Moving Windows PC

[Cornfield]

I need to move all data and settings from a Win10 installation to a new Win11 PC.

There are a number of solutions for sale online and lots of advice from people on how to do it yourself.

Assistance with this is appreciated.

FC

[mcbroomf]

Data I understand but what are the settings that need to be moved?

For data.  How much are you having to move? and where is it kept?  Are you on a desktop?  Is the data on the C drive or an additional internal drive, or on an external drive?

Where is it going?  Same as above .. an external drive, an additional internal drive?

[Cornfield]

The complete installation is to be moved from the C drive to the C drive on the new computer.  Both are desktops.

Lightroom has a complex arrangement of files, folders, presets, and a database.  The previous time I did this was many years ago and it did not go well.

[andyptak]

Try Acronis. For cloning there is a setting to clone for use on another machine.

[mcbroomf]

I've done this any number of times.  I start with a clean install of Windows and install all software I need and activate it.  Then remove drive(s) from the old PC, put them in an external drive USB box, or a dock, then copy the data to the destination drive(s), making sure the file structure is maintained.  Include the Lightroom catalog with your copying and locate the presets and ensure they are copied over.

Acronis might be simpler, I've never used it.

[Rhossydd]

I start with a clean install of Windows and install all software I need and activate it.

It's absolutely the best way to do this.

The smart approach is to plan ahead to make future migration and back up easy; Photos on a separate drive, all the LR configuration files, presets etc kept within a dedicated directory that's easy to find and back up.

Trying to just copy everything from one OS into a different one is a recipe for problems.

[MattBurt]

Yeah, clean install is the best way. But Acronis (or similar) is easier.
Just do it in a way you can go back to the old one if you find something missing or not working right so you can compare and figure it out without losing anything.