This is linux we're talking about - there is always a bunch of alternatives. Personally I'm not a massive fan of cloning, but it has its place.
There are always wrinkles that need to be cleaned up - for example even if you took the original disk across to the new machine, it won't boot on a current machine. UEFI based machines require variables in the NVRAM (on the motherboard) to be correct to identify what can be booted - secure boot also can get in the way although that is less of a problem than it was initially.

Like I said, nothing is ever as easy as it looks. Plenty of guides on the web - so good, some not so, and some way out of date. Variability in the implementation of EFI between vendors (HP vs Lenovo vs ...) is also a concern.
Basically means it all depends on your particular situation. Good luck.

Edit: forgot to mention perhaps you should start by investigating clonezilla - has good doco on the site.

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Well I'm posting from the computer I transferred Bodhi to. I was going to keep notes of the method but I got too excited as things were working out and forgot to note a couple of steps having to do with startx and no graphics screen.

Modifying /etc/fstab was essential, and booting Rescatux from a DVD let me modify grub so that the appropriate partition would boot. I made sure I booted to a text screen and logged in as root. Then it was a matter of setting up the wireless using the wired connection. lspci -nn told me I had a BCM4318 [AirForce One 54g] card and sudo apt-get install firmware-b43-installer b43-fwcutter connected me on the next boot.

I haven't found anything that doesn't execute (yet) but I still need to configure my keyboard which happens to be Spanish.

In any case thanks for all the suggestions from several users.

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