Set up the new Mac or Windows computer before the old one is retired, then test the work that cannot pause.

List the approved apps, accounts, files, printers, and shared folders. For a Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Windows device, record its work account and recovery route. Test the real work, then keep the old device until important tasks are checked. Little Fight NYC can run the switch.

List the programs and files the new computer must have on day one.

A useful home office starts with the work you need to do, then matches the devices, connection, and account access to that job.

Test the laptop, monitor, printer, call platform, and work account together. Keep a record of cables, the Wi-Fi name, and settings the owner may need later, with the Wi-Fi and router passwords in a password manager instead. In New York, Little Fight NYC can help.

List the programs, devices, and calls you need to handle from home.

Before replacing a Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Windows computer, test the work email, files, Wi-Fi, printer, calls, and any customer tool on the new device. A new device is ready when the job works, not when the desktop looks familiar.

Backups and recovery work differently across devices and accounts. Check what is actually recoverable before resetting an old computer. A Windows recovery drive does not include personal files, and business records need their own tested backup plan.

• Test one normal work task from start to finish.
• Confirm where the important files can be restored from.
• Keep the old device until the handover is checked.

• On a Mac, Migration Assistant moves accounts, apps and files from the old Mac or from a Time Machine backup.
• On Windows 11, sign in with the same work account and let OneDrive bring back the Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders. Windows Backup works with a personal Microsoft account; with a work account, its restore works only if whoever runs your Microsoft 365 has turned it on. Copy files kept anywhere else, such as Outlook data files or accounting files, across separately.
• Windows 10 stopped receiving free security updates on October 14, 2025; plan to replace or upgrade those computers.
• Before you erase or hand on an old phone, set up your sign-in codes (authenticator app or passkeys) on the new phone and check you can sign in with them. Then sign the old device out of work accounts and your Apple Account or Microsoft account, and remove it from them.