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Transfer Microsoft Office to new computer
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Transfer everything from old computer to new computer with Windows 11
Transfer programs and files to new computer
Transfer files from one computer to another
Research data: Windows and migration statistics
Transfer Microsoft Office to new computer
Restore programs and files from a broken or dead computer
Transfer directly from an old hard drive
Transfer to new computer using a USB hard drive
Corporate Windows 11 migration
User Profile Migration to new PC / new domain
How To Migrate Local Profiles to Azure AD
Migration to Server 2019 / 2016
Transfer programs and files to new computer
Transfer files from one computer to another
Transfer Microsoft Office to new computer
Restore programs and files from a broken or dead computer
Transfer directly from an old hard drive
Transfer to new computer using a USB hard drive
Move To New PC - Compare Options
Migration Kit Pro - Advanced Transfer
Transfer programs and files to new computer
Transfer files from one computer to another
Transfer Microsoft Office to new computer
Restore programs and files from a broken or dead computer
Transfer directly from an old hard drive
Transfer to new computer using a USB hard drive
Updated June 2026 · 2 minute read
Windows Server Migration Tools: How to Use Them – and What to Use Instead
Need to migrate a Windows Server to a newer version – and wondering whether Windows Server Migration Tools will do the job? This guide covers what the built-in tools actually migrate, how to use them, and what to use for everything they leave behind.
What Windows Server Migration Tools actually do
Windows Server Migration Tools (WSMT) is a built-in Windows Server feature, installed through Server Manager or PowerShell. It migrates server roles, features, shares, operating system settings and some data from an older server to a newer one.
Here is the important part: it does not migrate your applications. Not SQL Server, not your line-of-business software, not their configurations. Microsoft’s own guidance is to reinstall every application on the new server and reconfigure it manually. WSMT is also no longer being developed – it is a legacy feature, and recent Windows Server versions de-emphasize it.
How to use Windows Server Migration Tools
- On the destination server, open Server Manager, choose “Add roles and features”, and install Windows Server Migration Tools (under Features).
- Create a deployment folder for the source server’s OS version, using SmigDeploy.exe from the destination server.
- Copy the deployment folder to the source server, and register the tools there by running SmigDeploy.exe.
- On the source server, run Export-SmigServerSetting from the Windows Server Migration Tools PowerShell session to export roles, features and settings.
- On the destination server, run Import-SmigServerSetting to import them.
- Reinstall and reconfigure every application by hand – WSMT does not bring them over.
Doable? Yes – for roles and settings. But if your server runs actual applications and databases (and it almost certainly does), WSMT leaves the hardest part of the migration to you.
How to migrate the applications too
To migrate a Windows Server including the applications, databases, settings, shares, permissions and data – without reinstalling anything – use a dedicated server migration tool: Zinstall WinServ.
WinServ migrates the entire server environment from the old machine to the new one: applications (even custom or in-house ones), their configurations, databases, profiles, shares and all data. It works between any Windows Server versions – for example, from Server 2012 or 2016 to Server 2025, 2022 or 2019 – and even from a physical server to a virtual or Cloud machine.
- Run Zinstall WinServ on the old server.
- Run Zinstall WinServ on the new server – the servers connect over the network automatically.
- If you’d like to select what to transfer, use the Advanced menu; otherwise just press “Go” to migrate everything.
After the migration
- Adjust your domain’s DNS entries to point to the new server where needed.
- Update login scripts and GPO policies that reference the old server.
- Launch every application and console you use, and verify they load correctly.
- From a client workstation, verify that clients can access the migrated server and their applications run without issues.
Ready to migrate your server – applications included?
Looking for evaluation licenses / volume pricing / more information?
Email us at sales@zinstall.com for assistance.
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