Windows Backup

Pack up a Windows PC's files, Outlook data, and settings into one zip for your new Mac or PC.

Download Thagobyte-Backup.cmd

For Windows 10 & 11 · runs offline · only reads files, never changes or deletes anything

How to use it

  1. Download the file on the old Windows PC. Plug in a USB drive if you have one — it's the easiest way to carry the backup.
  2. Right-click it → Run as administrator. If Windows says “Windows protected your PC”, click More info → Run anyway (it does this for any downloaded script). Double-clicking works too — it will ask for administrator rights.
  3. Answer the prompts: which user accounts, where to save, and whether to include Wi-Fi passwords. It then scans and shows every category with its size so you can switch things on or off.
  4. Copy the zip to the new computer and open README - How to Restore.txt inside it for step-by-step instructions for each item.

Close Outlook before you start (the tool offers to do it for you) — Outlook locks its .pst files while it's open.

What it backs up

Your files

  • Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Music, Videos
  • Follows folders moved to OneDrive or another drive
  • Favorites, Links, Contacts, Saved Games
  • Anything else saved in the user folder
  • Every user account on the PC, or just the ones you pick

Outlook

  • Every .pst data file — searches all drives, not just the usual spots
  • AutoComplete / nickname (.nk2) files
  • AutoComplete addresses as a .csv and a .vcf a Mac can import
  • Signatures, rules (.rwz), stationery, templates (.oft), macros

Browsers & mail

  • Chrome, Edge, Brave, Vivaldi & Opera bookmarks, exported as an .html that Safari and every other browser imports
  • Whole Firefox and Thunderbird profiles (they move straight to a Mac)

Settings & extras

  • Office templates, custom dictionaries, Quick Parts
  • Installed fonts, Sticky Notes, desktop wallpaper
  • iPhone / iPad backups made with iTunes
  • Optional: Wi-Fi passwords, cloud folders, data folders like C:\Scans

A report

  • Installed programs — your reinstall checklist
  • Printers and mapped network drives
  • Anything that was skipped, and why

Left behind on purpose

  • Windows itself and installed programs (they can't run on a Mac)
  • Outlook .ost files — they're server caches that re-download
  • Online-only OneDrive / iCloud files — they're already in the cloud
  • Browser passwords — Windows locks them to this PC; use browser sync

Good to know

  • Large backups are fine. On a FAT32 USB stick (4 GB file limit) it automatically splits the backup into several zips.
  • If transferring to a Mac and the Mac's Archive Utility won't open a very large zip, open Terminal and run ditto -x -k ~/Downloads/YOUR-BACKUP.zip ~/Desktop/ (use your zip's name).
  • Files a program has locked are listed in Backup Report.txt so nothing goes missing without you knowing.
  • Everything happens on your PC. Nothing is uploaded anywhere.
View the script

It's a plain-text PowerShell script wrapped in a small batch launcher, so you can read exactly what it does before running it.

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