redhat-config-packages bugs

[Gerry Tool]

On Sat, 2003-09-27 at 07:02, Lamar Owen wrote:
> One thing you have to watch out for in the clean reinstall 
> case is if you move your home directory back in with a newer version of some 
> things that store configuration in home.  I had a pretty severe problem once 
> (I think it was with a home that had gotten touched by the pre-7.3 beta 
> series) going to RHL 8.0.  Had to completely wipe .kde out and reconfigure 
> KDE from scratch.  But that is just what a beta tester has to be aware of -- 
> betas can and do break your system.  Let the tester beware!  So far my home 
> directory has survived in mostly unmangled form since Red Hat Linux 4.2.

I got tired of that worry, so now I keep all my home directory "data" on
a separate /data partition and place a link to it in my actual home
directory.  My "actual home directory" then contains only that link and
any config data the system puts there.  Before new install or upgrade, I
copy all the "actual home directory" config stuff to a directory in
/data called something like "oldconfig" so that I can restore any of it
that I think is useful after a new install.  Then on a new install I
simply write over the old stuff or on an upgrade, delete all the config
stuff from the home directory and start the install/upgrade.

This is also convenient for sharing the files in /data among various
versions I'm running/testing.

This is not my original idea - I copied it from someone else on one of
these lists.  It has worked great through a number of installs.

Gerry Tool