Zinstall is one of the more popular migration software packages out there. It is most commonly used to transfer files from PC to PC, transfer programs to new computer and transfer to Windows 11.
In this review, we’ll examine how Zinstall fares in those tasks, how it compares to other option, and what kind of value it delivers for your money.
We will be reviewing Zinstall WinWin, the most popular Zinstall product that allows to transfer from one computer to another.
In this review, we’ll be covering the most common transfer type: transfer from one computer to another. Typically, this would happen when you get a new PC to replace the one you have, and would like to transfer everything from old computer to the new one.
Speaking of “everything”, it is worth considering what is it that you need to actually transfer. Files, sure, but files are not enough. Your computer is much more than just files. It has your programs installed, configured to your liking, your accounts, passwords, emails, bookmarks, your settings and profiles. All of that stuff should be transferred to your new laptop (or desktop), if you want to just keep working as if nothing happened. Fortunately, Zinstall delivers exactly that.
In terms of preparations, you don’t need to do much. You do need to turn the new computer on, and go through its “out of the box” steps, so that you can get into your actual desktop and get online. Other than that, there are no special cables, no network setups or sharing folders, none of the stuff that “old school” transfers needed. Zinstall has a fully automatic approach.
Zinstall WinWin is the most popular (and most consumer-friendly) transfer software in the Zinstall family. It’s purpose-built for the specific task of transferring files and programs from one computer to another.
To start the transfer, you download and run WinWin on both computers (old PC and new PC).
It will ask you which computer is which, and will then offer to start the transfer by pressing the “Go” button on the new computer.
If you prefer, you can also customize the transfer via the Advanced button (such as excluding programs and files that you don’t want copied over), but that is not required and is likely unnecessary for most uses.
Zinstall WinWin does a great job in transferring from one computer to another. It copies programs, settings, and all files. The transfer is automatic, quick (although overall time of course depends on how much data you have), and most importantly – it does everything for you without asking technical questions. It truly requires no technical knowledge to use.
Don’t let the “click one button to get it done” approach fool you. Just like your car, being simple to use doesn’t mean that the technology under the hood is simple as well. In fact, it’s usually the other way around: the simpler it is for the driver, the more advanced is the engineering that went into making the product.
WinWin is no different. The company has been making transfer software for more than 15 years, and it shows. To our knowledge, WinWin is the only product that is able to transfer applications generically, i.e. without relying on the manufacturer’s install information and without being “familiar” with the application in advance.
Zinstall users report success even in transfers of custom applications, legacy software, obscure packages that were developed by companies 10 years out of business – WinWin is extremely good in transferring even unusual applications.
It goes without saying that it will transfer all of your files, user profiles, accounts, emails and so on.
As a telling example, in testing, WinWin not only transferred Google Chrome, but that Chrome actually had all the user personal settings, logins, and info. In fact, it was still logged into Gmail and had the same tabs as were open on the old computer.
Same experience was with Outlook (all email accounts and passwords in place), Quickbooks and other software.
How long does a transfer take? Answer to that question can vary pretty wildly, since it depends on how much data you actually have on your computer. With that said, we can judge how efficient a transfer product is by comparing its transfer speed with max capacity speed of the network that it is running on.
In our lab, we have performed 2 transfer time test.
Test 1: Transfer from a Windows 10 computer with 130GB of data, to a new Windows 11 laptop. Both computers were connected to a regular 1Gbit/s residential router.
Total transfer time in this case was 51 minutes.
Test 2: This time, we have connected both computers to a slower wireless network, able to deliver a sustained transfer speed of about 80Mbit/s. Note that this network is more than 10 times slower than the one in Test 2.
Predictably, transfer time was significantly affected by network speed, with total transfer time of 3 hours and 48 minutes.
The reason that transfer time did not increase x10 after decreasing network speed x10, is that transfer means much more than just copying files, and those “housekeeping” tasks take similar time regardless of network speed.
Zinstall is able to achieve incredibly high transfer speeds, close to maximum possible capacity of the network, by applying an advanced transfer algorithm, which optimizes the speed “in flight” according to what resources are available. In our test, it actually took longer to copy the files manually with Windows Explorer, than to perform a full transfer using Zinstall.
Zinstall supports Windows 11, 10, 8.1/8, 7, Vista and XP. It is able to transfer in any combination of those systems, such as for example transfer from an HP Windows 10 to a Lenovo Windows 11, transfer from a Windows 11 desktop to a Windows 11 laptop and any other pairing.
One thing to note is that it does not transfer physical devices, so you do need to connect your printers and scanners separately on the new computer.
Sure, it’s super easy to use, and requires no computer knowledge to successfully perform a transfer. But what is something still goes wrong, or you just need some guidance?
Any product, especially one that you use for an important task like moving to another computer, is only as good as the support that its vendor deliver.
Zinstall provides support on a variety of channels. You can call them, you can email them, and you can use the live chat feature on zinstall.com (with an actual human tech, not a bot). They even have an automatic tool that you can run on the computer to submit a comprehensive diagnostic report, so that they can quickly understand what’s going on and what should be the next steps.
In our view, live chat is the star of this show: it’s live so you don’t have to wait, and it allows written communication which makes it so much easier to convey a point across, especially if you need any technical assistance.
Zinstall agents that we talked to were knowledgeable and able to respond both to general info / sales questions, and to technical support inquiries.
Zinstall WinWin is probably the most effective and well-rounded transfer software that we’ve tested. It allows everyone, even those of us with no technical knowledge, to perform a transfer all files and apps from one computer to another, and to start using the new computer as if nothing happened.
It is not the cheapest option out there, sure, but as with most things in life, you get what you pay for. When you choose a product to trust to transfer your data, and to save you days of work, it makes sense to get the best. The small difference in price would be negligible compared to the amount of grief a cheap and ineffective transfer product can cause you.
Above all, it is the completeness and seamless of the transfer that made the Zinstall transfer experience a cut above the rest.
Plus, the fact that you can get an actual human to answer questions, and even outside of regular business hours, just makes the whole experience as pleasant as it gets.
You can get Zinstall WinWin here.
Recommended? Yes.
Supported OS: Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, Windows XP, Vista.
Cost: $129
Is there a free version: No, but there is a money back guarantee.
Customer support: Phone, Live chat, Email
