re-install

[Basil Chupin]

On 19/03/13 06:00, Ric Moore wrote:
> On 03/18/2013 12:35 PM, Colin Law wrote:
>
>>
>> I can see that if you want to do that then a separate partition is a
>> necessity.  I hope we are not going to fall out over this :)
>
> The main reason I use /opt on a separate partition and do my /home 
> backup as links to there, is that only SOME things, like your email 
> and browser settings can be safely re-installed intact, and some other 
> dot-files should not be, as just maybe there has been an upgrade in 
> the configs that you ~want~ to happen. It takes "discernment", as in 
> it's better if you decide when to NOT use the upgrade dot-files.
>
> When jumping from 10.4 to 12.4, there is sure to be some major changes 
> to the /home/user dot-config files/directories. Me, from my own 
> perspectives, the only thing I attempt to restore is my thunderbird 
> dot-directory. I use the backup/export features of programs like 
> firefox, save those files to /opt and restore/import back after a 
> fresh install. I have done this for some time, as I rarely have 
> problems doing it this way. Just blindly re-installing a 10.4 
> /home/user directory back to a 12.04 version system has got to create 
> a few headaches. But. that's just my two cents, Ric

What you wrote should be worth a lot more than 2 cents - it worth a LOT 
more.

I have a folder on my second HDD which contains the .thunderbird, 
.mozilla and other folders such as Documents, Downloads etc and which 
are all symlinked from my /home to this folder on the second HDD.

I have no need to worry about copyng anything back when I do a new 
install of the OS (and I never do an upgrade)  - I simply create the 
symlinks in the newly created /home. No stress, no worries, no angst, no 
agonlising, no loss of sleep.

The only "worry" I have here is to remember to do a backup of that 
folder on the second HDD to the USB memory stick and to the external 2TB 
drive.

BC

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