Best Way to Upgrade/ Move to New Computer & Drive

[DukeComposed]

I used the same user name as the desktop when prompted but never got the window asking about using the existing home directory. The install finished but it was just a new install, there was none of my previous MX21 info

It's not a window that pops up. The option exists in the installer on the "Choose partitions" page when selecting the disk layout for the new install.

Fresh install of MX23 over the existing root partition but choose to preserve /home.

As asqwerth says, this only works when you have separate root and home partitions. [Correction: /home can be preserved under certain special circumstances, see #12.] The installer can detect your existing disk layout and you have the option to change that. In this case, that means explicitly configuring the MX installer to use the same root partition that already exists, and to preserve the same home partition that already exists.

When you find your old home partition you need to find the "Use for" option for it and select "/home". This will let you use the "Format" option of "Preserve" for it and it won't be replaced when the system in installed. You probably missed it if you were just clicking next and expecting a prompt.

Edit: /home preservation can work on a single partition.

[asqwerth]

Fresh install of MX23 over the existing root partition but choose to preserve /home.

As asqwerth says, this only works when you have separate root and home partitions. The installer can detect your existing disk layout and you have the option to change that. In this case, that means explicitly configuring the MX installer to use the same root partition that already exists, and to preserve the same home partition that already exists.

When you find your old home partition you need to find the "Use for" option for it and select "/home". This will let you use the "Format" option of "Preserve" for it and it won't be replaced when the system in installed. You probably missed it if you were just clicking next and expecting a prompt.

Nope, You can actually preserve /home on root partition - I've done it before. Though I recall someone saying that this may not be possible if home is encrypted.

I think one of the devs said that how it works when you preserve /home on root partition is that the installer manually deletes everything on root except the home bit, and then installs/writes the new system onto the said partition while keeping home intact.

[DukeComposed]

Nope, You can actually preserve /home on root partition - I've done it before. Though I recall someone saying that this may not be possible if home is encrypted.

I think one of the devs said that how it works when you preserve /home on root partition is that the installer manually deletes everything on root except the home bit, and then installs/writes the new system onto the said partition while keeping home intact.

I can check the code if it's important, but I appreciate the information and I've updated the post accordingly.

[Eadwine Rose]

Install 23 clean, at least you won't take outdated stuff along that way. Upgrading 21 to 23 is not supported, and you get to keep the pieces when it breaks.

Of course when you have proper backups, and want to try it to learn from it, by all means go ahead.

[kellyv]

It's not a window that pops up. The option exists in the installer on the "Choose partitions" page when selecting the disk layout for the new install.

Okay, pretty not easy to find and no reference to it on the 'Migration Page". I assume that I pick "/home" in the box in front of rootMX21?? However, when I do I get a pop up that says "A root partition of at least 7.9GB is required" so IKD what I need to do next. I see no way to add another partition unless I use the "broom/magic wand" to start a whole new layout

Add'l info - there is an 256MB EFI /FAT32 partition and an 8GB swapMX partition already listed along with the 1.9TB rootMX21 partition


Thanks

[asqwerth]

The 'choose partitions' page is a big spreadsheet. Maximise the window to full so you can view as much of it, and the various options in all the columns, as possible.

Every row is for a different partition, and each column shows different options for that partition.

For your selected root, home and {optional) swap rows, make appropriate choices in the various columns.

Eg. Look for the partition that you are choosing to be your home. In one of the columns there should be a drop down menu to choose whether to format it (which will delete all) or preserve it. There will be another column to choose whether you wish to make this partition your root or home or swap.

You can also choose what label to use for that partition, among a host of other options .

[FullScale4Me]

The MX Installer help for the Format option is literally 'next door' if you scroll.



Run in terminal 'minstall --pretend' for a zero pressure read of all the Intaller's self-document.

[DukeComposed]

Okay, pretty not easy to find and no reference to it on the 'Migration Page".

You're still under the impression that migration is something that the dev team encourages. It can be done, sometimes, but it's not supported and inexperienced users should never attempt it.

I assume that I pick "/home" in the box in front of rootMX21??

No. You pick root for the root partition, always, and /home for the home partition, always. If your QSI from #1 is to be believed, you only have a root partition. fehlix outlines that preserving /home can be done on a machine with a single partition, though I haven't looked at the code to confirm this.

If the concept of multiple partitions, or what the difference is between a root partition and home partition, are foreign to you, you are not ready to attempt this action.

I see no way to add another partition unless I use the "broom/magic wand" to start a whole new layout

Why are you trying to add something during a migration? This is already a unsupported action. Don't try to complicate things.

Add'l info - there is an 256MB EFI /FAT32 partition and an 8GB swapMX partition already listed along with the 1.9TB rootMX21 partition

Yes... and? If the presence of these are confusing, as I said, you may not be ready to attempt this action.

You really need to understand your existing system and its layout, and how it functions. You must comprehend the fundamental structure and function of how your system works so when you're told something like "install over the root partition and choose the 'preserve home' option in the installer" you understand what this entails. The users of this forum can walk you through the steps, but you must be aware of what you're doing so you don't irrevocably break something trying to follow those steps.

[Greg Brannon]

Don't be discouraged by suggestions that you may be in over your head. If you're willing to explore the edges of your Linux knowledge and capabilities, be prepared for occasional branches that provide challenges to increase your skills, and forge ahead.

To be prepared you should learn how to preserve and restore your personal files (suggestions: rsync, crontab) and have a reliable drive in your computer or external USB drive (or both) to which your important history is routinely saved. IMO, 'snapshots' have questionable value. My snapshot experience is dated, because I found long ago that they typically returned me to an undesirable state, so I found alternatives.

Starting from a clean install might be perceived as a crisis, but it can be a blessing and should maybe be a periodic exercise. I've restarted from a clean install or rebuilt RPi OSs so many times that I have a checklist that returns my system to a base state, but having a recent backup of /home is a prerequisite. It's worth noting that my need to begin from a clean install has significantly decreased since discovering MXLinux.

Be prepared, be brave, come back for help as needed, and move ahead. Best of luck.

Greg.

[j2mcgreg]

Here's the thing: if you had done the recommended clean install and restore data from back up, you'd be done by now. It takes about two hours on my thirteen year old and slow Acer Aspire V5 and under an hour on my HP 15 and 17.