I was wondering if you couldn't make a copy of the etc directory in another
partition and copy it back or would it not be compatible after the upgrade?
You made some great points.
Bambi
On Sun, 30 Jul 2000, kf wrote:
> I didn't get Pavan's entire post, so I might be off, but I've done one
> install over another many times with various distributions. In Mandrake
> (for the Custom and Expert installs... I didn't ever do the first one)
> you will come to a screen with a small bar chart representing your boot
> disk and showing the current partitions. Here you have to specify the
> mount points for each partition and, on the next screen, if you want to
> (re)format that partition. If you don't format a partition, the data
> that's there will remain intact. (That's how it's supposed to work.)
>
> *** For this reason you will want to do a "df" and copy onto paper the
> partition devices (/dev/hda1, ...) and their corresponding mount points
> (/home, /boot, etc.) and do this BEFORE you start the new install.
>
> *** If you're installing a network, also record the contents of /etc/hosts
> because the new install will wipe that out too. Again, do this BEFORE you
> start the new install. After you start the new install, it will be too
> late... obviously.
>
> *** Record the contents of /etc/passwd because that will be wiped out. If
> you have one or more users on the old installation with their home
> directories in, say /home, and you don't format /home as part of the new
> installation, these home directories will remain intact. However, with
> the original /etc/passwd gone, these users won't exist anymore and all the
> old users' files and directories will be orphaned. It would be risky to
> do anything but fix this by hand.
>
> *** Save off to disk or paper important info from other configuration
> files such as /etc/X11/XF86Config, sendmail.cf and sendmail.cw, bashrc,
> etc.
>
> In most cases you don't want to just save these files over to disk from
> the old installation and then copy them back into the new installation.
> If you don't understand the why's and when's of this admonition, then
> you're especially likely to experience an unsatisfactory new install.
>
>
> hth,
> kf
>
> P.S. Group, is there anything I'm forgetting?
>
>
>
> On Sun, 30 Jul 2000, Ron Stodden wrote:
>
> = Pavan K Balellugari wrote:
> = >
> = > What next.. do i have overwrite my existing
> = > install.. i just wanted to know, what image i should
> = > get from the web..
> =
> = You don't need to burn CDs - just download the helium tree using
> = rsync or wget from a mirror (1GB) to a 1GB Ext2 partition on your HD
> = then dd the /images/hd.image to a floppy and install from the hard
> = disk.
> =
> = Don't attempt to upgrade your 6.1 in situ - it is only just recently
> = operational (ie too risky) and will take about 12 hours.
> =
> = Far better to make another ext2 partition (1 GB) with Partition Magic
> = and make a fresh install of 7.1 there. Both Linuxes can share the
> = same swap partition. Then set up Boot Magic to choose which to
> = boot.
> =
> = Then you can move across your stuff from your mounted 6.1 partition
> = ad hoc as you discover you need it. For 7.2 reformat and reuse what
> = is now your 6.1 partition.
> =
> = --
> = Regards,
> =
> = Ron. [AU] - sent by Mandrake Linux.
> = To write a poem in 17 syllables is very diffic
> =
>
> --
> Familiarity breeds contempt.
> -- Publius Syrus (42 B.C.), Maxim 640
