thank you kurt, et al, for the kind words of help, support. kurt , you did a good job of walking me through the precise way to copy the home dir to usb, and the reasons to use the different commands. I am copying it to the usb so that after a fresh install of ubuntu 8.04lts on a new computer i can use my same home dir & settings, never did that before. When i get that far i guess i need to ask, ? where do i install it to???? I have been on this list since 2000, i think. i am a grandma, & a nurse. i started w/redhat years ago and always found the list people to be helpful since i am really only a gui user. But whenever i talk to someone about computers, i try to convince them that open source is the way to go and the way of the future. I try to preface my requests for help here with saying what i don't know, since almost everyone knows more than me on this list; that way people will be nice and give me careful advice, like you did. Sometimes it starts a list argument to ask a question about the way to perform something; like the dd vs, cp vs rsync and since i didn't know the in's and out's of each one it was impossible to decide who's answer was best for my situation. I think if i gave most members here an i.v. start kit and a delivery kit and had to tell them how to start the i.v. on a laboring mom, then deliver the baby, they would appreciate having more detail to attention and social 'handholding' through the procedure. (the patient would appreciate it too!) Linux is really the best thing out there, not expensive like apple and not nasty and bulky like M$. I like being a gui user because it shows that people outside the tech community can be users too, and isn't that what we want? (or is it [rhetorical]) ... just my thoughts. btw, what happened to der.hans?? he was always a promoter of helpful answers to even stupid questions. -- betty i. www.webcanine.com information for people who care for dogs. --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss