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Re: [sheflug] Copying config files ("/etc/*" and "~/.*") onto a newcomputer.

On Mon, 2006-08-07 at 15:27 +0100, Adam Funk wrote:
> I've been running Debian testing/unstable for a few years and am about
> to get a new computer and install Ubuntu on it.
> ....
> I think the $HOME settings will be more difficult, however, since they
> probably include a lot of applications (e.g. KNode) that I used to use,
> some of which probably share space ("~/.kde/") with ones I'm still using.
> 
> Any relevant suggestions, pitfalls, horror stories?

Y'know, I would think strongly about going the very-manual route.

Every time I re-install, or setup a new machine (which happens, on
average, once every two years or so, maybe a bit more) I try as hard as
possible to leave as much of my old configuration behind as possible.
This is for a few reasons:

      * crufty $HOME slows your login down, and it's much easier to
        start afresh than prune,
      * crufty /etc/ means that I forget about old hacks and don't do it
        "properly" on the new machine

In particular, the apps I have improve over time, my knowledge of them
improves, and when I sit down and look at the old config I often realise
there was a better way of doing it. Alternatively, when I go look for
the current "way of doing it", I sometimes find a better way I didn't
know about before.

A good example of this was my previous laptop: I had a few hacky scripts
which did wireless network sniffing and stuff so that I could roam
between different wireless networks and get all the right settings
without having to manually do anything. These days, I've dumped all that
baggage and am using the delightful GNOME NetworkManager - not only does
it do the stuff my scripts did before, it means I can do pointy-clicky
in hotels and things, and plus it integrates into my VPNs. 

It's of course definitely worth backing up all your old config and
stuff, but it might be worth trying to bring as little of it across as
possible. .ssh and stuff like will more than likely be stuff you
absolutely 100% want, but you might be surprised by how little of your
configuration you actually use/want/need.

Cheers,

Alex.


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