2012. június 27. 9:19 napon Basil Chupin
On 26/06/12 22:07, James Knott wrote:
Basil Chupin wrote:
My personal opinion is that you should always do a clean install - ie, start from zero. Especially now that you are about to install a new 64-bit system.
He was referring to /home, which contains user data. That should always be protected during install, but otherwise left alone. In my main computer, my /home is on a separate drive, mounted in a slide in tray. When I do a fresh install, I remove the drive and then mount it again after the install. I also make back ups of /home, /etc and a couple of other directories.
I know what he meant - and I know what I suggested: always do a clean install, which means zapping the /home directory.
Make a backup of your /home directory by all means - I always do, on a regular basis as well - but do not use it for the new installation.
I have read enough pleas for help, and posts containing much gnashing of teeth, to conclude that files (config files) in an 'old' /home directory more often than not cause much suffering and pain because the new version of the OS requires new settings. Copy over from the 'old' /home files which you KNOW won't cause problems but that's all. For example, I use xine as a backup TV viewer and it uses a channels.conf file which is also used by vlc (my preferred choice of TV/audio viewer/player) and this is one file I simply copy across without hesitation.
Of course, I will now get hundreds of posts telling me that I am absolutely and totally off the planet and that I need mental help for making such a statement. OK, go for it peoples - I's am waiting! :-)
I've been using the home directories from SUSE 9.x and though I never had big problems, small ones occasionally occurred. Furthermore unnecessary (obsolete) config files can pile up, which can be disturbing as well. For this reason I think it is a good idea to start with a clean home directory and copy only the necessary files. The drawback is that configuration is time consuming and tedious. Therefore I am rolling my home directory and don't do clean install. But I always make a backup of .kde .local .config .skel .qt Desktop .icons .gnome2 .gconf .gconfd .mozilla .ooo3/.libreoffice dirs and a few files like .bashrc and .profile. I guess that 32/64 bit switching should not affect the settings but since I wasn't sure about it I asked what other's experiences are. Thanks you all, Istvan -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org