well, I've trashed my system ...again ;)

[Kenton Brede]

On Tue, Apr 12, 2005 at 05:37:41AM +1000, Adam Membrey (membreya at optusnet.com.au) wrote:
> On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 04:30 am, Matt Zimmerman wrote:
> > On Tue, Apr 12, 2005 at 04:19:06AM +1000, Adam Membrey wrote:
> > > So in short my /var/ directory has been nuked, I've been informed that
> > > this now requires a reinstall (which is fine, I had to resize my
> > > partitions anyhoo)
> > >
> > > My question is, if I I backup /usr/ /bin/ /home/ /etc/ and then restore
> > > them when I've reinstalled, will everything be back as it was? or should
> > > I do a dd on the partition?
> >
> > You can backup and restore /home verbatim.  I recommend selectively
> > restoring /etc, only the files that you find that you need.  You should not
> > touch /usr; the data there is provided by the packaging system.
> >
> > --
> >  - mdz
> 
> Ok then, thanks :)
> 
> Guess I will just have to remember what packages I have to reinstall ;)
> 
> As a way around this problem in future, should I possibly do a:
> 
> sudo rsync -av /home /media/downloads
> 
> In a daily cron job?

You can back up your files as you see fit.  Personally for my home
directory I use unison between my laptop and my workstation.  That way
if one machine goes down I have another copy and I have the same
environment and files no matter which machine I'm on.  

One other thing I'd like to mention for future reference.  Instead of
running "rm -RF /directory/*" test the command first with something like
"echo /directory/*" which won't tell you exactly what "rm -RF" is going
to do but might be enough of a clue to stop you from doing something
like deleting /var.  You can also use the "-i" option with "rm" so
you will be prompted before you remove something.  If you know that
already I apologize for mentioning it.
Kent

-- 
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
  - Martin Luther King Jr.