move to LMDE/3

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mike acker
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move to LMDE/3

Post by mike acker »

thinking ahead...

my LMDE/2 is configure in a single / root partition and as such has a /home folder rather than a /home partition (just on my main system box -- I've since Seen the Light and Mended my Ways )

in moving to LMDE/3 I want to correct this. To do it I need to format a new drive and partition it properly with a / root partition, /home partition, /swap partition and /extended partition

after that I need to move all the data from the old /home folder to the new /home partition

I'm a little worried about permissions. if I copy the compete content of the existing /home folder -- it will take my User ID with it. This should be fine: after that I'll just install LMDE/3 into these existing partitions -- my old user ID and permissions should all be preserved.

I'd then need to re-install my app program selections -- but -- they probably need that, anyway.

another approach would be to install a new SSD and put the / root partition and the /swap partition on the SSD and then put the /home partition on a regular disc. the SSD could be partitioned MBR and the new hard disk could then have the new partition table -- and could be a 4TB drive.

Thoughts/Suggestions ?
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
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¡Viva la Resistencia!
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Pierre
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Re: move to LMDE/3

Post by Pierre »

what I've done one one such machine, that only had the /home folder under the / root
was to create a new 10Gb partition & re-install LM, using a later version, of course,
and to then set the new install up using the separate / root and the original /home folder

surprisingly the new install did indeed detect the original /home and then use it.

whilst your data is kept this way - - you still have to re-install any extra software that you use,
- over & beyond what is supplied in the basic installation.
because the / root partition is starting out vacant,
as likewise if any re-installation is done with a separate / root partition.
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mike acker
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Joined: Wed Jul 31, 2013 6:29 pm
Location: Kalamazoo, MI

Re: move to LMDE/3

Post by mike acker »

Pierre wrote:what I've done one one such machine, that only had the /home folder under the / root
was to create a new 10Gb partition & re-install LM, using a later version, of course,
and to then set the new install up using the separate / root and the original /home folder

surprisingly the new install did indeed detect the original /home and then use it.

whilst your data is kept this way - - you still have to re-install any extra software that you use,
- over & beyond what is supplied in the basic installation.
because the / root partition is starting out vacant,
as likewise if any re-installation is done with a separate / root partition.
thanks!

this is probably "down the road a bit"-- I want to use a RYZEN chip with DDR4 memory -- and -- I'm thinking putting the root / directory and the / swap directory on a small -- 128GB SSD. the /home directory could then be on a 4TB drive -- partitioned with the new partition method ( not "MBR " -- the new one ). That way the /home partition can have the whole 4TB

the stumbling bloc of course is the kernel. I'd need to update the kernel and if I do that I'm on my own for kernel updates after that

I did have to re-install the LMDE/2 system on this box ("lmderesearch") -- which has a separate /home partition. When I did that -- all of the data in the /home partition was preserved. Even my VirtualBox -- was preserved -- and worked perfect after the re-install.

I don't remember if the install asked me to create a new userID,-- I'm thinking it found my existing userID and kept it: I've not had any problem with permissions in the /home directory(partition). as we all know only too well it is necessary to handle permissions properly when moving data from one machine to another.

what I'm hoping I can do is to load the existing SYSRES disk, plus the 128GB SSD plus the 4TB HD in the research box and then format both the SSD and the 4TB drive and then copy everything from the /home directory of the existing o/s to the /home partition on the 4TB drive. Once that's done I should be able to install LMDE/3 onto the SSD and using the /home partition of the 4TB drive as the /home partition in the new system.
¡Viva la Resistencia!
srq2625

Re: move to LMDE/3

Post by srq2625 »

What I've seen done (and my current LMDE install is configured this way) is to:
  • Create a GPT on the SSD
  • Partition the SSD with a swap partition and 3 or 5 other partitions (each approx. 20GB)
  • Setup the HDD as a data drive, one partition, mounted at /mnt/data (or some such) on which all the user data is written
  • Install LMDE in one of the 20GB partitions, using a /home folder instead of /home partition
  • Dual/Mult-Boot one, two, or more other O/S, each configured similar to the LMDE
This has the advantage of not borking the /home folders of the various installs

It also makes the data easily available to all the installs. And even if there is only one O/S installed, this makes it easier to preserve the data in the event a re-install is needed.
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