Backup the Blockchain

[btcfiend]

I've just got a new laptop and would like to save myself the hassle of downloading the blockchain again. Is it possible to simply copy the blockchain over to the new machine? I run ubuntu and was thinking it should just be a case of copying the $HOME/.bitcoin/blocks directory. Will this work? Will it matter if the old machine is 32-bit and the new one is 64-bit? Thanks in advance.

[danystatic]

It would be great if you tell us what you have found out.