Ubuntu Hardy Heron Reinstallation Query

techtronic · 11-05-2008, 02:25 AM

I am a Windows XP User and am planning to shift to Ubuntu 8.04.
I have a small clarification.
When I install Windows my partitions are C:\ and D:\ ,
I keep all my data in D:/.
In the event of the OS getting corrupted,
I use Acronis True Image to restore my C:\ back.

Now that I am comfortable with Linux wrt partitions (root,swap and boot)
my query is if Ubuntu releases the next version, then is it possible to retain all my /home data when I reinstall the upgraded OS again.

mehulved · 11-05-2008, 02:54 AM

1) it is possible to have /home on different partition, infact you can have any mount point on a separate partition. I would rather have /home/data containing all your movies, music, documents, images, etc on a different partition cos there are configuration files placed in home directory which could cause problems after reinstall eg. default theme for gnome may point to a GTK theme that you had in previous version but do not have now. Though that may not be problematic in majority of the cases, it just might be an irritation.
2) why would you want to reinstall when there is a new release?

techtronic · 12-05-2008, 03:56 PM

The new version might contain new drivers and other bugs fixed.
So when the next version comes I would like to install the new version without losing my data which I would have stored in /home/<user> folder.

How can i do this ?

DukeNukem · 12-05-2008, 04:32 PM

Why done you Upgrade you Old Ubuntu OS to New One without reinstalling

here is some help

http://www.ubuntugeek.com/upgrade-ub...rdy-heron.html

but New ubuntu is really Slow (as far as iam concerned PIII 1GHZ, 512 MB RAM, 250 GB HDD).

Faun · 12-05-2008, 07:37 PM

new ubuntu is fast by any means compared to gutsy

sourav123 · 12-05-2008, 07:49 PM

^^ I second that. Also as hardwares are getting cheaper, you are supposed to get some speed hits if you are stuck with an old piece of hardware.

By the way, Wubi is great and you don't need to loose your sleep over overriding/deleting your windows partition. It just works like magic.

Rahim · 12-05-2008, 08:51 PM

The best thing would be to create a new ext3 partition and move all your Home folder data to it. Use live CD.
Then while installing choose that partition and choose "/home" as mount point.
One more thing you should create the same username to match the UID and GID to avoid conflicts.

infra_red_dude · 12-05-2008, 09:15 PM

I've always used a different partition for /home. Never caused me problems. If the settings carried over from the previous installation are not compatible with the newer version then they are either ignored or there is a bit messup. If you use gnome, then you can safely remove all folders starting with .gconf* and .gnome*.

A separate /home partition has been a must for me considering the 1000s of mails, work files, themes etc. I maintain.

**MetalheadGautham** · 12-05-2008, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by infra_red_dude

I've always used a different partition for /home. Never caused me problems. If the settings carried over from the previous installation are not compatible with the newer version then they are either ignored or there is a bit messup. If you use gnome, then you can safely remove all folders starting with .gconf* and .gnome*.

A separate /home partition has been a must for me considering the 1000s of mails, work files, themes etc. I maintain.

welcome back anirudh

I have 17 gb for / partition. How much should go to home and how much to / ?

infra_red_dude · 12-05-2008, 10:30 PM

^^^ It all depends on how much data you haf. I haf a 12GB root partition and a 25GB /home partition, 2-3GB of which is taken up by all my e-mails in Thunderbird. All my media is stored on separate FAT32 partition which is shared with Windows.

When I upgrade the distro or do some distro hopping (I rarely do that), I don't even hafta configure Thunderbird and download all my mails - I just launch TB on the new install and it starts downloading the newest mail! I install the new distro and my previous icon, gtk theme gets applied including the wallpaper, the panel applet arrangement is retained, all my screenlets and their config are retained. All most everything is retained. If something is not compatible then there is some mess-up. I just login and delete the .gconf* and .gnome* folders and it resets everything. Hafing a separate /home partition is inevitable for me.