this post was submitted on 31 Jul 2026
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I think most other linux distros get the same treatment to be fair. I know I usually just nuke / and use the old /home
I back up /etc as well.
I'm too worried about config misconfigs to do that, I usually have a clean slate for /etc and then delete per user configs as I hit snags.
1: Back up /etc.
2: Install your fresh distro.
3: Backup the fresh distro's new /etc.
4: Start targeted migration of /etc subfolders into the new /etc, testing things as you go. Only copy things you actually want to use the old configs for -- it's probably actually not that many, so it shouldn't take too long.
5: After each migrated subfolder, if it causes an issue, delete the subfolder and replace it with the one from the new distro's fresh backup.
Also, do the same with
/home/user/.config/to do targeted copying of configuration files from there. Always keep the fresh distro's version available as a backup copy in case some version incompatibility or something causes errors. (It usually doesn't, though.)Between those two, it's amazing how painless distro migration can be. "Oh no, now I have to redo all my config choices!" turns into, "Oh, look, it's back just the way I like it again, like magic."
I don't copy it over the new one but I do grab things like fstab settings and other things.