MX Linux Forum

Hi all

My expectation about MX23 → MX25 is that it will allow me to keep my data on a separate drive from the operating system.

I presently have such a set up in place and to be honest have been using such an arrangement for decades.

To a semi-skilled person it just make life oh - so - much easier.

Will MX25 fresh install OR MX23 → MX25 update allow me such an option?

And another decades long preference is: fresh install always trumps an upgrade.

Something like "Installer has detected you home files at : such-n-such directory structure dah-de-dah. Do you want to keep your home files in their present location?"
"Do you want to retain the same directory structure" (you know what I mean?)
Or words to that effect.

Any new surprizes intended for MX25?

i will be happy when it comes out and know through years of mx use that al will be well. the team here is great and doing a great job. maybe try to rework a spin of your own. just a thought.

personally they have enough on their hands developing new versions and tweaking stuff and fixing bugs. why stress them out any more. be grateful this is such an excellent distro!!!!!!!!!!!

MX-25 will require a fresh install.

If you have home set up on its own partition, the installer has an option to re-use it.

The User Installed Packages utility simplifies fresh installs enormously.

Chris

What I expect to do is that I will create a persistent USB, customize it with adding the packages that I prefer and removing the ones I don't, and install that reusing the /home that I already have.
By doing it this way, I can have the same system installed on any computer I have.

If you are using kde plasma, note that not all plasma 5 configs and widgets will necessarily work in plasma 6. If you keep your old /home, be aware you may have to remove your plasma stuff and test the reinstatement of each element one by one.

All replies are great! Thanks to all.
I will keep this thread open just in case ...

I will do a full fresh install after making copies of my own files.

I think install did not recognize 'home' folder if it lives on another disk. I tried at 21 → 23 but managed somehow to get things right afterwards.

From the current MX (23) Installer 'Help':

Preserve.

Selecting Preserve /home for the root partition preserves the contents of the /home directory, deleting everything else. This option can only be used when /home is on the same partition as the root partition.

My expectations of the upcoming MX25:
STAY AS GOOD AS YOU ARE!!
(and I'm shouting on purpose.)

Many thanks to the devs, gurus, masters and all.
Hoping not to bother you too much in the future,

Mike

Keeping most of your data (media, documents etc) on a separate partition always works for me, browser settings being my main export-import when moving to a newer partition, running several, including mx-21. I find setting up mx so easy that I don't feel any need to preserve home partitions, but appreciate that in some situations, it would be useful.

FullScale4Me wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 4:46 am From the current MX (23) Installer 'Help':

Preserve.

Selecting Preserve /home for the root partition preserves the contents of the /home directory, deleting everything else. This option can only be used when /home is on the same partition as the root partition.

True, and I've tested this before long ago (maybe MX15) but unless things have changed a lot, you can ALSO choose a separate partition for /home during installation, and if you chose one that already holds your existing /home from an older installation, you can choose not to reformat it.

I did this from MX14 to MX19, where the existing /home partition of MX14 became /home for MX16, and then /home for MX19. This was the only separate /home partition on my multiboot PC, as all my other installs had a single partition for root and home, and Data was in a separate drive altogether.

After MX23 was released, I decided this final separate /home should go. My MX23 XFCE (root and home) took over the partition where MX19 XFCE's root was, then I copied over the necessary configs and other stuff (icons, themes, conkies) from the old MX19 /home, after which I recycled that /home partition to house another distro.

My working methods go back to a time when ferrous oxide or something like that stored data.

Those seem to hold when silicon dioxide is the common storage media as well

My method goes back to when MSDOS was 2.7 and 5 1/4 inch floppies were the only thing available. I built my first computer using a kit from NRI learning Micro Computer Repairs. Does that date me? LOL

*chuckles* Not really.. most here will stem from those days Even I was there, be it in my young'un years, starting with 3.1 IIRC. I was 12 when that came out

beardedragon wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 10:47 am My method goes back to when MSDOS was 2.7 and 5 1/4 inch floppies were the only thing available. I built my first computer using a kit from NRI learning Micro Computer Repairs. Does that date me? LOL

Not really - but it dates the hardware

Lol - whatever happens to computer nerds as they get older?
Ans: they mature nicely into old computer nerds

Okay: choose your oxides!

Aronticuz wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 3:42 pm

beardedragon wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 10:47 am My method goes back to when MSDOS was 2.7 and 5 1/4 inch floppies were the only thing available. I built my first computer using a kit from NRI learning Micro Computer Repairs. Does that date me? LOL

Not really - but it dates the hardware

It was a Sanyo with two 5 1/4 inch drives. Green Screen monitor and dot matrix printer with dial up modem. Those were the days, my friend.