Data Transfer Linux to Windows 10

[wavey]

I have a client coming in a few days with an old Toshiba laptop running Linux Mint (because it was to old & slow to run Windows 10), he wants to transfer all data inc bookmarks & passwords, to his new Windows 10 laptop. He is really pushed for time so we need to do the job really quickly.
Is there a Fabs like app that can do the job? Suggestions please.

 

[NJW]

He is really pushed for time so we need to do the job really quickly.

That way madness lies. How much data is there to move?

Short answer is 'No'. If it's browser data that you're interested in, which browser? If they use Chrome, and log in to a Google account, everything is saved to the Google account and will be restored on a new machine. Same thing if they use Firefox Sync (but they'll need the recovery key unless they have access to both machines concurrently). Alternatively, for Firefox, copy the profile over (/home/<user>/.mozilla/<profile-dir> to %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ – rename the copied profile to the existing FF profile name).

Personal files (e.g., Documents, Photos, Music, …) can be copied and pasted, which could be automated, but I don't know of a ready solution.

Probably your best approach, for speed, would be to copy /home/<user>/* to a USB stick and pass that on. Remove the laptop hard drive and keep hold of it until you're sure there's no further need for a full archive. (You could give them the laptop drive in a USB enclosure, but you'd have to provision ext4 access in Windows.)

 

[wavey]

Thanks Nick, pretty much what I thought.
The guy now lives in Spain, he is flying in for a family issue and flying out again the same day. I'd have the laptops for under 3 hours.
He says it has a 500GB HDD and it's almost full, it could take a long time to fully back everything up, I'll see what he says.

 

[nlinecomputers]

3 hrs? **** pass on that. People need to respect that it takes time to properly do a job.

 

[wavey]

3 hrs? **** pass on that. People need to respect that it takes time to properly do a job.

I know lol, he was a good customer many years ago but now lives in Spain, he says he doesn't trust the local computer guy over there.
I set his laptop up with Linux Mint 6 or 7 years ago, an old Satellite C660 or C650 if I remember correctly, it ran like a one legged donkey with W10.
I have advised him to find a new 'computer man'.

 

[NETWizz]

You didn't say what browser. If it is Chrome... just sync it

 

[nlinecomputers]

I know lol, he was a good customer many years ago but now lives in Spain, he says he doesn't trust the local computer guy over there.
I set his laptop up with Linux Mint 6 or 7 years ago, an old Satellite C660 or C650 if I remember correctly, it ran like a one legged donkey with W10.
I have advised him to find a new 'computer man'.

Well upgrading to an SSD would help greatly with that.

 

[wavey]

You didn't say what browser. If it is Chrome... just sync it

Chrome, Firefox Opera and Brave.

 

[wavey]

If he was keeping the Toshiba I would put a SSD in, it wasn't a thing back then but he has a new shiny Lenovo now

 

[britechguy]

Chrome, Firefox Opera and Brave.

All of which have Sync functions. For the browser part, just activate it (if he hasn't already) and pass along the accounts or key strings (Brave, at least).

 

[Blues]

With a 3hr window I would make sure the linux system is using a browser with a sync function and the windows 10 has the same browser then sync the browser data. The remaining data he could leave with you and provide a shipping address and pay for the cost of that or work toward some level of cloud data backup and remote recovery of that to the new system. I can't imagine copying over that much data confidently within 3hrs.

 

[nlinecomputers]

With a 3hr window I would make sure the linux system is using a browser with a sync function and the windows 10 has the same browser then sync the browser data. The remaining data he could leave with you and provide a shipping address and pay for the cost of that or work toward some level of cloud data backup and remote recovery of that to the new system. I can't imagine copying over that much data confidently within 3hrs.

This. There isn't a large enough window to do the job.

 

[britechguy]

It also generally isn't beyond the skills of any user to do a copy over of their actual user data that they can see, their files and folders, from machine to machine using an external drive or thumb drive.

I'm guessing his biggest concern is things he can't see or move directly, such as browser settings, bookmarks, etc. And the problem there is very simply solved by setting up a browser account and the sync function, if it's not already in place, and supplying the client with their login credentials or sync codes (for browsers like Brave) or both (for browsers like Vivaldi, which takes a belt and braces approach).

 

[wavey]

Thanks for the replies, I have spoken with the client and he now says the laptop is making clunking sounds and is running very slow, hence the new Lenovo.
This sounds like a bad HDD, not something I am going to take on due to both his location and time constraints.
I talked him through google sync and he now has most of his bookmark (his main concern).
He will take it to a repair shop in the nearest city in southern Spain, he is in a rural area and doesn't trust the local guy.

 

[Markverhyden]

Thanks for the replies, I have spoken with the client and he now says the laptop is making clunking sounds and is running very slow, hence the new Lenovo.
This sounds like a bad HDD, not something I am going to take on due to both his location and time constraints.
I talked him through google sync and he now has most of his bookmark (his main concern).
He will take it to a repair shop in the nearest city in southern Spain, he is in a rural area and doesn't trust the local guy.

I'd do the work if he's pays on time. Can do everything remotely. Create an online storage account. Many will have a the first year heavily discounted. For instance iDrive is $59.62 for 5tb for the first year. Beside someone like that should have one anyways since a local backup system would probably be too troublesome. While iDrive doesn't have a Linux client they do have scripts you can use. Anydesk has a Linux client so you can remote in. But this is all predicated on the laptop still being able to run properly. Slow doesn't matter, just can't crash. I'd venture a guess actual work time would probably be less than 3 hours. And have him record the noise and email to you.

 

[britechguy]

For instance iDrive is $59.62 for 5tb for the first year.

Which would be wonderful if you have the necessary internet speed to use it as a viable backup (or even copy off, copy back) option.

But the description of location is rural Spain. I wouldn't count on having that. I don't even have that here unless I were to sign up with the new local fiber service, Glo Fiber.

I suspect he'd be far better off with a conventional USB external backup drive. But I could be wrong.

 

[NviGate Systems]

Just wanted to point out that Chrome on Linux does not support Sync, Google blocked that, as it was not meant to exist for Linux but for some reason a bug kept it there.

You would need to use Bookmark manager to save bookmarks to a html file and import it from Windows.

I run Pop OS as a daily system so I've been down the rabbit hole of trying to get Sync working for Google products.

 

[NJW]

Just wanted to point out that Chrome on Linux does not support Sync, Google blocked that, as it was not meant to exist for Linux but for some reason a bug kept it there.

Citation needed.

Google remove the sync API access from Chromium, allegedly for security reasons (but to stop third-party Chromium-based browsers from using sync?), but full-fat Google Chrome still syncs to a Google account on Linux, afaik.

 

[wavey]

I had my own Linux Laptop until recently and Google sync worked fine.
I talked the client through backing up his bookmarks, so no problem there, he is going to take the laptop to a shop to get the data backed up so nothing for me to do now.

 

[NviGate Systems]

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The issue is kinda complicated. If they use the native builds provided by the distro, Sync may not be there. It probably depends on the distro. With Pop OS, they use flat packs I believe as part of the distro tools.

Most users probably would use what's included as part of the distro, so we can't say de facto that it will work. Also, many distros may be dumping Chrome in protest, so not sure where that will put Google. That article is interesting for sure.

Anyways, if it works for you, good. Just don't expect it to continue, as I fear Google is starting a war.