Migrating from Windows to Linux, Part 1: Preparation

Internet Favorites/Bookmarks

Exporting your favorites in Internet Explorer

Some people have gathered hundreds of Favorites/Bookmarks/Cookie in their Internet browser. All of these can be exported with the built-in Import/Export feature of Internet Explorer.

File Migration

Search for all of your pictures, mp3s, and videos. If you are like me, you probably have duplicates of files. You don't want to migrate over these duplicates because it will just take up space and extend the migration time. Use a program such as Duplic8 to easily find your duplicated files and delete them.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
File TypeExtensions
Audio.wav, .aiff, .mp3, .ogg
Pictures.jpg, .bmp, .gif, .png, .tiff
Videos.wmv, .mpeg, .mpg, .mov, .avi

Final Check

I know you are itching to install Linux by now, but you have to make sure that you have checked everything. THG has made things easier for you by providing two checklists in Adobe PDF format. The first is a hardware inventory checklist, which you will use to find drivers. The second checklist walks you through migration preparations.

Have a friend look over what you have done as they might catch something that you missed. Remember - four eyes are better than two.

Finally, you need to verify that you have a good backup, so take your backup CDs/DVDs to another computer and see if the files open. Do the office documents work? Do the videos play?