[clue] [HelpDesk] move/copy user to another machine

[Shawn Perry]

I JUST did this for a client, maybe 4 days ago.  More below.


Shawn T Perry
Red Mop Computing Services
email: shawn at redmop.com
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On Mon, May 30, 2011 at 3:40 PM, David L. Anselmi <anselmi at anselmi.us>wrote:

> Yaverot wrote:
> > I want to move one (or two, but less than 5) user account from a Ubuntu
> Linux (not yet 10.10
> > version) to a Gentoo box.  The Ubuntu system is low RAM, and have very
> low hard drive space
> > remaining.
>
> On Gentoo, create accounts for the users you want to move.  Use those
> accounts to copy all the files
> in the home directories to Gentoo.  I'd use rsync.  Do you need more detail
> on those steps?
>
> There are two things you need: the entry in /etc/{passwd,shadow}, the files
> in the home directory.
>

And the entries in /etc/gshadow and /etc/group as well


>
> You can't copy the /etc/passwd entry between machines unless the UID is
> unused on Gentoo.  If it
> isn't used then copying that line and making an empty home dir would be
> easy.  You can copy the
> password hash between shadow files but that isn't easier than just
> re-entering it.
>

You can copy the passwd entries as long as you change the UID to something
that isn't used on Gentoo (the new box).  Don't forget /etc/group as well.


>
> Normally when a new account is created some files will be put in $HOME.
>  Probably you don't care
> about overwriting them with the files from the Ubuntu system but if you
> have different desktops some
> of the files might conflict or be unneeded.  Likewise if your Thunderbird
> versions are very different.
>

on the new machine, run the following (read them ALL before running any of
them)

rsync -avPihhH --delete-before --stats
<username>@<oldhost>://home/<username> /home/<username> --dry-run # vPihh
and --stats are optional, remove --dry-run after you're sure you have
everything right.
chmod -Rc <username>:<username> /home/<username> # if the users are
primarily members of their own groups
chmod -Rc <username>:user /home/<username> # if the users are primarily
members of the user group



>
> Dave
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