How do I install software with no CD drive?
My 12-year-old Dell XPS laptop is failing, so I need to Q buy a new one. My current laptop has an optical drive, which was invaluable when I had to reset Windows 10 a while back, because I was able to reinstall all my programs from CD or DVD. New laptops have dispensed with optical drives, and my programs aren’t available to download from the internet. How can I transfer my programs to a new laptop? Jackie Still
We don’t know exactly which programs you want to A transfer, but bear in mind that many new laptops will come with Windows 11. If your programs run under Windows 10, they’ll probably run under Windows 11 too, but we can offer no guarantees.
That aside, you have a couple of options. It sounds as if your Dell XPS is still working and has an optical drive. If so, you can use it to create ISO files of your CDS and DVDS. You can then copy these ISO files to a USB stick and mount it as a drive on your new laptop. It can then use the ISO files as if they were the original discs.
Download the free Imgburn tool from www.imgburn.com. Click ‘Create image from disc’, then use the Source dropdown menu to choose the drive containing one of your program discs. Click the folder icon below and select a destination for the ISO file. Finally, start the conversion process by clicking the large button with a picture of two discs connected by an arrow. The resulting file will have an .iso extension. To mount it on your new Windows laptop, simply double-click it.
Another alternative is to buy an external DVD drive. These connect through a USB port and are pretty inexpensive these days. The pictured Froibetz model costs around £23 ( www.snipca.com/40354).