[CoLoCo] can't add user - path exists

[Collins Richey]

On Mon, Mar 24, 2008 at 9:46 PM, Jim Hutchinson <jim at ubuntu-rocks.org> wrote:
>
>
>
> On Sun, Mar 23, 2008 at 10:50 AM, Collins Richey <crichey at gmail.com> wrote:
> > You DO NOT want to reuse /home/jim intact with all its hidden folders
> > from a prior release, or you may encounter strange problems with
> > gnome, etc. What I do is keep a common partition for storage of
> > permanent files, create a new /home/userid directory for a new
> > release, then symlink the directories in the common partition into the
> > new home partition. That way your new software will not be confused
> > with configuration data from older releases.
> >
>
> No? I've been doing it this way for a while. I thought the whole point of
> keeping /home separate was so you could reinstall but not have to worry as
> much about your home files. I've done several upgrades by reinstalling the
> OS but keeping /home as is. I've never had any problems. If this is a recipe
> for disaster, what is the proper way to reinstall the OS (new version or
> not) and recycling your /home?
>

As I alluded earlier, there are two problems with doing this. Of the
two, only one is applicable to Ubuntu

1. The hidden files in the home directory contain configuration data
that is release dependent.  You may be lucky, or the reuse of these
files may cause something in the gui system to fail or to misbehave.
2. Different distros (not the case with Ubuntu) may assign different
uid/gid ownership to /home/jim, and you would need to reset the
ownership.

I'm just being anal about this, and it may not be that great a
problem. OTOH, if you start encountering miscellaneous problems that
are difficult to troubleshoot, the mixed nature of the hidden files
could be a part of the problem. I decided to sidestep the problem by
keeping my permanent files segregated from the release dependent
stuff.

YMMV. Good luck


-- 
Collins Richey
 If you fill your heart with regrets of yesterday and the worries
 of tomorrow, you have no today to be thankful for.