Pqluglist- Dilemma with Home partition

[Parksville-Qualicum Linux Users group mail list]

All you that know me have heard me complain about Ubuntu 64bit system 
and how I can't get Google Earth to work, and none of the cool games 
will work either.
So today I downloaded the x86 live version which wouldn't work at all on 
this computer back in 9.04, but now seems to function well. GE even 
works, albeit slowly (not a real download), so now I want to make the jump.
The problem I have is that I never made a dedicated Home partition, and 
I've got so much stuff in here now that I don't want to lose.
Does anybody know a way of creating a partition for home on the old 
system so that the install of the new one sees it and asks if I want to 
keep it?
Can you do this with a live install or do you need the alternative install?
Thanks a bunch in advance. I'll be quite thrilled if I can use some of 
the programmes I've been missing all this time.

DonL