On 10/09/2016 04:44 PM, Marc Chamberlin wrote:
So first question I have is what file system should I choose
For a variety of reasons I've now standardized on ReiserFS. There has been discussion on this back and forth, but my main motivation is that I think any FS that you have to pre-allocate a fixed number of inodes when you run mkfs isn't any better than the old V6 file systems of the 1970s except for things like speed. pre-provisioning is archaic. We don't do it with memory, why should we do it with disk. ReiserFS, BtrFS and XFS are all B-tree based that don't have this provisioning problem. You CAN'T run out of inodes before data or data before inodes. That ext4 has b-tree internally but still requires this fixed pre-provisioning strikes me as a serious shortcoming of an otherwise excellent file system.
and if I want to copy everything from the old drive with a partition using a file system of one type, to a new drive with a partition using a different type of a file system, how best to do so? Doesn't look like dd would be a good choice of a tool to use....
There really is no reason not use use rsync when copying a file system. Its an outstanding too and very versatile. You can. for example, sign up for a free or free for a month network store, rsync to that, then rsync back later. Securely!
Also, I am going to want to preserve the MBR in the process.
Ahm, I wouldn't do that if I were you. Its better to regenerate the MBR to match the new drive and its characteristics. Put it where you want it on the new drive and make sure it links to your bootloader (grub, grub2, lilo) and lists the version(s) of the OS you have on the new drive. Better to be safe than sorry! Yast is your Friend here :-) There are actually a number of situations where you may need to 'repair' the MBR. The one most discussed here is when it has been 'corrupted' by an installation of Windows. https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Repair_MBR_after_Windows_install -- A: Yes. > Q: Are you sure? >> A: Because it reverses the logical flow of conversation. >>> Q: Why is top posting frowned upon? -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org