upgrade Fedora without losing /home

lleb · 05-01-2012, 09:53 AM

I am currently running Fedora 15 with the following partitions:

Code:

$ df -h
Filesystem            Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
rootfs                 98G   18G   80G  18% /
udev                  1.8G     0  1.8G   0% /dev
tmpfs                 1.8G  7.2M  1.8G   1% /dev/shm
tmpfs                 1.8G  692K  1.8G   1% /run
/dev/sda2              98G   18G   80G  18% /
tmpfs                 1.8G   12K  1.8G   1% /sys/fs/cgroup
/dev/sdb2             155G  131G   17G  89% /home
/dev/sda3             135G   40G   88G  32% /stuff
/dev/sda2              98G   18G   80G  18% /tmp
/dev/sda2              98G   18G   80G  18% /var/tmp
/dev/sdb2             155G  131G   17G  89% /home
/dev/sda1             497M   89M  384M  19% /boot

I do not want to lose my data in /stuff or /home, /boot and / along with /swap are fine to lose.

What are the proper steps (other then backing up my data as I will do that before I attempt the upgrade) while installing the OS to not lose my settings for my desktop, virtual box, etc....

Thanks in advance. In the past the only distro that ive updated is debian and that is a no brainer, just apt-get dist upgrade or there abouts will take care of things. from what little ive read you do not want to attempt that with Fedora.

TedHornsby84 · 05-01-2012, 10:55 AM

I believe if you boot using a DVD from the new version, you will get a choice to "upgrade existing system". I'm not sure what this entails, as I just put fedora on my extra laptop to tinker with it recently. If you're okay with losing your root directory though, you could simply start the installer as if you were performing a new installation, but tell it not to format your /home, /stuff and whatever else you want to keep intact. All you have to do is give the installer the correct mount points during the partitioning phase and triple-check that you don't have the box for "format" checked on those partitions.

TroN-0074 · 05-01-2012, 03:08 PM

Advice you should back up all your important files before do anything.
Good luck to you!

John VV · 05-01-2012, 06:37 PM

using the install dvd to " upgrade" ???? should ????? work

BUT prepare for the WORST
prepare for a FULL clean new install

back up data
save custom settings
then run the upgrade from the dvd

"Pre-upgrade" has made progress BUT you had to install 15 with a very very large /boot partition

with fedora ( and ANY distro) PREPARE for the worst ,
then upgrade

frankbell · 05-01-2012, 09:29 PM

It appears that your /home is on a separate partition from /. You should be able to upgrade without losing any data in /home. At the same time, it's always a good idea to backup the contents of /home before doing an upgrade because stuff can go wrong. Too many backups is much better than too few backups.

As regards the hidden (dot) configuration files, I recommend backing up only those that you have modified. For example, as a Fluxbox user with highly personalized menus and startup files, I always backup my .fluxbox directory, as well as my .pan2 (newsgroups), .opera (mail store) directories, and my LibreOffice templates.

In addition, backing up any files in /etc that you have modified, such as /etc/samba/smb.conf, is wise, as they would be on your / partition.

syg00 · 05-01-2012, 11:17 PM

Hmmm - as Elmer Fudd might say, be verrrry careful.
F16 changed the UID and GID ranges for user accounts. Made for some interesting upgrade/recovery scenarios. Guess how I know.

I always share the /home and install clean to new partitions. Means some packages have to be re-installed - there are notes in the install guide (I think) to make it a bit easier.
I once managed to get a successful outcome from a pre-upgrade. But only once.

tailinlinux · 05-02-2012, 12:40 AM

If you don't want to lost you home you need to backup it.

In Partition Screen, Select "Use Existing Partion".

sda1 - Boot
sda6 - Home

Select sda1 to reformat.

Note: Don't check sda6 it is you're home partition.

Home this one help.

lleb · 05-03-2012, 08:18 AM

thanks all for the guidance. thankfully im planning on doing the full backup for /home and /stuff before i upgrade. ill also grab my printers.conf, hosts, etc... that have been modified and dump them into my /home before i start the upgrade.