[Novalug] Re: backups / what to save when changing distros

[Roger W. Broseus]

Re:
>   10. best way to back up a home partition. (Bonnie Dalzell)
Greg mentioned rsync - this seems to be the application of choice for a 
lot of backup / copy tasks. I'm trying a graphical interface / front-end 
for it under Ubuntu: "Grsync" as a cheap / quick way to get to where I'm 
going (I've been too lazy to compile a list of directories, subdirs, 
subsubdirs, etc., and to put them into a script.

Grsync is neat because one can sync in two directions by switching the 
source / destination with one click.  Best of all, you can save setups 
for later use.

As regards the question that motivated your query: when I change distros 
/ versions, I usually like to re-install. I don't save all of /home 
(which happens to be on a separate partition). I just pick "data" / word 
processing files and  those "dot" folders that have key info in them 
that is not likely to be problematic as regards incompatible config 
files, e.g., .mozilla folders that have email, book marks, etc. (In 
fact, these get backed-up to another HD periodically (but not enuf!)).