Q: I just got a new computer(laptop) with vista on it but my old computer was xp(desktop). My old computer had Microsoft picture it 10 software on it and i would like my new computer to have it to. Is there a way i can put the picture it 10 on a flash drive from my old computer to my new one? I do have works on the new computer but it doesn't have picture it on it.
A: If you have software installed on one computer, you cannot transfer it to another computer, with very rare exceptions. Windows (both XP and the newer Vista) have something called the "registry." It is basically a list of settings for all the software in the computer. So when you install software on a computer, that software is copied to the new computer, but also the registry has new lines added to it so that the software can run properly. Nobody knows what those lines are, or even what they mean exactly. So if you try to copy software to a new computer, you can do that, but it won't run properly (or at all) because the registry hasn't been changed to account for the new software. In a way, the computer doesn't "know" you have the new software. And you can't alter the registry yourself. It is very risky, because the wrong change can disable your entire computer. Also, as I said, nobody knows exactly what changes are required. There are several reasons why things work this way, but one is to keep people from doing exactly what you are trying to do, which is get two copies of software when you actually paid for just one. I know you aren't trying to steal, but what you are doing would most likely violate the license agreement you have for Picture It! (You don't ever own software. You only have permission to use it, a "license". And that license can have any terms or restrictions the manufacturer wants.) What I would do is try to find some new software that does what Picture It! does, and use that. It doesn't have to be expensive, and it might even be free. Picture It! is a simple photo-editing application, so something like Picasa (free) might work for you. For heavier duty editing, GIMP (also free) might work. The problem for you would then be if you created some pictures or art or documents in Picture It, you might not be able to open those files with new software. That is a huge issue, one that arises in all sorts of programs. It is one of the maddening things that software companies do to screw their users. (By the way, the same problem exists for Microsoft Works. No other software, including Microsoft Word, can open Microsoft Works files. I suggest you get rid of Microsoft Works and get either Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, etc.) or download the free Open Office, which uses the same file formats as Microsoft Office.) I did a bit of checking, and I see Picture It! was updated to become MS Digital Image, and then discontinued in 2006. I also see that Picture It! uses .mix files, which no other software can open directly. But apparently some people have managed to work around that issue. Here are a few people who did. http://www.photographytips.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=4&threadid=229 It is an old discussion, but it might have some ideas for you. You could also try posting a new question there if you can't open your old files. And in the future, make sure you save your pictures as .jpg files, which any software can work with. You shouldn't have to, but software companies, especially Microsoft, are forcing you to pay attention to that kind of issue.