If you got a new computer like me then you probably want to move your Skype history from your old computer to the new one. In my case I needed to move my Skype history from a Windows XP computer to a Windows 7 computer. This is fairly easy but you want to make sure to do this as quickly as possible so you don’t loose any new conversations on the new computer when you copy the actual data over to the new computer. Follow the directions below and you will have all of your Skype history on the new computer in no time. The below has the same concept on any Operating System but the guidelines are very similar for all Windows computers and Windows Vista has the same path as Windows 7.
Move Skype History From Windows XP To Windows 7:
The easiest way to complete the below direction is by using a thumb drive though you can transfer the data over the network via network shares, using an external hard drive, or any other way you can get the old data onto the new computer. Simply replace USERNAME in the paths below to the user for which Skype is installed.
- Windows XP Skype History Folder Location:
C:\Documents and Settings\WINDOWSUSERNAME\Application Data\Skype
- Windows Vista Skype History Folder Location:
C:\Users\WINDOWSUSERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Skype
- Windows 7 Skype History Folder Location:
C:\Users\WINDOWSUSERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Skype
- Shutdown Skype On Old PC: Make sure that Skype is turned off on the old computer.
- Copy Skype History To USB Drive: Copy the entire Skype directory from above to your USB thumb drive.
- Shutdown Skype: Make sure that Skype is turned off on the new computer.
- Backup Skype History Locally: On the new computer copy the current Skype folder mentioned in the path listing above based on Windows OS(Operating System) to a place like your Desktop or somewhere else where it will be convenient to access if necessary.
- Replace Chatsync Folders: Connect the USB drive to the new computer and navigate to the inside of the Skype folder you copied from the old computer. In the Skype directory you should see sub directories that are named the same as your Skype usernames. Drag the chatsync folder from one of the username folders to the new computer into the username folder on the new computer again using the path references above to locate the Skype history folder. This will overwrite any conversations you have had since installing Skype on the new computer but I imagine your history is more important on the old computer if you have just recently installed Skype. Below are examples of specifically what folder should move from the old computer to the new computer.Move This Skype Chat History Folder From Windows XP:
C:\Documents and Settings\WINDOWSUSERNAME\Application Data\Skype\SKYPEUSER\chatsync
To Overwrite This Skype Chat History Folder On Windows 7:
C:\Users\WINDOWSUSERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Skype\SKYPEUSER\chatsync
- Start Skype & Log On To Skype: Now launch Skype on the new computer. When launching Skype you may get an error complaining about logon credentials but don’t worry about this right now. If you simply type in your username and password and click login then you should not see the credentials error again. You should now be able to browse your chat history that was stored on the old computer on the new computer.
Repeat step five for any other users you want to copy over the history from another computer to the new computer. Just remember that if you waited to do this for any length of time that next time it would be easier to not have a single conversation before you move over your Skype history.
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
Related posts:
- What Is The Skype Web Features Application on Windows and Can It Be Removed? I was looking into all of the applications installed on...
- Modify Skype Default Language Settings, Skype Arabic To Skype English Numerous people have been asking me recently how to modify...
- How to Move PPTP VPN from Windows XP to Router with DD-WRT Its very easy to move your work PPTP VPN from...
- How to View Your Personal Skype Profile As Other Skype Users See It Earlier I was playing around with my Skype profile and...
- Capture Skype VoIP Call Packets On Your Windows XP Computer Using Wireshark There are various reasons why you may want to log the...
Entries (RSS)
Thanks. It was Helpfull
[Reply]
alex Reply:
December 27th, 2010 at 7:15 PM
Hello Barcelonisimo,
No problem. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
[Reply]
I tried to copy both the chatsync content and total skype folder, but didn’t find my old messages. From XP to Windows 7, Skype version is 5.0.
However this method was working earlier (maybe not with 5.0)
As I can see, it is using main.db, dc.db, griffin.db now, not the same file structure as my XP version.
I tried it with Skype 4.x, but the same result, the chat history doesn’t appear.
Laszlo
[Reply]
alex Reply:
March 9th, 2011 at 8:43 PM
Hello Laszlo,
It is possible something has changed with the newer versions of Skype since this article was written in Jan. 2010. I would suggest trying older versions of Skype to see if this works. Look for whatever version of Skype was new around Jan. 2010. Hope that helps.
Thanks.
alex
[Reply]
Yes,
After upgrading old Skype to 5.x, it created the *.db files, and main.db is increased to 9MB, so it stores maybe the index of chat information stored in chatsync directory.
So after upgrading the old skype, and copy the user directory to the new computer, the chat history is working.
Br,
Laszlo
[Reply]
alex Reply:
March 19th, 2011 at 12:22 PM
Hello Laszlo,
Thanks for posting feedback.
Thanks.
alex
[Reply]
Thank you! Alex! This lesson is wery good!
[Reply]
alex Reply:
May 28th, 2011 at 5:29 PM
Hello Vladimir,
No problem. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
[Reply]
Vladimir Reply:
June 13th, 2011 at 5:22 AM
I’m web-developer.
If you need my help, write my e-mail, becoze you helped me.
I’d like meet you, beckoze you’re good human.
Thanks!
Vladimir!
[Reply]
alex Reply:
June 15th, 2011 at 1:57 PM
Hello Vladimir,
Thanks for the offer. We will keep that in mind!
Thanks.
alex
[Reply]
when i copy and paste the C:\Users\WINDOWSUSERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Skype
my computer said “no match found” where should i find it?please help i really need it
[Reply]
alex Reply:
June 20th, 2011 at 9:13 PM
Hello mihoy,
I assume you are changing WINDOWSUSERNAME with your username? If you need further assistance you will need to provide more details.
Thanks.
alex
[Reply]
i turned off my skype call and chat history . now i need all those call history and conversations for legal purposes . i want to recover all of it . can you please help me T_T
[Reply]
alex Reply:
June 20th, 2011 at 9:15 PM
Hello mihoy,
I doubt that is possible if you turned it all off.
Thanks.
alex
[Reply]
It worked, but only after I copied entire *SKYPEUSER* folder to the new place, not just *chatsync* . Using Skype 5.5. Probably something has changed in Skype settings since this answer was posted.
[Reply]