Linux Question: home directory back up


b_o_b

Advanced Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2010
Messages
1,488
Hi,

My desktop PC with Ubuntu 12.04 died two days ago. I was just upgrading it to 12.10 and the process was finalized but I never managed to boot it up. Was trying to fix it with Puppy Linux, but then my hardware failed.

Now I am using another PC with Ubuntu (12.04) but I would like to use the previous home directory (for various program settings and configuration) of my deskop.

I think I have two options:

- overwrite the complete home directory of the new desktop with the old one  

- copy the home directory to an USB key or SD card and adjust GRUB so it will use that directory

The first option is pretty straightforward and easy to do. I think I will need a bit of guidance for the second option.

Will this work? Any other suggestions?
 
Are you getting confused between root partition and home directory?
 
I don' t think I need the root partition in this case. Home directory should be good enough. I just like to restore personal preferences in programs and browsing settings, passwords etc. It is a different PC though, so I am not sure if the hardware change will matter for some settings in the home directory.
 
Why does grub need to know about where your home dir is?

I suggest trying to pick out the settings you really need and only coping those across.

I had a nightmare last time akonadi tried to be clever when I was switching machines - what DE are you using?
 
Why does grub need to know about where your home dir is?

I suggest trying to pick out the settings you really need and only coping those across.

I had a nightmare last time akonadi tried to be clever when I was switching machines - what DE are you using?
I though you need to instruct Grub to mount the home directory from the USB key instead of the harddrive so override default.

Also thought about doing it manually for a couple of programs, but this seemed less work and I liked my previous setup. DE - I was switching between XFCE and Unity so used them both.
 
Maybe easier to create a new installation on your new box, login to a shell (not a DE, which will fill ~ with new config files) mount and then and copy everything of the USB stick into ~. Then logout and login again to a full DE, which should then load all the config files you just copied over.

If that doesn't work, then not much harm done.
 
That approach is pretty simalar to copy the home directory. I might add an additional Ubuntu install next to the current version and try this method. If it fails I will still have the back up.
 
Boot a live cd, copy your home folder on a usb drive (cp -r /home/me /media/disk/).

Install your Linux (actually, Mint surpassed Ubuntu as the distro-of-the-day).

Copy data in your home folder.
 
Boot a live cd, copy your home folder on a usb drive (cp -r /home/me /media/disk/).

Install your Linux (actually, Mint surpassed Ubuntu as the distro-of-the-day).

Copy data in your home folder.
Yep, was planning on doing something like that. I love Puppy Linux for this kind of rescue missions. Sometimes I just stay with it for a while because of the incredible speed. 

I am using Ubuntu mainly because I am just used to it, it always works on my hardware and it still has the largest community. When there are issues I can usually find the answer myself. 

Might give Mint a try though, reviews seem to be pretty positive.
 
Back
Top