Some newbie questions

[Bat Phil]

So it's turning out much as I thought then, some of it will be fairly
transparent, but It'll still need a bit of tinkering / tweaking. Looking
like I'll have to learn about numeric user IDs, group IDs and
partition-specific UUIDs though. But learning is a big part of why I'm
doing this.

Cheers Matthew
Phil



On 5 September 2014 20:31, Matthew Miller <mattdm at fedoraproject.org> wrote:

> On Fri, Sep 05, 2014 at 07:10:58PM +0100, Bat Phil wrote:
> > 1. I am using older hardware - AMD Semperon 3000+ (socket 754), which I
> > understand is a 64 bit CPU. Will this run better, worse or no differently
> > with the 64 bit OS over the 32 bit?
>
> 64 bit. This is mostly because the switch also enables some other CPU
> features (like more registers) which make a significant difference. It will
> take up a bit more RAM, but generally the other things make it worth it.
> >
> > 2. Currently I have 1Gb DDR400 RAM, although I have some 1Gb modules on
> > their way to me so within a few days I'll hopefully have 3Gb (but I may
> > have a dodgy DIMM socket so it might only be 2). Will I be able to do a
> > graphical install with only the current 1Gb or am I better waiting until
> > the new memory arrives?
>
> You can try and see. You'll definitely be happier with more.
>
> > 3. Am I correct in my assumption that my mail client (I will be using
> > Thunderbird) stores all its e-mails and settings in a hidden directory
> > within the home directory?
>
> Skipping this one because I'm not sure about Thunderbird.
>
>
> > 4. If I do a reinstall later, will the OS pick up that I already have the
> > home directory structure on a separate drive and automatically configure
> to
> > it or will I have to do a bit of tinkering?
>
> A bit of tweaking. But it's not hard.
>
> > 5. Will the reinstalled OS automatically recreate the user accounts based
> > on the home directories that exist or will I still need to do that?
>
> If you reinstall, no. If you do an upgrade, yes.
>
> > 6. If I need to recreate the user accounts manually, will they
> > automatically map to the correct user directories in the existing home
> > directory structure or will that be more tinkering?
>
> A little bit of tinkering is necessary. You'll need to make sure you use
> the
> same numeric user IDs and group IDs -- file ownership is really based on
> the
> numbers, and the name is associated by looking in /etc/password. So if the
> name matches but the number doesn't, the users won't be able to access
> their
> files.
>
> > 7. Besides my data, will the system also be able to access my e-mails,
> > user-specific settings, etc. set up within the previous install?
>
> Stuff that's in your home direcory, yes.
>
> > 8. If I later upgrade my "data" drive, is it just a case of copying the
> > home directory structure onto the new drive, plug it in and away I go, or
> > will I need to configure the OS to recognise the new drive first?
>
> It depends how you configure it in the first place, but usually these days
> (and by default in Fedora) the disk mounts are done by partition-specific
> UUIDs -- long random-seeming strings. You'll need to find the new one (with
> the "blkid" command or a GUI tool) and update /etc/fstab.
>
> Alternately, you can configure /etc/fstab to mount your home directory
> based
> on something else, including possibly drive letter (iffy, because that can
> move around based on the order things are detected) or filesystem label
> (which could be set to something like "/home").
>
>
>
> --
> Matthew Miller
> <mattdm at fedoraproject.org>
> Fedora Project Leader
> --
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