Solved - Change / to /Home and Reinstall Without Losing Anything?

[Laysan_A]

Re: Change / to /Home and Reinstall Without Losing Anything?

Hi,

I'm worried about what you might mean by "rooted Dolphin". I would NOT advise using Dolphin in root (aka "sudo") mode, just to copy data files. In fact, you can mess things up pretty badly doing that -- the copied files will have root privileges and the user will not be able to change them.

Thanks for that - I wondered...(will it get all the configuration files?)

I'm not sure what data files would need any type of "special handling" just to copy them. I would use "cp", not "mv", so the original file stays intact, until you have confirmed that you have it. You'll have to tell more about what you read, or what this concern is.

Hmm...It seems the link in my first post didn't copy properly. Here it is again:
http://embraceubuntu.com/2006/01/29/...own-partition/

Here's a quote, plus code:

Now, Copy files over:
Since the “/home” directory will have hardlinks, softlinks, files and nested directories, a regular copy (cp) may not do the job completely. Therefore, we use something we learn from the Debian archiving guide:
$cd /home/
$find . -depth -print0 | cpio --null --sparse -pvd /mnt/newhome/

And another from the same link:

* –sparse is used to write files with large blocks of zeros as sparse files. A sparse file is a file that may contain considerably less actual data than its size might suggest: i.e. a file with a single byte of data written at its millionth byte will be a 1MB sparse file, full of zeroes except for the last byte. Archive commands such as ‘cpio’ will usually, for efficiency, ignore the zeroes. Since we are aiming to copy exactly, –sparse here forces their recognition.

I don't know enough about how linux works to judge whether or not I should be concerned - but I see there is apparently reason for concern in some instances - and that's enough reason for me to be cautious.
(Someone parsed the debian command I pasted from the link in the comments section, if you're interested.)

Thanks again...

[dibl]

Re: Change / to /Home and Reinstall Without Losing Anything?

OK, got it.

Being a relatively new user, here's what I would advise. Just copy your actual data files, from the old user's home folder to the new user's home folder. Don't bother copying the hidden "dot" files, or the symlinks (if any). The article you found is telling you how to preserve all the configuration settings and symlinks that you had in your prior installation. If I'm understanding your level of experience correctly, that is not important -- matter of fact it is probably counterproductive. You will learn more, and build your proficiency, if you start with a clean default Kubuntu installation, and then make your custom settings fresh. The important thing is to copy your data (music, documents, images, etc.) from the old /home folder to the new one. You can use Dolphin to do that -- just use the "split" view, and put your old home folder on one side and your new one on the other, and start clicking and dragging until you have everything you want copied over. Dolphin will ask you whether you mean to "copy" or "move" or "link" the files, and your answer should be "copy".

Then you can do your browser settings, and desktop customizations as you want, and all that will become your new configuration.

[Laysan_A]

Re: Change / to /Home and Reinstall Without Losing Anything?

Thanks dibl! I think all of my doubts and questions have been allayed and answered. I appreciate it very much.

Thanks guys! oshunluvr, verndog, and Fintan, thanks!

[verndog]

Re: Solved - Change / to /Home and Reinstall Without Losing Anything?

Laysan_A,

Your already ahead of the game. By the fact that you did some searching before hand shows some initiative on your part.
for one thing you know enough to be cautious, and move ahead slowly. There's been countless times I've come across new users that have blindly upgraded partial programs without even considering the consequences.

Glad you have a found some answers here. ..and Welcome aboard.

[Laysan_A]

Re: Solved - Change / to /Home and Reinstall Without Losing Anything?

Thanks!

[oshunluvr]

Re: Change / to /Home and Reinstall Without Losing Anything?

I totally agree with dibl and would add one more thing.

I wouldn't follow the advice or take for granted as still true anything from a post or blog that's more than a few months old, much less almost 5 years. Linux is far from a static thing.

If you have a question and are doing web research (always the best first step) add "ubuntu" and your version number to the search bar along with your question. I searched for "move /home ubuntu 10.04" and got this as my first hit:

http://www.hackourlives.com/move-hom...-ubuntu-10-04/

not a lot different than your 2006 link but you can see things have changed...

[Laysan_A]

Re: Solved - Change / to /Home and Reinstall Without Losing Anything?

Hi oshunluver,

That's good advice.
And thanks for the new link with the rsync copy method.
(I WANT YOUR COMPUTER [Look into my eyes...You are getting sleeeepy...])

[oshunluvr]

Re: Solved - Change / to /Home and Reinstall Without Losing Anything?

hey, where's my computer?

[Laysan_A]

Re: Solved - Change / to /Home and Reinstall Without Losing Anything?