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Groups > linux.debian.user > #197293 > unrolled thread
| Started by | Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> |
|---|---|
| First post | 2018-07-06 22:50 +0200 |
| Last post | 2018-07-13 13:30 +0200 |
| Articles | 19 — 13 participants |
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Separate /home directories etc? Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> - 2018-07-06 22:50 +0200
Re: Separate /home directories etc? Matthew Crews <mailinglists@mattcrews.com> - 2018-07-06 23:00 +0200
Re: Separate /home directories etc? Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@surfnaked.ca> - 2018-07-07 01:30 +0200
Re: Separate /home directories etc? Jonathan Dowland <jmtd@debian.org> - 2018-07-10 12:40 +0200
Re: Separate /home directories etc? Matthew Crews <mailinglists@mattcrews.com> - 2018-07-11 07:00 +0200
Re: Separate /home directories etc? Kenneth Parker <sea7kenp@gmail.com> - 2018-07-06 23:20 +0200
Re: Separate /home directories etc? Felix Miata <mrmazda@earthlink.net> - 2018-07-07 00:20 +0200
Re: Separate /home directories etc? Pascal Hambourg <pascal@plouf.fr.eu.org> - 2018-07-07 15:40 +0200
Re: Separate /home directories etc? Felix Miata <mrmazda@earthlink.net> - 2018-07-07 16:20 +0200
Re: Separate /home directories etc? ntrfug <ntrfug@cox.net> - 2018-07-07 01:50 +0200
Re: Separate /home directories etc? cyaiplexys <cyaiplexys@sitesplace.net> - 2018-07-07 14:40 +0200
Re: Separate /home directories etc? David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> - 2018-07-08 03:40 +0200
Re: Separate /home directories etc? Greg Wooledge <wooledg@eeg.ccf.org> - 2018-07-09 14:30 +0200
Re: Separate /home directories etc? Cindy-Sue Causey <butterflybytes@gmail.com> - 2018-07-08 17:00 +0200
Re: Separate /home directories etc? Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> - 2018-07-08 14:50 +0200
Re: Separate /home directories etc? mick crane <mick.crane@gmail.com> - 2018-07-08 18:10 +0200
Re: Separate /home directories etc? David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> - 2018-07-10 20:30 +0200
THANKYOU**Googleplex - was (Re: Separate /home directories etc?) Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> - 2018-07-10 22:20 +0200
Re: THANKYOU**Googleplex - was (Re: Separate /home directories etc?) Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> - 2018-07-13 13:30 +0200
| From | Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018-07-06 22:50 +0200 |
| Subject | Separate /home directories etc? |
| Message-ID | <w8FPX-7Uj-5@gated-at.bofh.it> |
In response to a unrelated post to a LUG, I was asked if I had a
separate /home directory. Short answer -- no.
I abandoned WinXP when Jessie had become stable.
The installer defaults {I assume for cause} to putting every thing on
one partition/directory.
Where may I read about pros/cons ?
TIA
[toc] | [next] | [standalone]
| From | Matthew Crews <mailinglists@mattcrews.com> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018-07-06 23:00 +0200 |
| Message-ID | <w8FZD-7XF-5@gated-at.bofh.it> |
| In reply to | #197293 |
[Multipart message — attachments visible in raw view] — view raw
Pros to keeping same partition together
Pros: less hassle
Cons: if your / partition drive fails, it takes /home with it
Separate partitions
Pros: if your / partition drive fails, it does not take /home with it
Pros: easier to run multiple distros
Cons: more hassle
Sent from [ProtonMail](https://protonmail.com), Swiss-based encrypted email.
-------- Original Message --------
On Jul 6, 2018, 13:47, Richard Owlett wrote:
> In response to a unrelated post to a LUG, I was asked if I had a
> separate /home directory. Short answer -- no.
>
> I abandoned WinXP when Jessie had become stable.
> The installer defaults {I assume for cause} to putting every thing on
> one partition/directory.
>
> Where may I read about pros/cons ?
> TIA
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| From | Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@surfnaked.ca> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018-07-07 01:30 +0200 |
| Message-ID | <w8IkN-131-3@gated-at.bofh.it> |
| In reply to | #197294 |
On 06/07/18 01:54 PM, Matthew Crews wrote: > Pros to keeping same partition together > Pros: less hassle > Cons: if your / partition drive fails, it takes /home with it > > Separate partitions > Pros: if your / partition drive fails, it does not take /home with it > Pros: easier to run multiple distros > Cons: more hassle I'm currently in the process of moving from the mailing list to the Usenet newsgroup linux.debian.user. I've been running the two in parallel, and I've been getting identical results. Until your message came along. Although it looks OK in my e-mail client (Icedove), slrn rendered it as a bunch of base64 gibberish (see below). > Sent from ProtonMail <https://protonmail.com>, Swiss-based encrypted email. Check your settings. There might be something there that isn't quite standard. Either that or it's sufficiently out on the edge to violate Postel's Law. Here's what your posting looks like in slrn: This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --b1_9ab76127dcfcb2a8c0f2da8ca70a713c Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 UHJvcyB0byBrZWVwaW5nIHNhbWUgcGFydGl0aW9uIHRvZ2V0aGVyClByb3M6IGxlc3MgaGFzc2xl CkNvbnM6IGlmIHlvdXIgLyBwYXJ0aXRpb24gZHJpdmUgZmFpbHMsIGl0IHRha2VzIC9ob21lIHdp dGggaXQKClNlcGFyYXRlIHBhcnRpdGlvbnMKUHJvczogaWYgeW91ciAvIHBhcnRpdGlvbiBkcml2 ZSBmYWlscywgaXQgZG9lcyBub3QgdGFrZSAvaG9tZSB3aXRoIGl0ClByb3M6IGVhc2llciB0byBy dW4gbXVsdGlwbGUgZGlzdHJvcwpDb25zOiBtb3JlIGhhc3NsZQoKU2VudCBmcm9tIFtQcm90b25N YWlsXShodHRwczovL3Byb3Rvbm1haWwuY29tKSwgU3dpc3MtYmFzZWQgZW5jcnlwdGVkIGVtYWls LgoKLS0tLS0tLS0gT3JpZ2luYWwgTWVzc2FnZSAtLS0tLS0tLQpPbiBKdWwgNiwgMjAxOCwgMTM6 NDcsIFJpY2hhcmQgT3dsZXR0IHdyb3RlOgoKPiBJbiByZXNwb25zZSB0byBhIHVucmVsYXRlZCBw b3N0IHRvIGEgTFVHLCBJIHdhcyBhc2tlZCBpZiBJIGhhZCBhCj4gc2VwYXJhdGUgL2hvbWUgZGly ZWN0b3J5LiBTaG9ydCBhbnN3ZXIgLS0gbm8uCj4KPiBJIGFiYW5kb25lZCBXaW5YUCB3aGVuIEpl c3NpZSBoYWQgYmVjb21lIHN0YWJsZS4KPiBUaGUgaW5zdGFsbGVyIGRlZmF1bHRzIHtJIGFzc3Vt ZSBmb3IgY2F1c2V9IHRvIHB1dHRpbmcgZXZlcnkgdGhpbmcgb24KPiBvbmUgcGFydGl0aW9uL2Rp cmVjdG9yeS4KPgo+IFdoZXJlIG1heSBJIHJlYWQgYWJvdXQgcHJvcy9jb25zID8KPiBUSUE= --b1_9ab76127dcfcb2a8c0f2da8ca70a713c Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 UHJvcyB0byBrZWVwaW5nIHNhbWUgcGFydGl0aW9uIHRvZ2V0aGVyPGJyPlByb3M6IGxlc3MgaGFz c2xlPGJyPkNvbnM6IGlmIHlvdXIgLyBwYXJ0aXRpb24gZHJpdmUgZmFpbHMsIGl0IHRha2VzIC9o b21lIHdpdGggaXQ8YnI+PGJyPlNlcGFyYXRlIHBhcnRpdGlvbnM8YnI+UHJvczogaWYgeW91ciAv IHBhcnRpdGlvbiBkcml2ZSBmYWlscywgaXQgZG9lcyBub3QgdGFrZSAvaG9tZSB3aXRoIGl0PGJy PlByb3M6IGVhc2llciB0byBydW4gbXVsdGlwbGUgZGlzdHJvczxicj5Db25zOiBtb3JlIGhhc3Ns ZTxicj48YnI+PGJyPlNlbnQgZnJvbSA8YSBocmVmPSJodHRwczovL3Byb3Rvbm1haWwuY29tIj5Q cm90b25NYWlsPC9hPiwgU3dpc3MtYmFzZWQgZW5jcnlwdGVkIGVtYWlsLjxicj48YnI+PGJyPjxi cj48YnI+PGJyPi0tLS0tLS0tIE9yaWdpbmFsIE1lc3NhZ2UgLS0tLS0tLS08YnI+T24gSnVsIDYs IDIwMTgsIDEzOjQ3LCBSaWNoYXJkIE93bGV0dCA8IHJvd2xldHRAY2xvdWQ4NS5uZXQ+IHdyb3Rl OjxibG9ja3F1b3RlIGNsYXNzPSJwcm90b25tYWlsX3F1b3RlIj48YnI+PGh0bWw+PGhlYWQ+PC9o ZWFkPjxib2R5PkluIHJlc3BvbnNlIHRvIGEgdW5yZWxhdGVkIHBvc3QgdG8gYSBMVUcsIEkgd2Fz IGFza2VkIGlmIEkgaGFkIGEgPGJyPnNlcGFyYXRlIC9ob21lIGRpcmVjdG9yeS4gU2hvcnQgYW5z d2VyIC0tIG5vLjxicj48YnI+SSBhYmFuZG9uZWQgV2luWFAgd2hlbiBKZXNzaWUgaGFkIGJlY29t ZSBzdGFibGUuPGJyPlRoZSBpbnN0YWxsZXIgZGVmYXVsdHMge0kgYXNzdW1lIGZvciBjYXVzZX0g dG8gcHV0dGluZyBldmVyeSB0aGluZyBvbiA8YnI+b25lIHBhcnRpdGlvbi9kaXJlY3RvcnkuPGJy Pjxicj5XaGVyZSBtYXkgSSByZWFkIGFib3V0IHByb3MvY29ucyA/PGJyPlRJQTxicj48YnI+PGJy PjwvYm9keT48L2h0bWw+PC9kaXY+ --b1_9ab76127dcfcb2a8c0f2da8ca70a713c-- -- cgibbs@surfnaked.ca (Charlie Gibbs)
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| From | Jonathan Dowland <jmtd@debian.org> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018-07-10 12:40 +0200 |
| Message-ID | <w9YdP-5LR-3@gated-at.bofh.it> |
| In reply to | #197294 |
On Fri, Jul 06, 2018 at 04:54:53PM -0400, Matthew Crews wrote: >Separate partitions >Pros: if your / partition drive fails, it does not take /home with it You are conflating drives and partitions, here. Both partitions could be on the same physical drive, and a drive failure would affect both in that case. -- ⢀⣴⠾⠻⢶⣦⠀ ⣾⠁⢠⠒⠀⣿⡁ Jonathan Dowland ⢿⡄⠘⠷⠚⠋⠀ https://jmtd.net ⠈⠳⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀ Please do not CC me, I am subscribed to the list.
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| From | Matthew Crews <mailinglists@mattcrews.com> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018-07-11 07:00 +0200 |
| Message-ID | <wafol-7M8-1@gated-at.bofh.it> |
| In reply to | #197428 |
On 7/10/18 3:28 AM, Jonathan Dowland wrote: > On Fri, Jul 06, 2018 at 04:54:53PM -0400, Matthew Crews wrote: >> Separate partitions >> Pros: if your / partition drive fails, it does not take /home with it > > You are conflating drives and partitions, here. Both partitions could be > on the same physical drive, and a drive failure would affect both in > that case. > > True, the main reason you would want /home to be in a separate partition is to put it on a separate physical drive. However, random file system corruption could still theoretically take out the / partition without actually damaging the device. In that case, /home being separate would spare your data. Another reason you would want a separate /home partition is to use a separate file system. For example, you could run / as BTRFS, while /home would be XFS or ext4.
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| From | Kenneth Parker <sea7kenp@gmail.com> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018-07-06 23:20 +0200 |
| Message-ID | <w8GiZ-8jv-3@gated-at.bofh.it> |
| In reply to | #197293 |
[Multipart message — attachments visible in raw view] — view raw
I, not only have a separate /home directory but, if the Hard Drive is large
enough, will create things, like /bighome, /oldhome (just before installing
a new Release), as well other variations, to handle the "Issue de jour".
Why? Because /home is where my "personal data" is stored, and I don't want
anything to go wrong. (For example, I avoided an issue that showed up on
this List with /oldhome, when jumping from Ubuntu to Debian, including
going from Open Office to LibreOffice. Didn't someone lose Templates
recently?)
Note: If I am short on disk space, I will, at least, "tar and feather" my
filesystem, before the Upgrade. I have two One Terrabyte external Hard
Drives for this purpose.
Good luck!
Kenneth Parker, Reformed Ubuntu user, now mainly on Debian.
On Fri, Jul 6, 2018, 4:48 PM Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> wrote:
> In response to a unrelated post to a LUG, I was asked if I had a
> separate /home directory. Short answer -- no.
>
> I abandoned WinXP when Jessie had become stable.
> The installer defaults {I assume for cause} to putting every thing on
> one partition/directory.
>
> Where may I read about pros/cons ?
> TIA
>
>
>
[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]
| From | Felix Miata <mrmazda@earthlink.net> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018-07-07 00:20 +0200 |
| Message-ID | <w8Hf3-r9-7@gated-at.bofh.it> |
| In reply to | #197293 |
Richard Owlett composed on 2018-07-06 14:47 (UTC-0500):
> In response to a unrelated post to a LUG, I was asked if I had a
> separate /home directory. Short answer -- no.
> I abandoned WinXP when Jessie had become stable.
> The installer defaults {I assume for cause} to putting every thing on
> one partition/directory.
> Where may I read about pros/cons ?
It's really pretty simple:
All together in one partition means when you need to reinstall the OS, or if you
wish to change the OS, everything is lost, same in Windows as in Linux.
The only significant drawback is when the disk size is small it can be
problematic to determine optimum sizes for the separate space allocations. Disks
are so large now that this drawback is obsolete for most people, but can apply
to multibooters.
There is another advantage, which is having separate data filesystem somewhat
simplifies backup and restore operations. Lost user data you generally want to
restore if a disk fails, while it's generally convenient just to reformat and
install fresh the OS.
In short, not having a separate /home generally amounts to foolishness.
--
"Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Whatever else you
get, get wisdom." Proverbs 4:7 (New Living Translation)
Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks!
Felix Miata *** http://fm.no-ip.com/
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| From | Pascal Hambourg <pascal@plouf.fr.eu.org> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018-07-07 15:40 +0200 |
| Message-ID | <w8VBo-qj-21@gated-at.bofh.it> |
| In reply to | #197297 |
Le 07/07/2018 à 00:12, Felix Miata a écrit : > > The only significant drawback is when the disk size is small it can be > problematic to determine optimum sizes for the separate space allocations. LVM is your friend in such situation. Extending a logical volume is easy.
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| From | Felix Miata <mrmazda@earthlink.net> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018-07-07 16:20 +0200 |
| Message-ID | <w8We6-Sq-7@gated-at.bofh.it> |
| In reply to | #197317 |
Pascal Hambourg composed on 2018-07-07 15:34 (UTC+0200): > Felix Miata composed: >> The only significant drawback is when the disk size is small it can be >> problematic to determine optimum sizes for the separate space allocations. > LVM is your friend in such situation. Not my friend. Partition cloning is an integral part not only of my backup/restore system, but also my multi-multiboot PCs installed OS inventory system. -- "Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Whatever else you get, get wisdom." Proverbs 4:7 (New Living Translation) Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks! Felix Miata *** http://fm.no-ip.com/
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| From | ntrfug <ntrfug@cox.net> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018-07-07 01:50 +0200 |
| Message-ID | <w8IEa-19B-1@gated-at.bofh.it> |
| In reply to | #197293 |
On Fri, 6 Jul 2018 15:47:37 -0500
Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> wrote:
> In response to a unrelated post to a LUG, I was asked if I had a
> separate /home directory. Short answer -- no.
>
> I abandoned WinXP when Jessie had become stable.
> The installer defaults {I assume for cause} to putting every thing on
> one partition/directory.
>
> Where may I read about pros/cons ?
> TIA
>
>
The home directory contains not only "personal data" but configuration
directories for all your apps.
I long ago settled on a middle-of-the-road solution--I have a partition
mounted on /home/ntrfug/files which contains all my "data" such as
email, photos, documents, non-distribution software, bank statements,
etc. I've been doing this for ~20 years and I still like it. I can
reinstall nuking the home directory to take advantage of updated
configurations but still keep my word processing documents, email, and
general umm, stuff.
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| From | cyaiplexys <cyaiplexys@sitesplace.net> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018-07-07 14:40 +0200 |
| Message-ID | <w8UFj-8kv-1@gated-at.bofh.it> |
| In reply to | #197300 |
On 07/06/2018 07:40 PM, ntrfug wrote:
> On Fri, 6 Jul 2018 15:47:37 -0500
> Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> wrote:
>
>> In response to a unrelated post to a LUG, I was asked if I had a
>> separate /home directory. Short answer -- no.
>>
>> I abandoned WinXP when Jessie had become stable.
>> The installer defaults {I assume for cause} to putting every thing on
>> one partition/directory.
>>
>> Where may I read about pros/cons ?
>> TIA
>>
>>
> The home directory contains not only "personal data" but configuration
> directories for all your apps.
>
> I long ago settled on a middle-of-the-road solution--I have a partition
> mounted on /home/ntrfug/files which contains all my "data" such as
> email, photos, documents, non-distribution software, bank statements,
> etc. I've been doing this for ~20 years and I still like it. I can
> reinstall nuking the home directory to take advantage of updated
> configurations but still keep my word processing documents, email, and
> general umm, stuff.
>
New here. But not new to Linux. Been using Linux for a over 5 years as
my main OS (and a good many years before that as dual-boot).
I too have went to a different solution than having a separate /home
directory.
I used to have a separate /home directory back in the day. But I
realized that anytime I wanted to reinstall or redo my system (upgrade
major version seems to work better on a fresh install on my systems), I
would have problems with some apps due to old and outdated
configurations in my /home directory. So every time I went to do a
(re)install, I ended up wiping the /home directory anyway (after backing
up my data which I never had much of).
Now that I use laptops, I NEVER keep a lot of personal data on my hard
drive. I keep only a few things needed daily or for work. But when I
have done everything I need to for the day, I back up the data
redundantly off the hard drive. This has come in handy numerous times
when my main laptop died out or something went wrong where it was down
for awhile. I just load the data onto the other laptop. That other one I
don't keep any data on it since data changes and it would be a PITA to
go lug it out and update that one as well with my personal data. USB
sticks for data is easier to carry from one machine to another. I also
keep an encrypted copy of my backups on the cloud at the same time I
update my regular off-computer backups.
This means that I don't have to worry about data loss in case of theft,
or hardware failure, and I can use any machine I need to. And if I
upgrade or update, I don't have to worry about old configuration file
formats needing to be overwritten or conflicting with newer versions of
the programs.
I really don't have a lot of data either. My /home directory is only me
and only around 66 GB. The majority of that is configuration files
though. My actual personal data is around 2GB total.
In addition, I've written a python script to auto-install all my data so
putting everything back on doesn't take long or much effort.
Frequent backups ensure I'll always have my data no matter what. And so
this kinda removed my need for a separate /home directory.
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| From | David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018-07-08 03:40 +0200 |
| Message-ID | <w96Qa-7h0-7@gated-at.bofh.it> |
| In reply to | #197315 |
On Sat 07 Jul 2018 at 08:04:16 (-0400), cyaiplexys wrote: > On 07/06/2018 07:40 PM, ntrfug wrote: > >The home directory contains not only "personal data" but configuration > >directories for all your apps. > > > >I long ago settled on a middle-of-the-road solution--I have a partition > >mounted on /home/ntrfug/files which contains all my "data" such as > >email, photos, documents, non-distribution software, bank statements, > >etc. I've been doing this for ~20 years and I still like it. I can > >reinstall nuking the home directory to take advantage of updated > >configurations but still keep my word processing documents, email, and > >general umm, stuff. > > > > New here. But not new to Linux. Been using Linux for a over 5 years > as my main OS (and a good many years before that as dual-boot). > > I too have went to a different solution than having a separate /home > directory. > > I used to have a separate /home directory back in the day. But I > realized that anytime I wanted to reinstall or redo my system > (upgrade major version seems to work better on a fresh install on my > systems), I would have problems with some apps due to old and > outdated configurations in my /home directory. So every time I went > to do a (re)install, I ended up wiping the /home directory anyway > (after backing up my data which I never had much of). I can't see any of my files under /home that are affected by the Debian version except dotfiles and directories (and some of the dotty stuff is only cache files anyway). So I can't see a reason to wipe /home entirely. > I really don't have a lot of data either. My /home directory is only > me and only around 66 GB. The majority of that is configuration > files though. My actual personal data is around 2GB total. Can this be right? 64GB of configuration? I just copied my dot stuff on this laptop. Usage is 136MB, plus 423MB under .cache/ of which 388MB under .cache/mozilla/ > In addition, I've written a python script to auto-install all my > data so putting everything back on doesn't take long or much effort. My typical desktop will have approaching 400GB under /home (they have 500GB drives). My laptops have considerably smaller drives, but there's still much more data than I care to copy. > Frequent backups ensure I'll always have my data no matter what. And > so this kinda removed my need for a separate /home directory. I backup all my systems, but not by backing up the installation itself—I always have two installations on each machine, frequently different generations because the production system flip flops between the two as new Debian versions are released. Sharing /home obviously makes sense for supporting this and it's fairly trivial to share dotfiles between versions. As mentioned in the recent long-running thread on release numbers, I use symlinks named for the Debian codename where different files are required (eg audacious, mc). I use the same method using hostname symlinks to support shared configurations across my different machines. To avoid any problems with Debian policies, I have always placed the codename myself in sources.list, which seems a logical place to me. One complication: I've not seen a safe method of installing a Debian system with the inclusion of an encrypted /home partition. Since starting to use encryption, I've always installed into a simple root partition and then set up /etc/crypttab and /etc/fstab after booting into the new system. (I login as root, but some people may need to boot into single user to do this.) Cheers, David.
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| From | Greg Wooledge <wooledg@eeg.ccf.org> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018-07-09 14:30 +0200 |
| Message-ID | <w9DsK-1WW-5@gated-at.bofh.it> |
| In reply to | #197333 |
On Sat, Jul 07, 2018 at 08:35:51PM -0500, David Wright wrote: > On Sat 07 Jul 2018 at 08:04:16 (-0400), cyaiplexys wrote: > > I used to have a separate /home directory back in the day. But I > > realized that anytime I wanted to reinstall or redo my system > > (upgrade major version seems to work better on a fresh install on my > > systems), I would have problems with some apps due to old and > > outdated configurations in my /home directory. So every time I went > > to do a (re)install, I ended up wiping the /home directory anyway > > (after backing up my data which I never had much of). > > I can't see any of my files under /home that are affected by the > Debian version except dotfiles and directories (and some of the > dotty stuff is only cache files anyway). So I can't see a reason to > wipe /home entirely. Based on my time in IRC, the people who use Desktop Environments sometimes run into this incomatibility between old version dot files and new version software. Meanwhile, users of traditional command-line and terminal programs, like me, have been running with basically the same dot files for two decades. It seems the DE developers don't place a high priority on backward compatibility, or in-place upgrades, or making things Just Work.
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| From | Cindy-Sue Causey <butterflybytes@gmail.com> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018-07-08 17:00 +0200 |
| Message-ID | <w9jkm-6nK-7@gated-at.bofh.it> |
| In reply to | #197300 |
On 7/6/18, ntrfug <ntrfug@cox.net> wrote:
> On Fri, 6 Jul 2018 15:47:37 -0500
> Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> wrote:
>
>> In response to a unrelated post to a LUG, I was asked if I had a
>> separate /home directory. Short answer -- no.
>>
>> I abandoned WinXP when Jessie had become stable.
>> The installer defaults {I assume for cause} to putting every thing on
>> one partition/directory.
>>
>> Where may I read about pros/cons ?
>> TIA
>>
>>
> The home directory contains not only "personal data" but configuration
> directories for all your apps.
>
> I long ago settled on a middle-of-the-road solution--I have a partition
> mounted on /home/ntrfug/files which contains all my "data" such as
> email, photos, documents, non-distribution software, bank statements,
> etc. I've been doing this for ~20 years and I still like it. I can
> reinstall nuking the home directory to take advantage of updated
> configurations but still keep my word processing documents, email, and
> general umm, stuff.
That thought process is somewhere right on the edge of the latest path
my own computing has taken this week. I think it was just yesterday
that I said something about config files and yada-yada, conflicts
sometimes because of upgrades, downgrades, etc. Add to it that I just
this week entered the amazing World of GPT partitioning. 128
partitions, HAVE MERCY!
So the first thing I did was create one for /home because I've always
wanted to do that...
And then I have several partitions, maybe five for now, for various
distributions.
And thennn the thought occurred that only one /home directory is not
going to work because of eventually if not sooner personalized config
file conflicts across distributions.
So now I'm going to go back and create some more home partitions just
because I can. A set of those will correspond to each, their own
distribution. Last one will be where images, videos, printscreens,
finance tracking, temporary downloads, etc, are housed in yet another
partition that is bound to all the other, more primary "parent" /home
partitions.
Next up will be self-teaching on how to set up a hopefully no-fail
fstab entry for that many years' long dream come true. :)
Cindy :)
--
Cindy-Sue Causey
Talking Rock, Pickens County, Georgia, USA
* runs with duct tape *
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| From | Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018-07-08 14:50 +0200 |
| Message-ID | <w9hiy-5f9-15@gated-at.bofh.it> |
| In reply to | #197293 |
On 07/06/2018 03:47 PM, Richard Owlett wrote:
> In response to a unrelated post to a LUG, I was asked if I had a
> separate /home directory. Short answer -- no.
>
> I abandoned WinXP when Jessie had become stable.
> The installer defaults {I assume for cause} to putting every thing on
> one partition/directory.
>
> Where may I read about pros/cons ?
> TIA
On 07/06/2018 03:54 PM, Matthew Crews wrote:
>> Pros to keeping same partition together
>> Pros: less hassle
>> Cons: if your / partition drive fails, it takes /home with it
>>
>> Separate partitions
>> Pros: if your / partition drive fails, it does not take /home with it
>> Pros: easier to run multiple distros
>> Cons: more hassle
That was succinct.
On 07/06/2018 06:40 PM, ntrfug wrote:
>
>> The home directory contains not only "personal data" but configuration
>> directories for all your apps.
>>
>> I long ago settled on a middle-of-the-road solution--I have a partition
>> mounted on /home/ntrfug/files which contains all my "data" such as
>> email, photos, documents, non-distribution software, bank statements,
>> etc. I've been doing this for ~20 years and I still like it. I can
>> reinstall nuking the home directory to take advantage of updated
>> configurations but still keep my word processing documents, email, and
>> general umm, stuff.
>>
That illustrates why I phrased my question {"Where may I read about
pros/cons ?"} as I did.
I expecting referrals to "essay"/"HowTo"/"tutorial"/??? .
There have bee several descriptions of how&why individuals do what they do.
I was expecting an article which surveyed the topic, seeing "the forest
not the trees".
Thanks
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| From | mick crane <mick.crane@gmail.com> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018-07-08 18:10 +0200 |
| Message-ID | <w9kq5-7gB-1@gated-at.bofh.it> |
| In reply to | #197344 |
On 2018-07-08 13:47, Richard Owlett wrote:
> On 07/06/2018 03:47 PM, Richard Owlett wrote:
>> In response to a unrelated post to a LUG, I was asked if I had a
>> separate /home directory. Short answer -- no.
>>
>> I abandoned WinXP when Jessie had become stable.
>> The installer defaults {I assume for cause} to putting every thing on
>> one partition/directory.
>>
>> Where may I read about pros/cons ?
>> TIA
>
> On 07/06/2018 03:54 PM, Matthew Crews wrote:
>>> Pros to keeping same partition together
>>> Pros: less hassle
>>> Cons: if your / partition drive fails, it takes /home with it
>>>
>>> Separate partitions
>>> Pros: if your / partition drive fails, it does not take /home with it
>>> Pros: easier to run multiple distros
>>> Cons: more hassle
>
> That was succinct.
>
> On 07/06/2018 06:40 PM, ntrfug wrote:
>>
>>> The home directory contains not only "personal data" but
>>> configuration
>>> directories for all your apps.
>>>
>>> I long ago settled on a middle-of-the-road solution--I have a
>>> partition
>>> mounted on /home/ntrfug/files which contains all my "data" such as
>>> email, photos, documents, non-distribution software, bank statements,
>>> etc. I've been doing this for ~20 years and I still like it. I can
>>> reinstall nuking the home directory to take advantage of updated
>>> configurations but still keep my word processing documents, email,
>>> and
>>> general umm, stuff.
>>>
>
> That illustrates why I phrased my question {"Where may I read about
> pros/cons ?"} as I did.
>
> I expecting referrals to "essay"/"HowTo"/"tutorial"/??? .
> There have bee several descriptions of how&why individuals do what they
> do.
>
> I was expecting an article which surveyed the topic, seeing "the
> forest not the trees".
> Thanks
for general stuff
I have a separate /home directory where the software puts configuration
and a separate disk that I mount as and when where I put any files,
pictures and that that I try to backup when I remember.
mick
--
Key ID 4BFEBB31
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| From | David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018-07-10 20:30 +0200 |
| Message-ID | <wa5yF-1Me-3@gated-at.bofh.it> |
| In reply to | #197344 |
On Sun 08 Jul 2018 at 07:47:48 (-0500), Richard Owlett wrote:
> On 07/06/2018 03:47 PM, Richard Owlett wrote:
> >In response to a unrelated post to a LUG, I was asked if I had a
> >separate /home directory. Short answer -- no.
> >
> >I abandoned WinXP when Jessie had become stable.
> >The installer defaults {I assume for cause} to putting every thing
> >on one partition/directory.
> >
> >Where may I read about pros/cons ?
> >TIA
>
> On 07/06/2018 03:54 PM, Matthew Crews wrote:
> >>Pros to keeping same partition together
> >>Pros: less hassle
> >>Cons: if your / partition drive fails, it takes /home with it
> >>
> >>Separate partitions
> >>Pros: if your / partition drive fails, it does not take /home with it
> >>Pros: easier to run multiple distros
> >>Cons: more hassle
>
> That was succinct.
>
> On 07/06/2018 06:40 PM, ntrfug wrote:
> >
> >>The home directory contains not only "personal data" but configuration
> >>directories for all your apps.
> >>
> >>I long ago settled on a middle-of-the-road solution--I have a partition
> >>mounted on /home/ntrfug/files which contains all my "data" such as
> >>email, photos, documents, non-distribution software, bank statements,
> >>etc. I've been doing this for ~20 years and I still like it. I can
> >>reinstall nuking the home directory to take advantage of updated
> >>configurations but still keep my word processing documents, email, and
> >>general umm, stuff.
> >>
>
> That illustrates why I phrased my question {"Where may I read about
> pros/cons ?"} as I did.
>
> I expecting referrals to "essay"/"HowTo"/"tutorial"/??? .
> There have bee several descriptions of how&why individuals do what they do.
>
> I was expecting an article which surveyed the topic, seeing "the
> forest not the trees".
Is it a big enough topic to deserve a whole article? I would expect
articles on partitioning to mention it in passing, as for example:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/partitioning
(The Debian wikis are rather shallow.)
But, as it stresses, "It is essentially personal preference" as to
how you arrange your partitions, because it depends so much on how
you use your system.
Their caveat on sharing /home has been emphasised here in stronger
terms by Greg, and really applies more to DE users than people like me.
https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2018/07/msg00337.html
With the number of Debian installations you have, I would expect a
shared home to be very useful as it makes your personal tools more
immediately available. It might be useful to hear whether you have
much dotfile trouble, and how you circumvent it. This could be a
useful application of your WhereAmI and EditingPipedSreams threads.
But only you can be the judge of the pros and cons for your system.
Cheers,
David.
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| From | Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018-07-10 22:20 +0200 |
| Subject | THANKYOU**Googleplex - was (Re: Separate /home directories etc?) |
| Message-ID | <wa7h7-2V7-1@gated-at.bofh.it> |
| In reply to | #197455 |
On 07/10/2018 01:28 PM, David Wright wrote:
> [snip]
> Is it a big enough topic to deserve a whole article? I would expect
> articles on partitioning to mention it in passing, as for example:
> https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/partitioning
That, with the benefit of article it references, is exactly what I was
looking for.
In making the point that partitioning schemes are a *PERSONAL Y UNIQUE*
choice, it {and linked articles} give background for reasoned choices.
{As a bonus, one of the articles may have given me a hint to resolve a
perceived problem [N.B. word choice;] I have with GRUB2.}
A more complete response will follow after a detailed read and much
cogitation.
IOW *THANK YOU* !!
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| From | Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018-07-13 13:30 +0200 |
| Subject | Re: THANKYOU**Googleplex - was (Re: Separate /home directories etc?) |
| Message-ID | <wb4qS-3XG-7@gated-at.bofh.it> |
| In reply to | #197462 |
On 07/10/2018 03:11 PM, Richard Owlett wrote:
> On 07/10/2018 01:28 PM, David Wright wrote:
>> [snip]
>> Is it a big enough topic to deserve a whole article? I would expect
>> articles on partitioning to mention it in passing, as for example:
>> https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/partitioning
>
> That, with the benefit of article it references, is exactly what I was
> looking for.
> In making the point that partitioning schemes are a *PERSONAL Y UNIQUE*
> choice, it {and linked articles} give background for reasoned choices.
Specifically
[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/partitioning#Partition_scheme]
gives a text oriented approach to my questions.
"tree -d" gives a starting point to a graphical approach.
Its problem is that that for some directories it gives too much detail.
The command has an option for limiting depth. But that has the inverse
problem, not enough detail (for me) of some directories.
I've saved a text copy for editing to illustrate a possible illustration.
More later.
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