[ale] how do I properly move my home folder from ubuntu to mint

[Ron Frazier (ALE)]

Hi all,

I just had a frustrating experience and want to learn how to avoid it 
next time.

Previously, I had set up all my machines to dual boot with ubuntu and 
windows.  I've now decided to move to Mint since I'm disenchanted with 
ubuntu.  Yes, I know they share the same core.

The hdd in question had an ext4 partition which was ubuntu and an ntfs 
partition which I use for data.  I booted a mint live cd, mounted the 
ubuntu file system by clicking it within the file browser, and copied my 
ron folder to the ntfs partition.  It complained about some files being 
inaccessible, but still copied about 43 MB of data, which looked like 
the right number.

I then proceeded to install mint in the ext4 partition.  When I started 
the installer, I selected the option to erase ubuntu and install mint.  
I eventually got mint booting and working the way I wanted.  Then, I 
went back into the file browser and told it to copy the files back from 
the ntfs partition to the new mint home directory and merge any 
duplicate folders.  I made the mistake of using a move command rather 
than a copy command.  At some point, it generated another error saying 
it couldn't copy some files.  I cannot remember the exact message.  I 
clicked skip all.  The net result is that about 43 MB of data was copied 
to my new home folder and about 387 MB of data wasn't copied.  
Unfortunately, the files were removed from the ntfs folder even though 
they were skipped, which I think is a design flaw.

The net result is that I lost about 9/10 of what was in my original 
ubuntu home folder unless I can find a backup somewhere.  I don't think 
there was anything too critical, but who knows.

So, can anyone please tell me the proper procedure to move the contents 
of my home folder from a ubuntu install to a mint install so this 
doesn't happen next time I install mint on another computer?

Any help is appreciated and thanks in advance.

Sincerely,

Ron

-- 

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Ron Frazier
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linuxdude AT techstarship.com
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