For Linux users: moving user accounts to new install - help!

[DaddyHoggy]

OK, my main PC is a bit of a cronk but I can't afford to replace it, so I've done a bit of jiggery pokery and I've acquired a 'new' 40GB HD and a GF6600GT to replace my 5900XT and a 500W silent psu to replace my rather loud 350W one - all for free.

So what I want to do is this:

Fit new 40GB HD and install Ubuntu 9.04 on it while at the same time replacing the 5900 with the 6600 so that the new install picks it up.

What I want to do though is leave the old HD and it's dual boot intact (7.10 and XPSP3) - I'm presuming the new install of 9.04 will cope with this? (additional selections in GRUB at boot?)

However, what I'd like to do is move mine and my wife's accounts from 7.10 into the new 9.04 install, so if I create two new accounts once 9.04 is installed John (me aka DaddyHoggy) and Vee (my wife) and then copy /home/john and /home/vee from the 7.10 partition into the corresponding accounts on 9.04 will that be sufficient or will I break 9.04? I did check the Ubuntu forums first and never did quite find the definitive answer I was looking for.

I think most importantly is getting all our emails moved across from Evolution under 7.10 to 9.04 a lot of other stuff I can do in slow time by cutting and pasting if I have to on specific files and folders.

Finally, I used Getafix's install for 1.72(.2) and while .oolite folder resides under /home/john the actual install appears to be under /usr/bin - can I just move this as is?

TIA

DH

Edit: If this all goes horribly wrong - of course I'll just keep plugging away with 7.10 and XPSP3 I just wanted to check to see what Ubuntu will do, or more precisely what the nvidia-restricted drivers will do under 7.10 when they find a 6600GT rather than the 5900XT...

[CptnEcho]

Is there some reason you can't simply back-up all your important files, wipe the hard drives and then do a clean installation?

What I do understand about Linux is, that it is easier to install Linux after Windows-XP is installed. Then one could install whatever flavor of Linux they like in an available hard drive and/or disk partition.

The clean installation of Windows and Linux also helps to ensure the hardware is properly recognized and configured and that there are no left-over device drivers or other programs to muddle with things.

If you prefer not to wipe the drives and "start over", then I suppose you'll just use the normal procedures for a hardware upgrade in the Windows-XP environment. The power supply shouldn't pose much difficulty. The video card will probably require an OEM installation CD (which should be available to download from the manufacturer's website). The 'new' hard drive may require some support software from the manufacturer, or it may be immediately recognizable and usable by Windows-XP and Linux. After installing the drivers for the hardware in the Windows-XP environment, you can tackle the Linux side of the equation.

I'd be tempted to leave off the installation of the newer flavor of Linux until after the hardware upgrades are installed on both the other Operating Systems.

Of course, the happy dilemma of how to best ugrade an existing system is a bit of a luxury to begin with, eh?

[Diziet Sma]

I didn't really think much about this after I read your post a few days ago, figuring more one of our resident Linux gurus would give a better reply than I could, but having just re-read your post DH, I'm wondering just why you want to keep 7.10 around anyway?

In your shoes, I'd probably turn the 40 GB drive into a /home partition and upgrade 7.10 to 9.04 and be done with it.. you could go the "apt-get dist-upgrade" route to do it, or even download the cd installer, make a /home partition, move your home files over, fit the new hardware, then boot the installer cd and clean-install 9.04. Which will allow you, using the manual partition tool, to include your new /home partition as you go. Having all your data on a separate harddrive like that is very useful/helpful also.

There is no advantage to be gained by setting up XP drivers for the new card before installing 9.04. XP will happily deal with drivers when it first encounters new hardware, regardless of what may be taking place on other partitions. The time involved is the same either way.

I'm presuming the new install of 9.04 will cope with this? (additional selections in GRUB at boot?)

Yes, it would handle it with ease.. yes, with more boot selections...

[Diziet Sma]

The 'new' hard drive may require some support software from the manufacturer, or it may be immediately recognizable and usable by Windows-XP and Linux.

I'd imagine both would have no problem talking to a 40GB drive... the newer drive technologies tend towards much bigger capacities than that..

In fact, if DH installs 9.04 on the 40GB drive, XP will never even see it, since it doesn't understand Ext4 filesystems anyway. So only Linux needs to talk to it, which it will have no problem doing..

[DaddyHoggy]

I was getting worried that nobody loved me anymore but thank-you for the suddenly flurry of replies.

OK, I think I get it, but let me answer (as best I can) as many of the questions asked as I can.

Current HD is 80GB divided into to 2 near 40GB (actually about 37GB) partitions - one for XP and one for Ubuntu currently at 7.10.

I currently have an FX5900XT as my gfx card - this was in place when I installed Ubuntu and then the Nvidia restricted drivers - the ubuntu forums 'mostly' say 'ok' to gfx card upgrades if new card also covered by restricted driver which my newly acquired 6600GT is.

My plan is to replace PSU (noisy 300W) to (quiet 500W) cope with newer gfx card and additional HD.

What I would like to happen is the following:

Upgrade psu (no worries) and gfx card (no worries XP), potentially no worries under Gutsy Gibbon.

Once happy new gfx card is working (note: this machine is used by me and my better half for 'Working at Home' it must not stop working or she'll kill me!) then fit 'new' HD and install 9.04 onto this HD - allowing it to find 7.10 and XP and letting GRUB sort out the boot menu.

Once 9.04 installed (note 7.10->9.04 requires upgrade path of 7.10->8.04->8.10->9.04 otherwise doesn't work, so straight install better) then copy /home dir (my account and my wife's account) from 7.10 partition to 9.04 drive fiddling with permissions and ownership as necessary to make it all happy (not sure about this bit).

Once I'm absolutely sure 9.04 is happy on my rather ancient XP2800+/nforce2 mobo machine then final plan is to borrow Acronis from work and repartition original 80GB HD to give 60GB to XP and an additional ~20GB to 9.04.

If it wasn't my main machine and my wife didn't use it for work I'd have just plunged straight in and got on with it, but I need to be somewhat more cautious than normal and hence my query to the Friendliest Board this side of Riedquat where I know many a Linux user lurks!

TIA

DH

[Thargoid]

I think I might be in a similar boat. Our decrepit old WinXP box seems to have died (no power, metallic smell, PSU probably gone) so I'm probably going to have to do a rebuild of a system using my Linux box.

Not quite as difficult as yours as I don't have too much on it, and it can probably end up as a dual-booter. Just irritating to have to do, but I guess it could be worse, could be one of the "normal use" laptops...

[Diziet Sma]

DH, are you comfortable with manually partitioning a drive using the graphical partitioning tool in the Ubuntu installer?

[DaddyHoggy]

I am - and have used it in the past - however on this occasion because 9.04 is going to get a HD (albeit a small one) all to itself I'm not worried about (re)partitioning until after I'm absolutely happy that 9.04 is doing what I want (and more importantly what my wife wants!).

Once I sorted I will use Acronis - I'm more familiar with this as we use it at work - to split the original 7.10 partition on the original HD to give both XP and 9.04 a little more grow room...

May may be a short-term solution anyway as the nforce2 mobo has SATA and I was thinking of spending a whole £50(!!!) on a big SATA drive - oh yeh, but then the brakes died on my car and I've just coughed £250 for them to be fixed

[Diziet Sma]

ok.. just wanted to check before I think about how you could arrange things.. will get back to you on this.

[DaddyHoggy]

ok.. just wanted to check before I think about how you could arrange things.. will get back to you on this.

Much appreciated.

[CptnEcho]

Sounds like you've got the situation well in hand (err.. umm...claw?).

[DaddyHoggy]

Well new psu is installed. (old one in a box waiting to go to a certain green member of the forum )

Extra memory installed (I forgot about this - now got 2.5GB)

GF6600GT has replaced FX5900XT - and thanks guys, the nvidia restricted drivers did as you said they would - they just worked! (unlike my XP boot )

Anyway, one oddity to report - Oolite runs at 50fps - all the time except when I'm docked when it seems to run at my CRT refresh rate (72Hz) - now with the 5900 fps bounced around - dropping off quite a bit when I stuck a constore on full shaders (1024x768) in my fov and this drop off doesn't happen with the 6600, but I am curious to know why it's picked a lower (but more consistant fps).

This is 1.72.2 BTW (not running the trunk under Linux - this is my 'play' machine - not my 'fiddle with' machine)

New HD and therefore 9.04 not installed because gfx card needs power and I don't have enough power connectors (in the right places) to power additional HD - so that bit will have to wait - but I'm much more confident about the whole thing!

[Diziet Sma]

Good to hear stage 1 of the project went smoothly... as a suggestion, take a look at Super OS 9.04 (used to be Super Ubuntu). In essence it's Ubuntu pre-setup with all the extra bits that would take you a week or more to download and set up on your own.

It comes with codecs and players to support most of the video and audio formats out there on the 'net (including the windoze ones), Java, Firefox3, OpenOffice3, Wine, Synaptic, NVIDIA/ATI drivers and much more. It makes Ubuntu much more usable right out of the box, and is the distro I recommend for weaning users off windows, as everything 'just works' with no faffing about.

[Thargoid]

Well new psu is installed. (old one in a box waiting to go to a certain green member of the forum )

Who will be very grateful to get the rather loud 350W one, to replace his deathly silent 250W one in his desktop PC, on account of it being deathly dead

[DaddyHoggy]

Good to hear stage 1 of the project went smoothly... as a suggestion, take a look at Super OS 9.04 (used to be Super Ubuntu). In essence it's Ubuntu pre-setup with all the extra bits that would take you a week or more to download and set up on your own.

It comes with codecs and players to support most of the video and audio formats out there on the 'net (including the windoze ones), Java, Firefox3, OpenOffice3, Wine, Synaptic, NVIDIA/ATI drivers and much more. It makes Ubuntu much more usable right out of the box, and is the distro I recommend for weaning users off windows, as everything 'just works' with no faffing about.

Looks very interesting - I think I may give that a whirl!