etc/ and home/ folders on two machines

[jnorris235]

Before I mess up months of learning - if I synchronise these two folders - dump an exact copy from the laptop onto the desktop - does everything work wonderfully the same or is everything completely wassanamed?

Is linux so wonderful that (assuming same programs are on each) I can just have all the same settings, bookmarks etc etc?

Sorry if I'm being simple!

[XstatyK]

Re: etc/ and home/ folders on two machines

Your home folder will be ok to copy but your /etc file will definitely not work beautifully.

I would suggest you copy them over to the desktop into a folder for backup only

[DaMoGan]

Re: etc/ and home/ folders on two machines


As XstatyK says, you can sync /home, but not /etc. What exactly are you trying to do? If you just want both environments to be the same, then even just synchronizing /home will help a great deal, since most programs store their user-level settings in your home directory. (Of course, I hope you are using exactly the same versions of Kubuntu on your desktop and laptop, otherwise there could be problems with differing application versions!)

It *is* possible to perhaps synchronize certain parts of /etc, but all in all I would not recommend it.

[jnorris235]

Re: etc/ and home/ folders on two machines

OK - clear answers - thank you.
I'll synch the /home but not /etc
I was just hoping the time spent in front of the TV sorting out bookmarks, the hours redoing the KDE menu, and various other settings for programs could simply be moved over to the other machine - yes with Kubuntu Edgy on both.

I'll sync /home and see what happens.
If anyone knows which bits of /etc are good and safe to sync I'd be interested but I don't want to experiment! After two months converting to Kubuntu from Windows I'd just like to get on and use the computer for work now!

[DaMoGan]

Re: etc/ and home/ folders on two machines


Well, your KDE settings and bookmarks are stored in your home directory, so those *will* come over if you sync /home! (If you are curious where they are, they are stored in your home directory in 'hidden' directories .kde and .mozilla. Just in case you're unfamiliar, files/directories starting with a '.' are generally hidden from view.)

I think your strategy now (to just transfer /home) is good. My guess is that you won't need much, if anything at all, in /etc. If after testing you feel like there is something that still needs to be synchronized, post again and we'll go from there.

Also, you might want to back up /home on the desktop before you clobber it. That way, if something goes wrong, you can get back to where you were before. Always have an escape plan, I say...

[jnorris235]

Re: etc/ and home/ folders on two machines

OK - will do that!
Now to try to understand how to samba things....(different thread!) to my NAS
Thanks!