PC migration is the process of transferring the entire user environment (i.e. personal documents and settings) between two computer systems.
[1] The migration problem is often associated with the concept of total cost of ownership where the requirement to migrate information is considered a "cost" in purchasing a new PC, similar considerations exist for businesses upgrading hardware/software.
[2] PC migration is required whenever one needs to move to a new computer (i.e. purchasing new hardware), or upgrade to a new OS.
Because of intrinsic differences and strong OS-hardware coupling, PC migration is considered to be a problem for both consumers and enterprises.
[3][4][5] Some PC migration software products are capable of transferring not just settings and data, but also applications.