Paul Smith wrote:
> Dear All,
>
> What is the best way of copying *entirely* one's home directory to an
> external hard disk? Can one do that while logged in? Or should one use
> the rescue CD?
>
Depends on what you mean by "best".
Sometimes the following can be "best".....
find . -depth -print | cpio -pdlmv newdir
In this example, cpio -p takes the file names piped to it
and copies or links (-l option) those files to another
directory, newdir. The -d option says to create directories
as needed. The -m option says to retain the modification
time. (It is important to use the -depth option of find(1)
to generate path names for cpio. This eliminates problems
that cpio could have trying to create files under read-only
directories.) The destination directory, newdir, must exist.
Notice that when you use cpio in conjunction with find, if
you use the -L option with cpio, you must use the -follow
option with find and vice versa. Otherwise, there will be
undesirable results.
For multi-reel archives, dismount the old volume, mount the
new one, and continue to the next tape by typing the name of
the next device (probably the same as the first reel). To
stop, type a <RETURN> and cpio will end.
