Score:0

How to plug old external SSD with Ubuntu installed into new laptop

vn flag

I am switching to a new laptop and I want to use my old Ubuntu 20.04 installation which is on an external SSD, to save the time of reinstallation and file transfer. How can I achieve this? Directly plugging into new laptop which has Windows 10 pre-installed, doesn't recognize the external SSD as a bootable device. I have another bootable live USB as well if it can help in anyway and I can plug it in along with the SSD. But I don't know what exactly can I change without complete reinstallation to have it work as it is. Also, I have separate root and home partitions.

24601 avatar
in flag
won't there possibly be conflicts with the various drivers on the installation from the old SSD on a different device. It doesn't take long to install from scratch and by the time you have sorted out any issues, you will probably have saved some time and be more assured about the outcome.
keenlearner avatar
vn flag
Oh. That's what I actually wanted to know, if there is a way. But I see, there is a possibility for conflicts. So is it safe to keep the same home partition while installing and create new clean partitions for root and swap?
24601 avatar
in flag
before doing anything, you are only as good as your last backup.
Zeiss Ikon avatar
cn flag
Linux generally detects all hardware on each startup (or so I was told) so having drivers for hardware you no longer have isn't the problem it would be on Windows.
ar flag
I assume your new laptop running Windows 10 starts up in UEFI mode. The question is was Ubuntu in the old SSD installed in the BIOS or UEFI mode? If Ubuntu was installed in UEFI mode then it will be easier. If not, you may have to change the UEFI to switch to Legacy mode before the old SSD would boot. This will stop Windows from booting until you switch back to UEFI.
Score:1
cn flag

In order to boot from a USB port, many/most current computers (with UEFI etc.) will require entering UEFI/BIOS settings and enabling the option to boot from the USB port. For a one-time basis, many will allow a "boot menu" (on my Thinkpad, several years old, I can hit F11 during pre-start).

This is a good way to verify if the Linux install on the external SSD can actually boot in this setup, at the least -- but to do it on a routine basis, assuming it works, you'd need to install a bootloader that will allow you to choose between Windows on the internal drive and Ubuntu on the USB port. GRUB can do this, of course, but anything that repairs the Windows 10 install in any way is likely to replace GRUB with the original Windows bootloader (which won't give you the choice, rather just start Windows, at least by default).

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