new install /home

[barryg]

This is a general question that's not particulaly pertaining to Kubuntu, but all linux distro's. When i'm told to save /Home when either changing distro's or perhaps want to do a re-install of the same distro, where or how should i save my /Home folder that contains approx 120GB of music so it will not be overwritten?

With windows i can have a seperate partition (D, that i can store my music and know that when i select to install windows on C: my music is as safe as ( Hmm i was going to say a bank, but you know what i mean ). Is there a tutorial on how to go about this with Linux? A lot of Distro's are different in how they go about persenting options during the install, so i'm guessing one tutorial may not cover all.

I thought of perhaps having a seperate H/Drive to hold my data, but having a 750GB H/drive with only linux on it sort of defeats the object of having a large drive. I just as well have a small 20GB Linux H/drive and leave my 750GB for data. I think perhaps i've just answered my question

Noob speak only in replies please

[Fintan]

Re: new install /home

Separate /home?
Very good idea and simple to implement.

First make a backup of the data you want to have on /home.

Get yourself the gparted live cd:
http://gparted.sourceforge.net/download.php

The site also offers great docs on partitioning.

Load the live cd then choose the HD you wish to partition.

Partition as follows:
/ (root) : format as ext3 size: 12-20 gig
/swap : size: if you have over 1gig ram then 1.5 gig is plenty for /swap. If you have less then 2x ram
/home : format as ext3 size: as large as you want.

Now when you install choose "manual" partitioning (I think it is step 4 in Kubuntu live install)

Choose the HD you just partitioned and right click on each partition you just made and assign them accordingly (/ for root (linux), /home for your /home partition, swap will automatically be "seen")

Go through the rest of the steps as usual.

Now you will have your /username on the separate /home and can copy / move your data file over from where ever you backed them up to.

I hope this is helpful

[barryg]

Re: new install /home

Many thanks

Regards

[Fintan]

Re: new install /home

You are welcome. Let us know how it goes or if you have problems

[barryg]

Re: new install /home

Call me a coward if you want, but i'm at the conclusion that i'm not experianced in different distro installs when it comes to the fool proofing of personal data. Re-installing the same or different flavour is not (to me), an easy obvious walk though, one slip will result in tears

What i have opted for is to use a 320GB H/drive for Linux and workspace, and my 750GB for data. This way i can copy across what music/video's/Graphics i want into whatever distro i use without fear of destroying anything un-intentionally. It's a small pain in the butt having to transfer data across but the end result (in my case), is worth it.

I've printed out your suggestions and put them with the small pile of info i'm collecting. With some peace of mind i can move forward in learning

Thanks again

Regards

[Qqmike]

Re: new install /home

@barryg -- and THAT is why backups are essential. At a minum, to have one copy of all your important stuff, and to place that copy somewhere else -- not on the same drive. Two copies (i.e., a redundant backup) is not a bad idea if the stuff is really, very important.
Backups: Also, a PITA, but I do agree with you about being extra cautious.

anecdote ...
I was writing my how-to on using Konsole
this one:
Commands at Konsole: Beginners
http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3091607.0
In 3 parts, new/improved, complete basic tutorial.

... and testing the chroot function by chrooting into my new 8.10 partition from my 8.04 OS. After the experiment, well, day-dreaming or over-confident or distracted or WHATEVER, I noticed some garbage under my /media directory, and so quickly issued
sudo rm that_directory_stuff/*
(=> remove all contents of it without recourse)
Oops, there went my new 8.10 I had set up! I deleted the entire OS, embedded home and all!
After the experiment I had failed to unmount it -- my 8.10 was sitting right there looking like "garbage" that needed to be cleaned up after the experiment.

Oh well. My point would be simply: I see what you mean here!


BTW, I had NO backups of anything in 8.10 yet.
But I did use a powerful Linux tool TestDisk (and its PhotoRec) to recover all my personal, important stuff, including family photos.

[barryg]

Re: new install /home

Oops

My original question really pertained to a single drive user. I'm fortunate to now have 2 drives, but i can imagine some users (myself was one of them), only having one and so i asked 'where should the data be saved to'. If one drive failed i'll be back to a single drive, and needed to know rather than use up 30 or so DVD's to backup my 120GB of music ( yeah i let things get out of hand ) how could i foolproof myself against deleting the data if it was all on one drive.

Please excuse me for having a chuckle at what you did, it only confirms we are all subjects to Murphy's law

Regards

[Teunis]

Re: new install /home

As it is right now a single (external USB) hard disk to hold your 30 DVD's worth is probably hardly any more expensive but a lot faster and more flexible.
Re installing Linux on a couple of dedicated partitions on a single hard disk system is not particularly dangerous for the other partitions on the same disk.
Disconnecting a separate data drive will obviously prevent overwriting but it remains a fragile single instance copy.

[barryg]

Re: new install /home

Whilst on the subject............

I forgot to mention that i disconnect my 750GB drive when installing Linux, then there is 'No-Way' that i can stuff up. It's easy enough to connect the drive again after the install is completed.

Oh yeah on the subject

Is there really any different between having AHCI enable in Bios or not? I can select not only to have AHCI enabled, but also if it's for windows AHCI or Linux AHCI. I personally haven't noticed any significance speed increase, but perhaps it enhances the data transfer in some other way.

Regards