Problem moving site to another computer on xampp

Hello!
I am trying to move the store from old computer onto a new one but i got stuck...
I haven't backed up my old zen as it says in the moving tutorial because I just moved the entire directory to the new computer and deleted everything from the old one.
In the moving to a new server tutorial I've done everything up till back up the the entire thing step.
I tried if it would work without the step but it doesn't (it shows the pre installation screen, only the logo works)
Please help!

... and if you follow all the instructions as written, what happens differently in the outcome?

I don't know how to open fix_cache_key.php in the step 6 but I get a pre installation message "Hello. Thank you for loading Zen Cart™. You are seeing this page for one or more reasons:"...
It does place my own logo instead of the zen one above the message though.

When you run zc_install to set it up before restoring your database, and then access the storefront to test it, and the admin to test that, do the store and admin work? Or do you get the "pre-installation message" as you call it?

Do the problems only happen after restoring the database?

What exactly are the "one or more reasons" mentioned?

When you read the "one or more reasons" and take steps to fix the problems mentioned, what happens?

the installation worked, I haven't logged on to admin or tested if anything really worked, I just assumed it did because wanted to move the site quicker.

steps are:
1 This is your first time using Zen Cart™ and you haven't yet completed the normal Installation procedure.
If this is the case for you, Click here to begin installation.

2 Your /includes/configure.php and/or /admin/includes/configure.php file contains invalid path information and/or invalid database-connection information.
If you recently edited your configure.php files for any reason, or maybe moved your site to a different folder or different server, then you'll need to review and update all your settings to the correct values for your server.
See the Online FAQ and Tutorials area on the Zen Cart™ website for assistance.
3 Additional Details: includes/configure.php file contents invalid. ie: DIR_FS_CATALOG not valid or not set

I also tried replacing exceptions from the step 4 of moving tutorial with ones from my original store to see if it wou'd work, still no

sorry, not sure what you mean by ''after restoring the database''... I'm new to zen

So, by process of elimination ...

1 -- "this is your first time and you haven't completed installation"
Given that you're saying you have set up the configure.php files and run zc_install then maybe this one doesn't apply.

2 -- "Your configure.php files contain invalid path/database info"
That's almost always the actual cause.

3 -- "configure.php contents invalid"
This confirms that #2 is correct.

So, since running zc_install after properly making the 2 configure.php files writable normally results in setting correct details in your configure.php files, either you didn't actually run zc_install or you've manually edited, or replaced, the configure.php files with old/broken versions, contrary to the instructions in the tutorial article you mentioned.

Thanks for the support, will continue tomorrow, time for dreams.

I know for a fact that I replaced one or both configure files with ones from the old store in hopes of making it work. It didnt work before that with original configure.php in places.
So the step with backing up the store and uploading the databse onto a new store isn't very important in the moving tutorial?

I still have no idea how to make it work though

Ok, so I retried the whole procedure and now after I replace the install with my store, the store and admin work but it doesn't use anything from the actual store. I guess it's because I couldn't load the database?

Okay, so at least you know it works fine using the proper configure.php settings.

Now you need to import the database. Step 2a of that tutorial directs you to deal with the database table-prefix. If prefixes don't match, then you won't see the newly imported data.

My old store didn't have a prefix, I checked, it was blank. I left it empty. Is prefix necessary?

No, a prefix is not necessary. And it's preferable to not use one. But many one-click installs do add one, and we can never guess whether you have one or not.

If the old store didn't have a prefix (confirmable by looking at the DB_PREFIX setting in your old configure.php files), then you should make sure your new site doesn't use one either (ie: look at the DB_PREFIX in your new configure.php files).

I redid the whole thing again and now it shows my html welcome page but the rest isnt there (design, few test products, logos etc.) (as far as I understand because I didn't have the database from the old store saved and re uploaded).
Do you have any recommendations as to how to fix the problem?