Moving SSD to new PC in route

[VetteSplit]

Here is a background. I have been using Manjaro on my PC and laptop for the last couple of years. Same computer and laptop the whole time. I have replaced SSD’s, cloned installation, and even full wipe many times as I jump from DE to DE or mess up, etc.

About 8 months ago, I finally found the setup I want (most relaxed with) and it has worked with no issues. Now I had the opportunity to order a new PC and since mine is almost 5 years old, i figured why not since I can use this as a replacement server for my 12 yo Xeon server.

New PC should be here by Thursday but I have a few questions. My specs are as follows.

OLD PC
HP 705 G2
AMD Pro A8-8650B APU
16GB DDR3

New PC
Lenovo IdeaCentre
AMD Ryzen 7 4700G APU
16GB DDR4

My questions are as follows.

1. Can I just swap the SSD into the new PC and boot with little or no issue? (I have never moved an installation to a new PC.)
2. I will have a backup just in case but can I restore the backup to new hardware without losing packages or settings? (Again my backups have never been used on a different PC.)

Sorry if these sound like simple issues but I dont want to break anything since it took more than a year to figure out what I was looking for and I came from Windows before that and any changes can break an install.
If this is in the wrong place I am sorry.

[stephane]

before moving SSD ,
can you

1. add kernel 5.9 version

sudo mhwd-kernel -i linux59 

2. what is your video card on old computer ?

sudo mhwd -li

3. think to update firmware on your new computer

[megavolt]

Hi

@VetteSplit

Can I just swap the SSD into the new PC and boot with little or no issue? (I have never moved an installation to a new PC.)

Yes you can. In most cases it just works, but there are exceptions which need extra work (for example nvidia or raid)

@VetteSplit

I will have a backup just in case but can I restore the backup to new hardware without losing packages or settings? (Again my backups have never been used on a different PC.)

If you use timeshift with rsync, then sure. Normally there are only saved system files. If you need to save your settings also, then include at least your dot-files in your /home/$USER/ directory.

[VetteSplit]

Sorry for the delay in responding. I had to spend the day performing for the kids

@stephane

before moving SSD ,
can you

1. add kernel 5.9 version

sudo mhwd-kernel -i linux59 

2. what is your video card on old computer ?

sudo mhwd -li

3. think to update firmware on your new computer

1. Already on 5.9
2. Old computer is an AMD APU and new one is as well.
3. If there is an update I already plan to.

[VetteSplit]

@megavolt

Yes you can. In most cases it just works, but there are exceptions which need extra work (for example nvidia or raid)

If you use timeshift with rsync, then sure. Normally there are only saved system files. If you need to save your settings also, then include at least your dot-files in your /home/$USER/ directory.

Thats good to know. I will want to save my settings as well. Since I am using an AMD APU and the new on is as well I will try to just swap it out. If that doesnt work Ill have my backup to restore.

And if all else fails, I have become adept at fresh installs.

[VetteSplit]

OK I have an update for anyone who wants to know.

Before installing the drive into the new PC I hooked it up via USB and booted from it. It worked fine and since there was an PCIe M.2 socket, I installed an NVME drive then cloned my disk over to it. It boots with no issue and so far everything works as it should. You can even see in the screenshot that everything was recognized.

So thanks for the help and hope anyone else who has this question will find it can work.

[stephane]

think to add more memory to get 16Gb