my network comp. needs replacing, setting up new one is the ?

I have a pretty old Dell precision 380 that has everything hooked up to it, router, modem, printer etc.
I am going to replace it but I am at a loss as how to begin and what to do to replicate the network settings and other various settings to have a seamless or close to seamless transition.
I will be replacing the Dell desktop with a laptop, both are windows 7 if that helps.
I will be repurposing the desktop so all of my files will be on it elsewhere.

I would clone or image the hard drive to another hard drive and then install the clone.

This link gives you an idea of how to do that-

Clone Old Computer to a New One in Windows 10/8/7 Easily

This link gives you some additional information when using the software in the link above-

Cool tip on AOMEI Backupper and using FDE

Of course, you could use other software like the free Macrium Reflect to Image a hard drive and then copy that image to the new system using a Macrium Reflect bootable disc.

In either case, you would need to be able to connect the hard drive which has the clone/image to the new system.

Thank you for responding, Is there a way to accomplish this without using that method?
Someone currently is using it daily and i don’t really want to disrupt that too much.
The computers have different users and each has proprietary info.

I don't know of alternatives to cloning or imaging, if you want all the drivers, etc. for your equipment. Windows Easy Transfer will transfer data but, the way I understand it, the operating system on the target system has to be newer than the source system. Don't have time to track down all those details.

I've never done a clone but I have created an image using Macrium Reflect. The used space on my C: drive is 170 GB and it only takes about 30 minutes to create an image. I don't image the whole drive. Obviously that would take longer. To burn a bootable CD for it takes about 5 minutes. One should test the bootable disc after creating it to make sure there are no problems. Macrium Reflect offers other options than using a bootable CD, hard drive or USB drive but one has to do a careful read of the user guide. On the other hand, I think you can use Macrium Reflect installed on a running hard drive to restore an image to it. One has to enable Windows PE on the rescue media to do that. Once again, it takes a careful read of the manual.

Maybe someone else with more experience will jump in here.

What you want to do is not easy because windows attaches itself to the hardware of a machine the way The Borg attaches to a human. I am not aware of a way to do what you want that does not involve cloning. Below is what I would do. Steps 6 and 14 are needed because your new computer very likely has a different chipset than your old computer and will not boot using a clone of your old hard drive. Anyone is welcome to override me if they have a better idea here!

1) Buy your new laptop
2) remove its sata hard drive
3) Boot the old computer and download all the win7 drivers for your new laptop (from the manufacturer's website) and put them on the desktop of the old computer
3) install macrium reflect on the old computer, then shut it down
4) with the old computer off, attach the laptop sata drive to it
5) boot up the old computer and let it detect its new hard drive
6) still on the new computer, go into control panel > device manager > click the triangle to the left of "IDE/ATA/ATAPI controller". That will reveal a line underneath it that shows your current disk controller (note what chipset controller is installed!) > right click on that controller and select update driver software > browse for driver software on my computer > let me pick from a list of device drivers > select standard ahci serial ata controller > click next and let it install the standard ahci serial ata controller.
7) run macrium reflect to clone your existing, old hard drive onto the new laptop sata hard drive
8) shut down the system
9) remove the laptop hard drive from the old computer and re-install it in the new laptop
10) boot the new laptop. Because its boot drive is a clone of your old hard drive AND because it has the standard ahci controller on it, it will boot to the desktop.
11) Once on the desktop, install the new drivers that are located there because you downloaded them there in step 3. Along with installing the correct drivers for your display, lan, wireless, usb, etc, this will also replace the Standard AHCI controller with the correct controller for your chipset. After you have done this, your laptop will run exactly like your old computer, except it is now married to your new hardware
12) still on the laptop, go into control panel > system > advanced system settings > computer name > Change > and assign a new computer name (because you need a different computer name than your old computer)
13) your laptop is now good to go
14) go back onto your old computer, go into control panel > device manager > right click on IDE controller > update driver software > browse for software > let me pick from a list > select the chipset controller driver that you noted in step 6 and re-install it.

I've done this a bunch of times and could probably do it in 45 minutes. It may take you longer.

wither 2 said:

Nice procedure. However, step 2 is going to void the warranty.

Not sure about other countries but in the US, upgrading a user-upgradeable part does not void the warranty and manufacturers who put those "void if removed" stickers on their devices to make users afraid to open their machine are breaking the law, and the FTC has been cracking down on them to stop it.

Take Back Your Right to Repair by Taking off Illegal Warranty Stickers | iFixit

I would ask the vendor before doing anything that requires opening the case. I read the link and even if it's true, I wouldn't want to have to get a lawyer in the event the vendor said the warranty would be voided.

Any luck?