From time to time I purchase and download software online. I am thinking of purchasing a new computer and am wondering how I will move these applications to the new machine? On most occasions I have deleted the temporary installation files (e.g. setup.exe) after installing the software. So, can I just copy the contents of the ‘Program Files’ directory to the new computer? The current computer is running Windows XP SP2.

This is a very good question, but unfortunately in most cases you cannot move a program to a new computer by copying the program folder in the ‘Program Files’ directory. This is because most programs have other associated files and data located in different directories (e.g. C:WindowsSystem, C:Documents and Settings) and also in the Windows registry. By copying the relevant Program Files folder you are missing out these other files, which are often critical to allow the program to operate. Therefore, in most cases you will need to reinstall the program from their original installer. When you purchased some of the software over the internet, it may have come with a product key which you enter into the trial version of the software to activate the full version. In this case, the product key may still be contained in an email which you have. This could allow you to re-download the trial version of the software, and then activate the trial version into the full version using the product key. However, should this not be available for the software your best option is to contact the vendor to see if they can offer you a downloadable copy of the software. They should have records of your original purchase, so hopefully they are able to help.