Migrating from Suse to Ubuntu

You don't need to remove Suse. Just free some disc space and install ubuntu on that free space. The gparted live-cd (http://gparted.sourceforge.net/livecd.php) will help you with that.

It should be enough to copy your home folder (please think of the hidden files!) to the new home directory of your ubuntu installation to keep your personal setting, e-mails etc. pp.

You should just give it a try.

Feel free to ask again if there are additional questions.

First of all, consider seriously if you need to change at all. Don't assume that Ubuntu is perfect, it has its share of annoying quirks too.
If you really want to change, here are some tips on switching from other distros:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SwitchingToUbuntu/FromLinux

As you can see, there are just minor differences you will get used to soon.
If you have a /home partition, just leave it as it is and you will find all your stuff back there, otherwise just back it up.

I expect that you will find the same email and browser programs you are already using, as well as the desktop manager. Just check it up before, and see if you can easily import your emails and bookmarks.

Thank you Markus. I take it from your answer that if I just boot with the install disk for Ubuntu it will not automatically make space for itself, that I will have to use the Gparted disk first.

When you say "think of the hidden files" does that mean I will have to do something special to make sure the hidden files get copied over? Sorry if these questions seem stupid, but I'm just a humble user who employs his computer as a tool in much the same way I use my refrigerator.

Thank you Cesare. I don't like to change systems, but Suse not recognizing my root passward is a bug up with which I cannot put. You say just to leave my home partition as it is, which seems to be different from what Markus suggested. Sorry for my basic confusion.

Sorry for the confusion, I'm saying that IF you have a /home partition, than there is no need to do anything as you will find it back once Ubuntu is installed while Markus is talking about a /home folder, part of which you will have to copy to your new ubuntu partition.

And no, there is no need to use Gparted or any other tool before the installation, it is just a precaution would anything go wrong.

Just make sure that you use manual partitioning during the install and don't accidentally write or format existing partitions.

Thank you Cesare. I have another stupid question. I have an AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3000. Which of the following downloads should I use . . .

* Standard personal computer (x86 architecture, PentiumTM, CeleronTM, AthlonTM, SempronTM)
* 64bit AMD and Intel computers

I would assume the first, but perhaps 64bit AMD is the one. LOL

Also, Cesare, when you say I will have to copy part of my home folder, which parts should I not copy. I really feel like an idiot. Back in the old DOS days I really felt on top of things, but these days I feel really on the bottom of them. Smile.

Perry,

Re. the version to use, you can use either the 32 or the 64 bits one, its totally up to you: it is very subjective and application dependant.
Unless the amount of memory they have really requires it people usually go for the 32 bits one (take also into account that the memory footprint of 64 bits applications is larger than that of 32 bit ones).
Another disadvantage of 64 bits is that some proprietary softwares do not support it and even some Open Source projects (for instance OpenOffice) do not officially support it.
On the other side, I use the 64 bits version, just because I feel silly to drive a Ferrari at 50 kmh :-p

Re. the parts of your home folder that you should copy, its the data (email, music, images, docs, whatever) you want to transfer, which I believe you saved in subdirectories of your home directory?
And of course whatever you need for the migration (address books, bookmarks, templates, etc. etc.). As Markus said these are mainly saved in "hidden" directories (ie. those that you won't see with a normal ls command).
If you can afford it, just backup the whole home and decide afterwards what to transfer or not and how.
You may also want to backup or take note of some configuration files (notably those in /etc) so you won't have to redo everything from scratch.

The easiest way to make sure you copy everything is to direct the file manager to the "/home/" directory, select your user directory (say "perry") and copy that.

You should *not* move directly to your home directory and select all files and subfolders, since you might miss the hidden directories. If you're using Gnomes default file manager, you might want to press "Ctrl-H", which will show you the hidden files. Just to make sure you copied them, too.

Sorry Markus, I beg to differ. I would not copy the whole old /home folder, simply because this may overwrite configuration files installed by ubuntu. Even if the chances of breaking something are low I would not advise it.