h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Before you scrap your old machine completely, root around to be sure that you've gotten all our old files transferred to the new one.

Even the files that you think you won't be needing anymore.

There's nothing worse than to be hammering away on a new project on your sleek, ultra-fast new computer and suddenly realise that you didn't remember to transfer a particular graphic that is vital to the presentation.

And if you're selling your old computer, make sure to erase the disk (using any formatting program, such as the disk formatter built into Windows or Drive Setup for Mac) several times to make sure that the future owner doesn't get into your files.

Deus Ex Machina

Go out and buy a Zip drive. These don't cost a lot of money, and are ideal for getting all your old data files onto a backup medium. You can use them to restore the data to your new PC and then user them as a backup system on the PC.

Also, download one of the freeware license key extractors for getting the license keys out of your installed programs. You can use this to re-install software that requires a key if you've lost it.