I have done this 12684612684 times plus 1: 

Boot both puters with Linux CDs. 

On the destination puter:
Create partitions for data and swap.
mke2fs -j (my data partition)
mkswap (my swap partition)
Mount data partition to /mnt
Start an SSH server 

On source puter:
Mount data partition to /mnt
run:
rsync -avHX --super --checksum -e ssh /mnt/ root@<my-new-puter>:/mnt 

On the destination puter:
Adjust /boot/grub/menu.lst and /etc/fstab.
run grub and install a new MBR.
Boot and enjoy...   :) 

Issues you may have to deal with:
If the E2fsprogs you use to create your filesystem is significantly newer 
than the one you have installed, fsck will puke.
If the partitions in your old puter are creative and/or use UUIDs in 
/etc/fstab and/or /boot/grub/menu.lst, you will have to either replicate the 
UUIDs in the new partitions or adjust your /etc/fstab and/or 
/boot/grub/menu.lst to work without them. 

Other options:
If you are running a Debian derivative I would:
dpkg --list|grep ii > ~/my-packages and
install a new system from scratch, rsync my home directory to the new puter, 
save /etc somewhere in case there is some creative configuration lying 
around and save whatever directory may have server and/or database stuff.
Or just save the whole enchilada and delete months later what you didn't 
need...   :) 

If you need more detailed assistance I can walk you over the phone or 
(better) I can login to both puters and do it for you.
ET 

 

betty writes: 

> This is the last forum for my research on this project, everyone's 
> advice here has always been most helpful. Although i haven't needed too 
> much advice lately (since linux is sooo stable !) 
> 
> I have an old pentium 3 with ide  hdd that i have been using for many 
> years. It is a little slow (to say the least) especially running 
> multiple apps.
> I was just given a dell optiplex mini form factor w/pentium 4 and sata 
> drive connectors. (*no hdd*).
> It looks like there are two options here; 
> 
>  i can get ide to sata connectors and use my old drive so nothing really 
> changes and it seems easy, however the hdd is old (maybe 10 years) so i 
> risk eventual hardware failure.
> or
> i can get a sata drive and copy everything to it. seems best way to me. 
> not that much more expensive. will last longer  etc. 
> 
> question: if i go for option two, is there a way to copy (like mirror) 
> my old drive stuff to the new one so it works and looks the same to 
> me???, if so how do i do that? (the old computer does not have a working 
> cdrw)
> or do i need to do a new install and copy my files over :( 
> 
> thanks for your patience and help in advance. 
> 
> -- 
> betty i.
> www.webcanine.com
> information for people 
> who care for dogs. 
> 
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