A question about /proc

[twofoolish2b]

What's going on guys? I know that /proc is a virtual file system and it's really just a image of your running system, but what would happen if you deleted the files in that directory and then rebooted. I would not do this but I am working again on ReiserFS and I was wondering should I have to backup the files in that directory if they are just virtual. What do you guys think?

[nuisance]

From what I know, you should never back-up /proc and you can delete from /proc whatever-the-heck you want cuz it doesn't exist anyway. Of course, get a second opinion on this.

[scott_R]

Wrong concept here. /proc is more of an inventory than a permanent record of your system. Delete the whole directory, then reboot, and as long as you didn't have any major items running at the time, you'll never know you touched anything. /proc is more important for keeping track of things than for running things.

Use it for keeping an eye on your system resources, and hardware. Don't worry too much abut disk/ram space, or the files that show up from time to time. (All 10 billion of them.)

[scott_R]

Wrong concept here. /proc is more of an inventory than a permanent record of your system. Delete the whole directory, then reboot, and as long as you didn't have any major items running at the time, you'll never know you touched anything. /proc is more important for keeping track of things than for running things.

Use it for keeping an eye on your system resources, and hardware. Don't worry too much abut disk/ram space, or the files that show up from time to time. (All 10 billion of them.)