[mdlug] New computer

[Adam Tauno Williams]

On Fri, 2014-08-08 at 01:44 -0400, Aaron Kulkis wrote: 
> Garry Stahl wrote:
> > On 08/07/2014 09:25 PM, Adam Tauno Williams wrote:
> >> On Thu, 2014-08-07 at 19:07 -0400, Garry Stahl wrote:
> >>> I have a heartbeat.  I'm burning the openSuse 13.1 disk right now.
> >>> I need to move the /home directory from Phoenix to the yet to be named
> >>> machine.  This never works as well as I would like.
> >>> This time the new box shares no components with Phoenix.  Both are fully
> >>> functional.
> >>> Suggestions, offers of help, marriage, other?
> >> Attach removable storage, backup /home.  Install on new machine.  Attach
> >> removable media, restore /home.
> > I might have a spare driver big enough. Yea home is 378 gig, I have
> a couple of 500s rolling around. 
> >> Or install on the new machine and rsync across a network from the old
> >> machine to the new machine - WHEN NOT LOGGED IN AS THE USER.
> > I should be root on both machines?  Why does that matter?
> So that you're not modifying any files while the restore is in progress.

Yep.

And AFAIK all modern Desktop Environments use memory-mapped and/or
journalized configuration and meta-data recording files. You cannot just
"copy 'em back" while they are active.  You'll just make a mess; it may
seem like it works at first, then you'll have problems, then you'll
think the system is 'broken' or 'unstable', you'll write BLOG posts
about the PITA that the LINUX desktop is, you'll file useless bug
reports, you will reinstall to try to fix it [and then make the exact
same mistake]....   Just don't mess with anything other than regular old
documents while you are logged it unless you really [really!] know what
you are doing - I mean, who logs into windows and just starts randomly
cut-n-pasting chunks of the registry around?  Or just, hey, I'll restart
a few of these services...  But somehow on LINUX doing the equivalent
should be A-OK and if it messes something up - then the software is
broken.

Sorry, that became a rant.

> For example, shell history, would just get over-written.
> There are other such files, but that's just an example.


-- 
Adam Tauno Williams <mailto:awilliam at whitemice.org> GPG D95ED383
Systems Administrator, Python Developer, LPI / NCLA