Amateur Question: Finding th Setup File in the installed program file folders

[Mckenzie]

Heres a really stupid situation:

I am transfering all of the stuff from my old laptop to my new one and I burned a DVD with all of my program files on it.

I want to install them onto my new computer but I cannot find any kind of run or setup files in the directory. However, I can copy these files to my desktop from the DVD, open the file, click the icon and open the program without even installing it, so it seems a bit weird.

I'm sure its simple but can anyone give me some input on this



Do they even need to be installed?

What about getting them to appear in my programs menu? etc

Thanks

[Mr. Burns]

Dude, not all files necessary to run your programs exist in the "Program Files" Directory. Perhaps for some, but most programs have various .dll files that reside in the Windows\System32 directory, etc.

The solution to your problem is to locate the original install media for whatever programs you need and install them the proper way.

[nismodrifter]

Get them to appear in your programs menu by creating shortcuts like to your desktop and then just drag them into your My Programs area. Very easy.

[Mckenzie]

Hmm....so it is possible that it will not work properly?

I have bought some of these programs online through downloads but do not have the .exe files kicking around and I was wondering if those could be located somewhere.

[Mr. Burns]

Is it possible you still have the original install files somewhere on the old computer? Try searching the old PC for the following (*'s included):

setup*.exe
install*.exe
setup*.msi
install*.msi
setup*.bat
install*.bat