Laplink Releases Free Windows® 8 Testing Tool

Southampton, UK, February 20^th, 2012, Laplink Software, Inc. has released PCmover ^® Windows ^® 8 Beta Assistant™, a free tool that makes testing Windows 8 more efficient and easily allows users to migrate selected programs, files and settings from a Windows 7 PC to a Windows 8 PC.

PCmover Windows 8 Beta Assistant is available now as a free download on Laplink’s website and can be used to perform an unlimited number of migrations at no charge prior to July 2012.

Beta Assistant provides a unique solution that allows users to move selected programs, files and settings from a Windows 7 or Windows 8 machine into a new machine running Windows 8. PCmover is the number one best-selling migration software in the world and is the only software that moves installed programs (as well as files, settings and user profiles) from an old PC to a new one. Unlike PCmover, Microsoft’s Windows Easy Transfer has never supported the process of migrating installed apps. Without PCmover, users must find old CDs, re-download applications, and locate serial numbers and keys to manually install programs when setting up a new PC.

“Setting up a new PC is a nightmare without PCmover,” explained Laplink Director of Marketing Neil Minetto. “The amount of time it takes to set up a new PC is staggering, not to mention all the hassle. With PCmover, users can have a new PC up and running in no time, and getting used to the new PC is much easier because PCmover transfers the personality and functionality of the old PC along with the rest of the data.”

PCmover Windows 8 Beta Assistant is compatible with physical or virtual machines (VMs) provided that both the source and destination are 64-bit operating systems. Beta Assistant will work with the Developer Preview as well as all of the upcoming Beta releases and RC (release candidate) builds. And, as new Beta and RC builds are released, Beta Assistant can be used to migrate between those builds, even to and from the same PC providing a fast and easy “Beta Upgrade” path.

“By using PCmover to migrate Windows 7 to a Windows 8 computer or VM, automating what is normally a series of manual processes, testers and developers stand to save hundreds of hours,” commented Laplink CTO Jack Wilson. “To conduct tests of Windows 8, it is typical for a user to provision several different Windows 8 VMs complete with a unique arrangement of development tools, debug software, SDKs and environmental variables. PCmover allows the user to quickly jump into the testing phase, using the same tools, software and environment they used in Windows 7.”

Laplink offers multiple editions of PCmover to serve the needs of every user and every scenario. From Home to Professional to Enterprise, PCmover expedites any migration scenario, whether a single consumer PC to refreshing thousands of business PCs. And, PCmover is safe to use as it doesn’t make any changes on the source PC and won’t overwrite anything on the destination PC. This means there is no risk to the user’s current environment and their data will remain intact on the old PC, preventing any risk of data loss.

PCmover is available online at Amazon for SRP £29.99 inc