How to Move Your Windows Data to Ubuntu

So you're making the big move. You're ready to pack everything up and move from Windows to Ubuntu. The easy part is getting Ubuntu up and running. The trickier part is migrating all your data, which is spread out all over your Windows hard disk. 

Make Sure You Notify the Post Office

If you're switching from Outlook, you probably won't be able to directly import your mail settings into a Linux mail program. Your best bet is to install Thunderbird http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird/ on your Windows machine and import all your Outlook settings into Thunderbird.Once you've done that, you'll more easily be able to export your mail and contacts into formats that Linux mail programs can understand.

Step1:Transfer Outlook into Thunderbird

1. Before you transfer your Outlook email into Thunderbird, first make sure that Outlook is set to be the default mail application 

2. Open the Control Panel and double-click on Internet Options. Go to the Programs tab and make sure that Microsoft Outlook is specified as the email program , and then click OK

3. launch Mozilla Thunderbird. Select No when it asks whether you want to make Thunderbird your default email application. If this is the first time you've run it, it will prompt you to import your mail and settings.

4. If not, select Import from the Tools menu. Now you're ready to import your mail. When the Import dialog box appears, select Mail and click Next. Choose Outlook or Outlook Express and click Next. When it's done, click Finish. Your mail is now sitting in Thunderbird.

Step2:Transfer your Thunderbird mail to Ubuntu

1. If you transferred your mail from Outlook, it will be sitting in a Local Folder called Outlook Mail. 

2. You should have a few folders there, including Deleted Items, Drafts, Inbox, Outbox, and Sent Items. 

3. If you expected a whole bunch of mail to be imported from Outlook but found nothing, 

4. check to see whether you are using IMAP for your email (see the earlier note about transferring your IMAP account).

5. To grab the mail folders from Thunderbird, you'll need to locate your profile folder. 

6. First, shut down Thunderbird, and then open a Windows Command Prompt. 

7. Next, change to your Thunderbird directory with this command:

      cd %APPDATA%\\Thunderbird