Count me as a newbie when answering this query. I would like to know how I preserve my settings, documents, and if possible my installed applications when installing a new ROM.

I would like to use my Z more, but what holds me back is the fact that unless I have my documents on a card, I lose everything when I update the ROM. I would like to be able to preserve my whole environment as far as possible. I can't afford business critical documents to be inaccessible while I get my Z back to where it was before I reflashed.

Thanks for any help!

John

I simply tar my home directory to a CF card


I also keep all key apps I use, kopi, kismet & others in a directory on my CF and after reflashing (and before untarring my home directory) I install them all with one command


Since I've been flashing back forth with OZ/GPE I've also taken all of the settings that I've tweaked outside of my home dir; kismet.conf, wifi-radar.conf, etc and put them into an ipk. I can get my Z back in about 30 minutes after re-flashing.

cheers,
Jerry

Is it too complicated to briefly explain how to construct that ipk? I know this is opening me up to the standard rtfm response, but I would guess that there is more than one newbie who would benefit from a quick ipk lesson ala tweaked .conf files.

http://www.oesf.org/index.php?title=Pdaxro...te_An_Ipk_Howto

Make an arbitary directory somewhere, say /mnt/cf/my-config-ipkg. Now within this directory populate with the files that you wish to "backup", remember to keep the original directory structure, eg:



Then create a file /mnt/cf/my-config-ipkg/CONTROL/control containing something along the lines of:


Then run:
mkipg /mnt/cf/my-config-ipkg/

But before you do all this you really ought to read this for the full details.

However IMO it is better to use a standard tarball to keep your config files. The cool thing is that mc knows about tar files (tar.gz at least, not .bz2 though) and you easily pick which files to you want "restored". This is better than the all-or-nothing approach that an ipk offers. See screenshot.
Click to view attachment
-- cheers

Thanks for these tips. I suppose I am wondering if there is anyway I can install my apps onto an SD card and then have the reflashed rom able to find the SD installed apps. Also my home directory too. I guess it could be a symlink thing, but I am a bit hazy about where to start.

Hi!

I have an always-in SD card, I'm storing everything personal/custom on it in the following way:
I have a directory in /mnt/card called "myhome". I have a small script in /usr/bin with the following content:

startup.sh:

This binds it to /home/root so everything is working fine (not so when you just symlink it)

So I login, type in "startup.sh", logout, login (so my custom .bashrc can be used) and everything's fine. I also link out my custom config files from this dir, so they don't need to be gathered for a reflash, just link them out again when my new system is up. I still have to reinstall all IPKs, which is a bit time consuming, but it usually helps me to keep my system clean (not installing useless packages again ). This way I got my 30min/reflash time too.

Zumi

Ps.: For those who are wondering where have I gone from the forum/development: I got quite a hard semester at the university, and have to do more things anyway than I usually do, so -- sadly -- I don't have time now. So no new fvwm-pdaxrom releases or gpsdrive ipks in the near future.

For most apps, I believe this should work just as you describe - just run 'ipkg-link mount /mnt/card' to re-link all the installed apps (assuming they are compatible with the newly flashed OS).