[Discuss] Help needed reinstalling Ubuntu 10.04LTS on Home Server

[Jeff Hanson]

It also depends on what else is running.  Files and info that should
be saved elsewhere, at least for reference:
fdisk -l
hdparm -i <drive device>
blkid <drive device>

The entire /etc directory tree.  Some specific items:
/etc/fstab
md-raid:  /etc/mdadm.conf
dm-crypt/LUKS:  /etc/crypttab
Samba: /etc/samba (also /var/lib/samba/printers, /var/lib/samba/usershares)
OpenSSH: /etc/ssh
Apache 2: /etc/apache
BackupPC: /etc/backuppc
NFS: /etc/exports
/etc/modules (modules installed by sensors-detect)
/etc/default

/user/local (anything not installed by the package manager like
locally-compiled programs)

Be careful when making backups of /etc/shadow, gshadow, and /etc/ssh.
They shouldn't be accessible to anyone.  Best to store them encrypted
somewhere.



On 9/9/11, Rick Green <rtg at aapsc.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 8 Sep 2011, rivendell.onering at gmail.com wrote:
>
>> Hey MUG,
>>
>> I have an Ubuntu 10.04 LTS server (console only, no graphical
>> interface) with the Operating System installed on a 160GB drive and
>> the /home folder installed on a 2T drive.
>>
>> How could I reinstall a fresh install of Ubuntu on the 160GB drive and
>> leave the /home directory on the 2T drive untouched with the new
>> installation pointing to the /home folder on the 2T drive again?
>>
>> I've never had the need to do this before and don't want to risk
>> accidentally deleting my data.
>>
>   If I recall correctly, select 'manual partitioning' early in the install
> process, and within that, select your /home partition, declare its
> mountpoint, and specify 'do not format'.
>    How many users do you have defined on this system?  You may want to back
> up /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow before the reinstall, so you can easily
> restore the userbase and make sure you get all the UID/GIDs right.
> That'll be necessary to insure the users can actually access all the files
> you've so carefully preserved. ;-)
>
> --
> Rick Green
>
> "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little
> temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
>                                    -Benjamin Franklin
>
> "As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our
> safety and our ideals."
>                                 -President Barack Obama 20 Jan 2009
>
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