Unfortunately, PD365 will not come with every past NewBlue FX pack you might have gotten bundled with previous PD versions, so cloning your current laptop's drive and transferring it to your new machine is the most reliable way to go. All of the Content Packs (Premium, Romance, Travel, Holiday, etc.) are available for download from the App Manager however.

The only way to start fresh with 365 on your new laptop would be to install as many of the older versions that you still have the installers for first. This recent FAQ should help you determine exactly what content came from which version. You're free to then uninstall the unneeded PD apps themselves using the Windows uninstaller, just be sure to not remove any of the NewBlue FX packs.

One other thing to keep in mind is whether you intend to dig up older projects or mostly create new ones.

There's a distinction because any content previously downloaded from DirectorZone is assigned a numerical folder name that's unrelated to the content, and unless you can download and install every single downloaded item in the exact same order, opening up an older project with any downloaded content will result in PD365 either placing the wong content (because it's loading whatever's in the Effect0003 folder), or not being able to find the content at all.

Either way you'll be stuck unless you have a produced copy of the original project and can figure out exactly which effect was originally used.

One last thing to keep in mind is that older versions of PD might store content in different folders than newer versions, so you can easily end up with downloaded/installed content strewn all over your hard drive anyway. On SSDs it doesn't make the slightest difference where any files is located physically or organizationally on the drive, so maybe that will help ease your concerns.

YouTube/optodata

DS365 | Win11 Pro | Ryzen 9 3950X | RTX 4070 Ti | 32GB RAM | 10TB SSDs | 5K+4K HDR monitors

Canon Vixia GX10 (4K 60p) | HF G30 (HD 60p) | Yi Action+ 4K | 360Fly 4K 360°

I can understand the OPs question and can relate to the frustration inbuilt in the way Cyberlink distribute new releases ie as a series of individually installed files rather than as a composite file/installer containing everything previously released as part of the version you are upgrading to. I swapped a machine (for a newer and faster machiner) but I hadn't realised that the version of the software that I installed did not include many of the "packs" installed on the old machine which had been subjected to a number of Power Director upgrades. None were purchased specials, simply packs that had been distributed at the time the software was upgraded. What a bore. I spent some time trying to recreate the old machines build I failed, and I live without some elements. To put it crudely its a bit like Installing Word and then having to install "Format", "Print, and the individual elements, and also having to find them.

WOW thank you Optodata that is a lot of very usefull information and Prevaljo I learned a lot from your post also - Thank You.
Now I need to ponder on what to do.