[GLUG-chat] Re: Installing New HDD

["Matthew French" <mfrench@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Clifford W. Hansen said:
> I would prefer not to reinstall, and I obviously don't wanna loose my
> (/home
>  - 27Gb - 97% full).

With a little practice, it is very easy to do this with a simple copy. It
is also a very good way to learn about how Linux works.

Most important step is to boot from a CD - Knoppix would be a good option.

You can then use fdisk to set up the partitions on the new disk.

You then have a number of options on how you copy the partitions. For
example, tar, rsync, dd or even a simple copy. I tend to use tar or rsync
so that permissions and hidden files are copied correctly. dd can be very
dangerous if you are not paying attention and a copy does not always
transfer data correctly.

So you can try:
# mkdir /mnt/old /mnt/new
# mount /dev/hda1 /mnt/old
# mount /dev/hdb3 /mnt/new
# cd /mnt/new
# tar cf - -C /mnt/old . | tar xvf -
# umount /mnt/old
# umount /mnt/new

(repeat for all necesssary partitions)

You will then need to update /etc/fstab so that the correct root, var, etc
are mounted at boot.

Finally, you will need to update your boot loader (LILO, Grub) so that
everything boots from the new disk.

Standard dislaimers apply: if you lose all your data and don't have
backups, it is not my fault. :)

However, you may find that a re-install is actually a better option. This
is because it lets you update to the latest version of your distro, or to
change to a different distro. The process in this case would be:

1. unplug original hard drive so that, no matter how hard you try, you
cannot delete the data. :)

2. install chosen distro on the second disk, do not create /home
partition, leave it on the root drive. Create users but don't customise
the desktop.

3. once the system is properly patched and running nicely, shut down and
plug the original drive back in as a slave (so that the new drive keeps
the same IDE address) - or even better plug the new drive in on a second
controller.

4. boot the system again.

5. modify /etc/fstab so that /home is now mounted from the original home
directory. Test by using: mount /home and varifying that you have the
correct partition.

6. reboot to test that everything is working. Log in as the normal user.
Realise that the new version of KDE/Gnome/WindowMaker does not like your
old configuration, log out, delete .kde* or .gnome* directories in your
home directory. Log in again and spend hours customising your desktop
(again).

7. reboot again just to make sure everything is still working after all
your changes.

Obviously points 6 and 7 are not required. Theoretically you could do the
whole thing with one reboot (to switch from install CD to new OS). But in
my experience it is much better to test this now than six months later,
after you have given the install CD's away and find out that your system
will no longer boot because it has not been rebooted since you installed
it. ;)

HTH,

- Matthew



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