On Mon, 2006-03-20 at 14:02 +0000, David Fletcher wrote:
> What I do is:-
>
> tar everything in /home then copy the tar file somewhere very safe
> plus somewhere else very safe. Copy the tar file to a temporary
> folder maybe on another machine and make sure it unpacks OK.
>
> Next record for all users the user name and user ID (the number that
> starts at 500 for the first user added).
>
> Wipe the hard drive.
>
> Boot from install CD 1 and install the new OS. Don't add any users.
>
> yum -y update
>
> As root copy the tar file back onto your machine unpack it into /home
>
> Starting with user ID 500 and running through everybody in numerical
> order, re-create your list of users on the new installation. This
> will make all the file ownership attributes match the proper users.
> If you've got gaps in the order it should be possible to set the ID
> number manually.
>
> Get your users to put their passwords back in.
>
> Everything should now be as it was before, but running with the new OS.
In addition to this I would recommend backing up /etc in the same way,
in order to have a backup of all your system wide settings. Now you may
also find that you have data in /var too. MySQL and Postgresql databases
will likely be in there, and if you are using some kind of local IMAP or
squirrelmail thing for mail your mail *might* be in there too. Without
knowing exactly how you are using your machine, and what software you
are using, it's hard to say for certain whether backing up /home is
sufficient.
Best, Darren
--
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D. D. Brierton darren@xxxxxxxxxxx www.dzr-web.com
Trying is the first step towards failure (Homer Simpson)
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