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You can move your existing documents, bookmarks, email, music, video, and photos from Windows to Ubuntu. This document covers getting some common files and settings out of Windows, and getting those saved files working with Ubuntu.

Finding Relevant Settings From Windows

This section contains instructions on finding and saving relevant settings which you will need after making the switch to Ubuntu.

Internet connection settings

The Internet connection settings which are relevant to you will depend on the type and supplier of your Internet connection. Your supplier will generally be able to advise you of the relevant settings if you encounter difficulties in finding them yourself.

Note - If you connect to the Internet using a network or router, see the Network settings section below for instructions.

Dial-up Internet connection

Below is a list of common settings which you are likely to need:

  • User name
  • Password
  • Dial-up telephone number

You may also require the following information:

  • Dial-out number
  • Dialling type (tone or pulse)
  • Authentication type

Broadband Internet connection

Below is a list of common settings which you are likely to need:

  • User name
  • Password
  • Dialling telephone number
  • Connection type (usually PPPoE or PPPoA)

It is possible that you may also require the following technical information, which should be available from your Internet service provider:

  • IP address and subnet mask
  • DNS server, gateway IP address or DHCP server
  • VPI/VCI
  • MTU
  • Encapsulation type
  • DHCP settings

Proxy server settings

If you connect to the Internet through a proxy server, you will need to make a note of some details of the proxy server in order to allow Ubuntu to connect to the Internet.

  1. Press Start -> Control Panel -> Network and Internet Connections -> Internet Options.

  2. On the Connections tab, press LAN Settings....

  3. If the Use a proxy server for your LAN option is ticked, this means that you are connecting to the Internet through a proxy server.

  4. Press Advanced... and make a note of the contents of the boxes on the screen which appears. These are your proxy settings.

Network settings

While Ubuntu is usually able to automatically detect the settings for your network, it is wise to make a note of relevant network settings in case the network you are trying to connect to cannot be handled automatically.

Home networks

If you have a home network, perhaps connected using a router or switch, there are a few settings which you may need in order to connect to the network successfully. While most networks will be able to assign correct settings to Ubuntu automatically, some networks cannot. Follow the instructions below to obtain a copy of the network settings which you may need:

  1. Press Start -> Run. Type cmd.exe into the box labelled Open: and press OK.

  2. A black screen called Command Prompt will appear. Into the screen, type ipconfig /all and press Return. This will list a set of network settings for each of the networking devices you have installed. You may have one or several networking devices.

  3. Now, type ipconfig /all > C:\network_settings.txt and then press Return. This will store the settings you have just seen in the file C:\network_settings.txt.

  4. Locate and open C:\network_settings in a text editing program, such as Notepad. Print out a copy of the file if possible.

Windows networks

If you connect to a Windows network, you may need some additional information in order to be able to see documents placed in network shares. If you connect to a network administered by another person, ask that person for the relevant information on connecting to the network. Otherwise, ensure that you have access to the information listed below:

  • Domain or workgroup name
  • Your username and password on the network
  • Active Directory master IP address (if applicable)

Wireless networks

There are several important pieces of information which you should have to hand if you would like to connect to a wireless network. These are listed below:

  • Network name (SSID)
  • WEP encryption key or WPA passkey

There are numerous ways of discovering this information. If your wireless network is provided by a wireless router, you should be able to find this information from the configuration pages of the router. Consult the router manual for more information on where to find the relevant information.

VPNs

Virtual Private Networks are a type of network which allow you to connect to a remote private network using a public network such as the Internet. There are many different types of VPN, which have varying degrees of support under Ubuntu. If you must connect to a VPN, first identify the type of VPN which you are connecting to. If the VPN is supported under Ubuntu, it is possible that a document will be available from the VPN vendor's website which can help you to connect to the network. Ensure that you have all of the VPN connection information that you think you may require.

Instant messaging settings

If you use instant messaging (chat) software, you will have set up a user account on an instant messaging network. Ubuntu has excellent support for many instant messaging networks by default, so you should still be able to use your existing account after you have switched. Please ensure that you make a note of the following information about your instant messaging account:

  • User name
  • Password
  • Screen name or alias

If possible, also make a copy of your buddy- or contact-list.

Browser favorites

It is likely that you will have stored a collection of favorite web pages in your web browser, which you would like to continue to use in Ubuntu.

The following instructions are intended for users of the Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 web browser:

  1. Start Internet Explorer.

  2. Press File -> Import and Export....

  3. The Import/Export Wizard will start. Press Next.

  4. Select Export Favorites and press Next.

  5. Select the folder from which you want to export your favorites. Selecting the Favorites folder will will export all of them. Press Next.

  6. Select Export to a File or Address and choose a filename. Press Next.

  7. Completing the Import/Export Wizard will be displayed. Press Finish.

  8. Your bookmarks will have been saved to the filename you specified previously.

If you are using Mozilla Firefox:

  1. Start Firefox.

  2. Choose menu Bookmarks -> Organize Bookmarks.... (Or Manage Bookmarks... in older versions)

  3. A new window opens up. Choose menu File -> Export....

  4. Choose the location and filename you'd like to save your bookmarks as and click Save.

Emails and mail account settings

You can use the same email account in Ubuntu as you have done in Windows. If you have a Web-based email account, then you should simply be able to access it using the a web browser as you would have done in Windows. Otherwise, please note down the following information so that you can re-create your account settings on Ubuntu:

  • Email address
  • Password
  • POP3 or IMAP server
  • SMTP server
  • Authentication method

The instructions on exporting emails and email account settings are specific to particular applications. Instructions for some popular email clients are given in the following sections; users of other applications may find instructions relevant to their mail application here, on the Ubuntu community support website.

Microsoft Outlook Express

These instructions are intended for users of Microsoft Outlook Express 6. If you are a user of a different version of Outlook Express, you may find instructions specific to that version from another document here, on the Ubuntu community support website.

Exporting the address book

  1. Open Outlook Express and press File -> Export -> Address Book...

  2. The Address Book Export Tool will start. Select the option Text File (Comma Separated Values) and then press Export.

  3. Save the file in a memorable location. Give the file a descriptive name, such as mail_address_book.csv, and press Next.

  4. Select the details from the address book which you would like to export. If you are unsure, tick all of the options. Then, press Finish.

  5. You should receive a message stating that the Address book export process has completed. Press OK and then Close. Your address book should now have been exported successfully.

Exporting mail messages

If you choose Kubuntu as your Ubuntu flavour, all you need is to remember where Outlook Express stores your messages since KMail can import them directly from there. You can read that information from mail folder properties window for each particular folder. Usually all these folder files will be stored in a single file folder; you may choose to back them up or to access them directly from Kubuntu.

Otherwise, because Microsoft Outlook Express is unable to export its mail messages to an intermediate format, you must install another piece of software in order to export your email. Please see Preparing email for export using Mozilla Thunderbird (below) for instructions on importing your email into the Mozilla Thunderbird application, which will allow the exporting of your messages.

Microsoft Office Outlook

These instructions are intended for users of Microsoft Office Outlook 2003. If you are a user of a different version of Outlook, you may find instructions specific to that version on the wiki.

Exporting all Outlook data

Caution - This method may be unreliable and should be used for backup purposes only.

  1. Open Outlook and press Tools -> Options...

  2. Select the Mail Setup tab and press Data Files...

  3. A screen called Outlook Data Files will be displayed. Select the first file in the list, make a note of its name, and press Open Folder...

  4. A folder will open. Find the file you just selected. If you have difficultly finding the file, it should be of type Office Data File or have the file extension .pst.

  5. Copy the file into the location you are using to store your exported settings.

  6. Repeat this process for all of the files which were listed on the Outlook Data Files screen.

Exporting your contacts

  1. Open Outlook and press File -> Import and Export...

  2. The Import and Export Wizard will start. Select the option Export to a file and then press Next.

  3. Select Comma Separated Values (DOS) and press Next

  4. Select the Contacts folder and press Next. Then, choose where to save the file and press Next.

  5. A screen listing Actions to be performed will be shown. Press Finish to export your contacts to the location you selected in the previous step.

Exporting your calendar

  1. Open Outlook and press File -> Import and Export...

  2. The Import and Export Wizard will start. Select the option Export to a file and then press Next.

  3. Select Comma Separated Values (DOS) and press Next

  4. Select the Calendars folder and press Next. Then, choose where to save the file and press Next.

  5. A screen listing Actions to be performed will be shown. Press Finish to export your contacts to the location you selected in the previous step.

Exporting mail messages

Because Microsoft Outlook is unable to fully export its mail messages to a usable intermediate format, you must install another piece of software in order to export your email.

Please see below for instructions on importing your email into the Mozilla Thunderbird application, which will allow the exporting of your messages.

Preparing email for export using Mozilla Thunderbird

Because some mail clients (such as Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Outlook Express) do not store their mail messages in a standard format, an additional piece of software must be used to convert the mail before export. Mozilla Thunderbird is a free, open-source application which is able to do this. The following instructions explain how to obtain Thunderbird and then use it to prepare mail messages for export:

  1. Open a web browser and navigate to the Mozilla Thunderbird website. Follow the link to download Mozilla Thunderbird.

  2. Once the download has completed, run the installer package. Follow the instructions to install Thunderbird.

  3. Once the installer has completed, start Mozilla Thunderbird. You should be greeted with the Import Wizard. Follow the instructions to import all settings - this should import your mail and some other data.

  4. If the Import Wizard does not appear, press Tools -> Import... and choose the Mail option. Follow the instructions to import your mail.

Once all of your mail has been imported, you must now make a copy of it for exporting. Please see below for instructions on how to do this.

Exporting email messages from Mozilla Thunderbird

These instructions are intended for users of Mozilla Thunderbird and users of Outlook and Outlook Express who imported their mail into Thunderbird (see above).

  1. Press Start -> Run, type %AppData%\Thunderbird\Profiles\ into the box provided, and then press OK. A folder will open.

  2. In the newly-opened folder, you should find another folder with a name made up mostly of random characters, for example fyhsxlr3.default. Open this folder.

  3. In this folder, locate a folder named Mail or ImapMail. Select this folder and copy it to a safe location.

  4. When you switch to Ubuntu, make a back-up copy of the folder you just made a copy of. This folder contains all of your mail folders from Thunderbird, in the mbox format.

...to Ubuntu

This section contains instructions on how to import data from Windows into Ubuntu applications.

Some less-commonly-used applications listed here currently lack instructions. Please contribute!

Importing browser bookmarks

This section provides instructions on importing your Internet Explorer or Firefox browser bookmarks/favorites into common Ubuntu (GNOME) web browsers.

Firefox Web Browser

  1. Start Firefox Web Browser.

  2. Select Bookmarks -> Organize Bookmarks... to launch Firefox's Bookmark Manager.

  3. From within the Bookmark Manager, select File -> Import... and choose the From File option, then press Next.

  4. Select the file which you originally exported from Internet Explorer or Firefox in Windows (see the section Browser favorites, above).

  5. Press OK . Your bookmarks will be imported into Firefox.

Epiphany Web Browser

Note - Due to a problem with Epiphany's import mechanism, you must first follow the instructions to import your bookmarks into Firefox (above). The following instructions assume that you have done so.

  1. Start Epiphany Web Browser.

  2. Press Bookmarks -> Edit Bookmarks

  3. The Bookmarks screen appears. Press File -> Import Bookmarks...

  4. The Import Bookmarks screen appears. Select Firefox from the list provided and press Import

  5. All of the bookmarks from Firefox will be imported, including those which you imported from Windows earlier.

Mozilla Browser

To write...

Galeon Web Browser

To write...

Kazehakase

To write...

Dillo

To write...

Importing saved emails

This section contains instructions on importing emails into several commonly-used email clients. For all applications, it is assumed that you followed the instructions given above, in the section Exporting mail messages, to export your emails from Windows.

Evolution Mail

To write...

Mozilla Thunderbird

To write...

Sylpheed and SylpheedClaws

To write...

Balsa Mail Client

To write...

Pronto

To write...

...to Kubuntu

This section contains instructions on how to import data from Windows into commonly-used Kubuntu (KDE) applications

Importing browser bookmarks

This section provides instructions on importing your Internet Explorer browser bookmarks/favorites into KDE-based web browsers.

Konqueror Web Browser

To write...

Importing saved emails

This section provides instructions on importing your emails into various KDE-based email clients. It is assumed that you followed the instructions given above, in the section Exporting mail messages, to export your emails from Windows. Users of Mozilla Thunderbird can find instructions in the ...to Ubuntu section of this document.

KMail and Kontact

To write...

Document under construction The plan is to make the information on this page part of either the Ubuntu Desktop Guide or a standalone Migration Guide, managed by the Ubuntu Documentation Team either way.

Much of the scope of this document is fulfilled by the Switching from Windows guide, which is not yet available as of Edgy Eft (6.10) release.

SwitchingToUbuntu/FromWindows/TransferringFilesAndSettings (last edited 2009-08-04 01:22:42 by 18925050207)