I'm thinking about switching my old gaming laptop to Linux since I mainly use it for torrenting and streaming now. I've installed Linux before, but it was on devices that didn't have any important files. This laptop has my movie collection, written documents, artwork scans, and all sorts of other files I can't afford to lose. What's the best way to install Linux while ensuring that I can safely transfer my files without accidentally deleting anything?
2 Answers
The safest bet is to back everything up to another hard drive. There’s really no foolproof way to ensure that you won’t lose files when making major changes like switching operating systems. Most Linux installers will give you warnings about this when you're partitioning your drive. Better safe than sorry!
That's not entirely true! If you have more free space on your drive than the size of all your files, you can create a partition at the end of the drive, move your files there, and install Linux without touching that partition.
I'm currently going through this process too. It’s best to use an external hard drive for transferring your files all at once. If that’s not an option, you can try out LocalSend for a slower 'airdrop' style transfer, which works fine but takes longer.
But how do you send files from the old drives once you wipe them to install Linux?
Got it. I wasn't sure if there was a quicker option. I've got a couple of drives, but organizing everything will take a bit. Appreciate the advice!