[ale] how do I properly move my home folder from ubuntu to mint

[Ron Frazier (ALE)]

Hi Doug,

I'm looking into methods to backup my mint machine and maybe windows too.  I normally pay for backup software since I want the engineering to be rock solid, the fit and finish of the GUI to be good, and the support to actually be there.  Obviously, paying doesn't guarantee this, but it helps.  I have been an Acronis True Image user and liked it, but my copy is from 2007.  For some reason, it doesn't want to boot after I've reconfigured my pc's.  Reviews seem to indicate that the new Acronis stuff is garbage.  I'm looking at alternatives.  Haven't decided yet, but Terabyte Unlimited has an imaging program that is very sophisticated and seems to get good reviews.  They also have Windows, Linux, and DOS versions.  The Windows version includes all three and the Linux version includes DOS I believe.

The Windows version is ~ $ 40.

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/image-for-windows.htm

If I end up using it, I'll report back.

Sincerely,

Ron



Doug Hall <doughalldev at gmail.com> wrote:

>Funny you should mention "good backups", because I'm finding that I
>canot
>easily restore "good backups" from the "BackInTime" program that I
>recommended to a friend. That friend is now having me move his data
>files
>onto a new computer that I'm setting up, and it's not working too well.
>I
>can't say for sure what the problem is right now, but it's not strictly
>permissions related. The new /home is set up to be automatically
>encrypted.
>The old one wasn't. Not sure if that's it either. I'm also not sure if
>the
>backup drive is ext3 and not ext4 like the new one. Not sure if that
>matters either.
>
>What I might suggest is that you test your backups, and never move
>strictly
>between two hard drives. Use three. (old, backup, and new) That way if
>the
>backup wasn't what you expected, you still have the old drive.
>
>Doug
>
>
>On Sun, May 26, 2013 at 1:50 PM, JD <jdp at algoloma.com> wrote:
>
>> A) nothing replaces having good backups. NOTHING.
>>
>> B) the issue with having the OS, apps, and HOME in the same partition
>is
>> why many folks place /home on a dedicated partition. Some distros do
>this
>> by default. For anything besides a play install, I spend the time to
>setup
>> partitions the way I like. That means /home either on a dedicated
>partition
>> or an NFS mount.
>>
>> This could be a great pre-meeting topic?
>>
>>
>> "Ron Frazier (ALE)" <atllinuxenthinfo at techstarship.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> I just had a frustrating experience and want to learn how to avoid
>it
>>> next time.
>>>
>>> Previously, I had set up all my machines to dual boot with ubuntu
>and
>>> windows.  I've now decided to move to Mint since I'm disenchanted
>with
>>> ubuntu.  Yes, I know they share the same core.
>>>
>>> The hdd in question had an ext4 partition which was ubuntu and an
>ntfs
>>> partition which I use for data.  I booted a mint live cd, mounted
>the
>>> ubuntu file system by clicking it within the file browser, and
>copied my
>>> ron folder to the ntfs partition.  It complained about some files
>being
>>> inaccessible, but still copied about 43 MB of data, which looked
>like
>>> the right number.
>>>
>>> I then proceeded to install mint in the ext4 partition.  When I
>started
>>> the installer, I selected the option to erase ubuntu and install
>mint.
>>>
>>> I eventually got mint booting and working the way I wanted.  Then, I
>>> went back into the file browser and told it to copy the files back
>from
>>> the ntfs partition to the new mint home directory and merge any
>>> duplicate folders.  I made the mistake of using a move command
>rather
>>> than a copy command.  At some point, it generated another error
>saying
>>> it couldn't copy some files.  I cannot remember the exact message. 
>I
>>> clicked skip all.  The net result is that about 43 MB of data was
>copied
>>> to my new home folder and about 387 MB of data wasn't copied.
>>> Unfortunately, the files were removed from the ntfs folder even
>though
>>> they were skipped, which I think is a design flaw.
>>>
>>> The net result is that I lost about 9/10 of what was in my original
>>> ubuntu home folder unless I can find a backup somewhere.  I don't
>think
>>> there was anything too critical, but who knows.
>>>
>>> So, can anyone please tell me the prop
>>>  er
>>> procedure to move the contents
>>> of my home folder from a ubuntu install to a mint install so this
>>> doesn't happen next time I install mint on another computer?
>>>
>>> Any help is appreciated and thanks in advance.
>>>
>>> Sincerely,
>>>
>>> Ron
>>>
>>>
>> --
>> Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.
>>
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>>
>
>
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--

Sent from my Android Acer A500 tablet with bluetooth keyboard and K-9 Mail.
Please excuse my potential brevity if I'm typing on the touch screen.

(PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to
call on the phone.  I get about 300 emails per day from alternate energy
mailing lists and such.  I don't always see new email messages very quickly.)

Ron Frazier
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