Moving on from "erase all" to a /Home partition

[AZgl1800]

I am now contemplating my next step and getting ready for LM20.3 Cinnamon when it is released.

So far, with one exception back with LM17.3 where I used a separate partition for /home, I have not done that since.
I have been blessed with 1TB SSDs in my PCs and have had a laissez-faire “who cares” attitude.

But, LM20.3 does not look anything like 19.3, nor do all of the apps, I have been using, are in Software Manager.

And, I am now wanting more Stability from changing to the next Big OS upgrade in future.

I currently have Back In Time taking care of my /home directories with 19.3 Cinnamon to a dedicated /Backup partition.

So,
My question is?

When I install LM20.3 on my Daily Driver PC, will Back In Time restore to the /Home partition folders correctly, and hopefully keep my Preferences intact for the Apps?

[RIH]

When I moved from 19.3 to 20.1 I did similar, but using the Backup Tool on /Home - copying hidden files as well.
So I guess that is fairly similar to using backintime.

I also used the backup tool to copy & restore my Applications. I think that is something you should consider doing as well.
NOTE: The backup tool will not restore 100% of your applications.

It cannot install if a version is not available that is suitable for the new OS.
It will not install if you installed an Application other than through either the Software Manager or Synaptic. Even if a copy now exists in the Software Manager

It does, however, give you a very clear list of what it has not installed, so that you can manually search for & install yourself.

I also took a copy of the changes that I had made to Fonts & what Applets that I had installed, but, sorry, it was such a time ago that I cannot remember if I had to manually make those changes in the new system. It just seemed worth it to me for the price of a couple of screenshots..

[Rooo]

dunno,but a full sector raw image clone will

i say raw image cos i had a restore fail 2 weeks ago after testing some other distro ... me in my usual nooob way stuffed it ...

the distro used btrfs,and my mint is ext4 ...i know now that making a clone of used blocks only will restore only those used blocks,so i had a corrupted filesytem (half btrfs,half ext4) .... in hindsight maybe i shoulda formatted the drive fully with ext4,then the clone woulda been fine?


all good fun,but im expecting to break this mint lark,just a matter of when \o/ (thats why i clone)


tally ho!


edit:- looking forward to LM20.3 Cinnamon too !!! \o/

another edit:- think i read the op`s post wrong - my reply is to go back to the old 20.2

[AZgl1800]

another edit:- think i read the op`s post wrong - my reply is to go back to the old 20.2

I always wait until X.3 is released, then I do a Fresh Install

I have 20.2 on a ThinkPad noted in my Signature, but that is NOT my Daily Driver.

that is how I know that some of my current apps are not in the 20.x Software Manager,
and Clem made a statement to that fact in his Blog

[AndyMH]

that is how I know that some of my current apps are not in the 20.x Software Manager,

What are they? I managed to install all the stuff I use that used to be in software manager for LM19 but not in LM20.

[dave0808]

When I install LM20.3 on my Daily Driver PC, will Back In Time restore to the /Home partition folders correctly, and hopefully keep my Preferences intact for the Apps?

If you do a fresh install but tell the installer to re-use the /home partition without erasing it, then you need do no more. The new 20.3 installation will simply use it. However, you won't be able to go back to your 19.3 installation (if you keep it around) without restoring your home, because some of your files will have been updated by newer versions of programs and they may not have backwards compatibility.

If you create a new install AND a new home partition, then you can do the restore from your backup. Or alternatively, you can mount the old and new home partitions and do a full copy. This is how I tend to do fresh installations. I then leave the old install and old home dormant for a while until I know that I no longer need it.

Of course, you could do a fresh install whilst wiping your previous installation, but with 1TB storage, there would seem to be little point.

[AZgl1800]

When I install LM20.3 on my Daily Driver PC, will Back In Time restore to the /Home partition folders correctly, and hopefully keep my Preferences intact for the Apps?

If you do a fresh install but tell the installer to re-use the /home partition without erasing it, then you need do no more. The new 20.3 installation will simply use it. However, you won't be able to go back to your 19.3 installation (if you keep it around) without restoring your home, because some of your files will have been updated by newer versions of programs and they may not have backwards compatibility.

If you create a new install AND a new home partition, then you can do the restore from your backup. Or alternatively, you can mount the old and new home partitions and do a full copy. This is how I tend to do fresh installations. I then leave the old install and old home dormant for a while until I know that I no longer need it.

Of course, you could do a fresh install whilst wiping your previous installation, but with 1TB storage, there would seem to be little point.

the 1TB is in two partitions, half of it is /Backup which is dedicated to protecting /home files.


Once I get to the point of Erasing every thing on this current PC/ASUS laptop, which is my Daily Driver, I won't be going back to it again hopefully.

But, if I need to do that, I have Full Disk Images made by Foxclone, so it would be an easy task to restore back to 19.3

As I mentioned, I have a ThinkPad with LM20.2 on it now, and I use it about once a week, to see what has to be upgraded, and what apps are in Software Manager.

I have a LOT of stuff that came from elsewhere, so I need to make a full list, of what I am using now.
One of which is CrossOver

My biggest concern, is being able to just use Back In Time, to restore all of my /home files once I transition to LM20.3

[AndyMH]

I have a LOT of stuff that came from elsewhere, so I need to make a full list, of what I am using now.

I got caught by that LM17.3 to LM18.0, couldn't remember what I'd installed or how. Now - I have a text file on my backup drive with a launcher on the desktop. Whenever I make any change, I make a datetimestamped note of it. For a fresh install I just have to read through the file to find out what I'd done.

[AZgl1800]

I have a LOT of stuff that came from elsewhere, so I need to make a full list, of what I am using now.

I got caught by that LM17.3 to LM18.0, couldn't remember what I'd installed or how. Now - I have a text file on my backup drive with a launcher on the desktop. Whenever I make any change, I make a datetimestamped note of it. For a fresh install I just have to read through the file to find out what I'd done.

Thanks for that hint, I just now created such a text list in /Backup and created a shortcut to it, and placed on my/Desktop. worked like a charm....

Thank you

[Rooo]

interesting ... bookmarked,will read this again later after the 4th coffee injection

btw i know what "thingy" is (and im not telling,will spoil the surprise )