I will be getting a new laptop with Windows 7 Home edition. My current laptop runs XP. What is the most efficient and least painful way to transfer my personal files and programs?

A:

Windows 7 has a transfer assistant, but it moves only files and settings. LapLink has a program, PCmover (http://bit.ly/bETKDz), in versions ranging from $30 to $60, which moves everything. Parallels offers the program Parallels Desktop for Upgrading to Windows 7 (http://bit.ly/9L1Er9), which is either $40 or $50, depending on whether you want an included cable.

Q:

I have an iPhone but am contemplating switching phones. I have a MacBook and all my music is in iTunes. Is there another smartphone that will sync my music with iTunes?

A:

The Palm Pre and Pre Plus can work with certain versions of iTunes, though not necessarily the latest. Apple (AAPL) and Palm have gone back and forth, with Apple disabling Palm syncing as it brings out new versions. If you use an older version of iTunes, it may well work. There are products that will sync iTunes music to a variety of smartphones. One is doubleTwist (doubletwist.com). It runs on PCs and Macs and supports Android, Palm, BlackBerry and other devices. Another product that can sync iTunes music to various non-Apple phones is called The Missing Sync (markspace.com). Note that, as far as I know, even if you get iTunes music onto a non-Apple phone, any copy-protected tracks you own won’t play.

Owners of any Mac with an Intel processor—about 80% of all Macs in use, including yours—will be able to do simple, direct in-place upgrades to the new Snow Leopard edition of the Mac operating system, due out soon. This method will preserve all programs, files and settings without requiring any of the hard-disk wiping, temporary offloading of files and re-installing of programs that Microsoft is requiring to move to Windows 7 from its most popular current version, Windows XP.

Not only that, but Snow Leopard will cost you and other Leopard users just $29, which is $90 less than the Home Premium version of Windows 7. Apple also is claiming that the upgrade will be up to 45% faster than in the past and that it will actually free up an additional 6 gigabytes of hard disk space.

However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be obstacles or issues for some Mac users. Most important, owners of the other 20% of Macs, those whose models use older PowerPC processors—like the G4 and G5—won’t be able to use Snow Leopard at all. It’s the first Mac OS version that runs only on Intel-based Macs. So, if these folks want Snow Leopard, they’ll have to buy new machines, even though some of them bought their Macs as recently as 2006.

Also, although Intel-based Macs running the older Tiger version of the operating system can be directly and simply upgraded to Snow Leopard, Apple is officially requiring their owners to spend more for it. They have to buy Snow Leopard as part of a $169 boxed set that includes other Apple software they may not want.

Given the manual process of moving from Windows XP to Windows 7, isn’t it likely that there’ll be some third-party utility to handle it?

Yes. Seattle-based Laplink Software has announced that it will issue a new version of its PCmover utility—mainly sold for transferring data to new PCs—that will be able perform automated in-place upgrades to Windows 7 on an existing Windows XP machine, including the preservation of programs. I haven’t tested it yet, and can’t swear that it will work properly. More information is at laplink.com under “Latest News.”

Can you recommend software to remove trial/craplet programs? Something suitable for average users?

The one I have used with success is called “The PC Decrapifier,” which removes unneeded trial programs, add-on programs and advertising come-ons known as “craplets.” The software is free at pcdecrapifier.com. Note that it works only on PCs running Windows XP and Windows Vista. Before you use it, make sure to read the list of exactly what it removes, which is on the Web site.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online for free at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

On TV, they announced a $40 government-issued coupon that is available to offset some of the cost of the new digital converter boxes we will need for our older television sets. How do I go about getting some?

You can apply for a coupon at a federal government Web site designed expressly for that purpose: www.dtv2009.gov. Or, you can call 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009). Each household can receive up to two of the $40 coupons, which look like plastic gift cards, but they can’t be combined to purchase a single converter box. Each coupon must be applied to the purchase of a separate box, which the government estimates will cost between $50 and $70 at popular electronics stores. Coupons also must be used within 90 days of the date on which they are mailed to the consumer.

Note that these converter boxes won’t be needed for about a year, and aren’t necessary for TV sets containing digital tuners, also called an “ATSC” tuner. Such tuners have been included in many TV sets sold in the U.S. since 2004, even if they aren’t high definition televisions. Converter boxes also aren’t needed for older analog TV sets that receive their programs via cable or satellite services or other pay services. They are needed only for older analog TV sets that depend on free, over-the-air programming, the kind usually received via an indoor or outdoor antenna.

Is it possible to transfer data from a computer with Windows 95 to a computer which uses Windows XP?

Yes, but the trick would be to figure out a medium for the transfer. Many, if not most, Windows 95 PCs don’t have USB ports, which rules out using a USB thumb drive or external USB hard disk as the transfer mechanism. If your old PC can burn CDs, that might be a good way to transfer your data.

Another option is buying a program like LapLink’s PCMover, which explicitly supports Windows 95 and can automate the process using either a network, removable media, or parallel cables. See laplink.com for details.

I’m thinking of getting an iPod Touch to replace both my iPod shuffle and Palm Pilot Vx. Does the Touch have as good address book and to-do functions as the Palm has? Does the Touch sync to the Mac’s Address Book, Mail, and Calendar software? If so, would it also sync to a Windows box?

The iPod Touch, and its close cousin, the iPhone, do have what I consider to be a very good address book, or Contacts program, though it may not have all the same features you use on your Palm. And that address book can be easily synchronized with a computer.

On a Mac, the iPhone and Touch Contacts can be synced with the built-in Address Book, or with Entourage, Microsoft’s Outlook equivalent. On a Windows PC, it can be synced with Microsoft’s Outlook; with Outlook Express (Windows Address Book) in Windows XP; or with Windows Contacts in Windows Vista.

The calendar on the Touch and iPhone can be synchronized with the Mac’s built-in calendar, with the calendar in Entourage, and with the calendar in Outlook on a Windows PC.

However, neither the Touch nor the iPhone includes a true to-do or task function, and neither synchronizes email with a computer. They do have a good email program, but it is intended to work on its own, fetching and sending email directly, rather than copying email from a computer.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online for free at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about using the Belkin Easy Transfer cable, moving files from a Mac to a PC and backing up a Mac with Parallels virtual machine software.

Last week, you advised using an Easy Transfer Cable to transfer files from a Windows XP computer to a new Windows Vista computer. But what about those of us still using Windows 98 who want to get a new Vista machine?

The Belkin Easy Transfer cable I discussed only works fully when the old PC is running the latest version of Windows XP, although it will work partially with Windows 2000. But there are other methods for people using older consumer versions of Windows, such as Windows 98 and Windows ME.

You can, of course, use a two-step process, copying your files to recordable CDs or to an external hard disk and then inserting the CDs into the Vista PC, or attaching the hard disk to it and moving the files over. You could also use a USB flash drive in the same manner. Or, if you are skilled at networking, you could move the files over a network.

However, there are also some cable solutions that will work with Windows 98 and Windows ME. For instance, the Tornado, the cable with the built-in manual file-copying software I discussed last week, works with versions of Windows back to the SE edition of Windows 98, though you need to install driver software for that version. More information is at www.thetornado.com.

Another product I reviewed last week, PCMover from LapLink, also works with older versions of Windows, albeit with different cables that LapLink sells, not the Easy Transfer cable. Information is at laplink.com. Another similar product that has worked for me in past tests is IntelliMover by Detto, at detto.com, which also comes with cables.

I am a Macintosh user and plan to buy a new Dell with Windows Vista. How can I move my programs and files from the old Mac to the new Dell?

Well, first of all, you can’t switch your Mac programs to the Dell. They won’t run on Windows. But nearly all of the common files used on a Mac, such as Microsoft Office documents, text files, pictures, songs and Adobe PDF files, will work fine on your Dell.

I don’t know of a simple, integrated cable-and-software solution for such a Mac-to-Windows migration. So you’ll likely have to use recordable CDs, or an external hard disk or USB flash drive. Just make sure to use drives that are formatted for Windows. Macs can read, and write to, such Windows drives, but Windows PCs can’t natively read, or write to, Mac-formatted drives.

I have a Mac running Windows via the Parallels virtual machine software. I am also running an older Windows PC, which I back up to an external disk drive. Can I plug the external drive into the Mac and copy the files into the Parallels environment?

Yes. A virtual Windows computer running on a Mac behaves just like a regular Windows computer, so you can indeed plug in an external hard disk and copy the files over. In addition, as I mentioned last week, the forthcoming new version of Parallels includes a utility called Transporter that will move the entire contents of a Windows PC into a virtual Windows machine running on a Mac. See parallels.com for details.

* * *

Because of the volume of e-mail I receive, I can’t routinely answer individual questions by e-mail, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column.

• Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com

Windows XP to Windows Vista: Microsoft has built a decent migration utility into the new Vista version of Windows. It’s called Windows Easy Transfer. It allows you to migrate folders and files, email accounts and messages, settings and favorites.

Windows Easy Transfer can be used to manage a migration over a network, via burned CDs or DVDs, or with external hard disks. But I tested it only with the simplest approach, the one Microsoft recommends: a special cable called an Easy Transfer cable. The best known of these is made by Belkin. It costs $40, and is available in electronics stores and from www.belkin.com/easytransfercable/. It works only if your old computer is running the very latest version of Windows XP, called SP2.

In my test, I first installed the software for the Belkin cable on my old Windows XP machine (Vista can handle it out of the box). I then plugged in the cable and used Windows Easy Transfer on both machines, following the instructions as I went along. The process was simple and quick. It transferred over 11,000 files totaling 10.9 gigabytes — documents, music, pictures, videos and more — in about 40 minutes. The files and settings were placed in a new user identity on the Vista PC.

Windows Easy Transfer even lets you select which items to move — and which to skip, if you want. But there are some downsides. Windows Easy Transfer doesn’t move programs, so you will have to reinstall these manually. Microsoft is testing a program that will move programs, called Windows Easy Transfer Companion. You can download it at Microsoft.com/downloads.

Also, I got a blue-screen crash shortly after the transfer completed, but the computer worked after a restart.

I also tested another program that can use the Belkin cable (or a similar cable sold by its publisher), PCMover by Laplink Software. It costs $50, or $60 with the cable, but has the advantage of moving programs, as well as files and settings. In my tests, it worked fine, transferring roughly 23 gigabytes of programs and files in about three hours. It also set up a new user identity on the Vista PC for the transferred material.

However, PCMover can only move all of your stuff. It doesn’t allow you to choose which items to move.

Worse, one of the transferred programs wouldn’t work on the Vista computer because it lacked some underlying components. Moving programs this way is a hit-or-miss proposition, because of the hideously complicated manner in which Windows stores programs on the hard disk and because some Windows programs won’t “activate,” or run, on a PC other than the one on which they were first installed.

Another alternative is a retractable cable called The Tornado, which costs $60 at www.thetornado.com. The beauty of this product is that it requires no software installation; the software is built in and just appears when you plug in the cable. The downside is that the software is entirely manual. You have to select, then drag and drop, folders and files between two windows representing the two computers.

In my tests, it worked fine, but was tedious. And unless you’re a techie, you wouldn’t be able to use it easily to transfer settings and programs, because you wouldn’t know where to find all of the files needed.

Windows XP to Macintosh: If you bought a new Apple Macintosh, instead of a Vista PC, the process of moving your files is even easier. No cable is needed. When you buy a Mac in an Apple retail store, Apple will transfer your pictures, music, movies and other documents from your Windows PC to your new Mac free of charge. If you bought the Mac elsewhere, including Apple’s online store, an Apple retail store will perform the data transfer for $75.

If you plan to run Windows on your Mac using the $80 Parallels software, from Parallels, the company will soon release the final version of a utility called Transporter. This program can transfer all the contents of a real Windows PC into the Windows environment on a Mac. But it works only over a network, and the files it moves won’t be easily accessible by Mac programs. Details are at www.parallels.com/products/desktop/transporter/.

I haven’t tested either of these procedures.

Macintosh to Macintosh: For years, all new Macs have come with an excellent built-in migration utility that, in my experience, is simple, quick and comprehensive. It works via a Firewire cable available for as little as $4 at electronics stores. It moves all types of files, settings and even programs, and lets you choose which types to move. I have used this process multiple times in recent years. It has never failed me, and typically has required two-to-five hours.

Whatever computer you buy, migration is now easier than ever, if not perfect.

Email me at mossberg@wsj.com. See video versions of my reviews at wsj.com/mossbergvideo.