Tony Nelson wrote:
Unless the update process has a way of updating all the configuration files under /home it is better to tar it up and store it somewhere. You can restore it in an alternate location and move the files that don't exist after the upgrade then use diff to determine what needs to changed in with the files that are left.
That is basically what I do when I upgrade a server.
You must have lots of spare time on your hands.
Or maybe he does this to save time. It's only a few extra commands to a *nix expert (though I'd need time to figure it out): tar, mkdir, tar, and diff. Should be faster than troubleshooting it instead.
Are there actually any config files under /home which are affected by installing or upgrading? Which user do they belong to?