moved servers, how to import users?

[islandsnow]

hello, i just upgrade my suse linux from and old server to a new box. the old suse was version 8.x, and now i am on 10.2

how do you export/import the users and groups from the old box to the new? is there an easy way to do it? utility?

i tried to copy and paste the encrypted password in the shadow file and paste it into the new shadow file of that user, and when i try to log in as that user, i get the following error:

permissions on the password database may be too restrictive

please help!

[islandsnow]

you mean no one has ever upgraded a linux server to another box? i want to know how you handled moving all your users over, along with their mailboxes, and passwords...etc