phone on the right.