Thanks to this article. I am able to transfer a copy of ACT! 2008 database to the new version 11 ACT! for a client (Hezi).
1. go to the Windows Start button and type in ActDiag and hit enter
2. When ActDiag appears, click the Databases task
3. When the Database List appears, highlight the row you want to move
4. right-click the row, then select the Detach Database task (you may want to scroll right to see WHERE the database files .ADF and .ALF reside first)
5. close ActDiag
6. copy the .ADF, .ALF and accompanying " - database files" folder to the new machine
7. Launch ACT! on that new machine, select Open Database
8. In the file type, select the .ADF option and browse to where you copied the .ADF/.ALF files (step 6 above)
9. ACT! will state that it needs to verify the database - let it.