What to save

[Saptech]

Hi all. I want to backup some critical files and wipe Mandrake 8.0 off my puter and re-install.

What folders and files should I back up & restore to the new installation?

I hear to backup /etc, /home...so what else would need backing up? And what about system type files?

Also if I backup stuff, could I restore /etc and /home if I install a different linux, such as Slackware or Debian?

Thnx.

[Craig McPherson]

Save a tarball of /etc, then delete all the logs from /var/log and make another tarball of /var. Do the same with /home and /usr/local (if you installed anything to /usr/local).

Anything else can be re-installed from packages.

Also if I backup stuff, could I restore /etc and /home if I install a different linux, such as Slackware or Debian?

/home: yes

/etc: don't do a blind restore of /etc, but you can restore individual files from there one at a time. Definitely keep a copy of your old /etc around. If you install a new system but you want to use your old Apache configuration file, for example, you'll have it.

The only things under /var that you'd probably want to keep would be mail spools under /var/spool/mail. It never hurts to save a copy of the rest, though. You never know.

[Saptech]

Thanks for the info Craig, I'm go give it a shot when I get home in the morning for CDT zone!