My persistent home isn't persisting

[j.drake]

I set up /hdb5/ as the location for my persistent home, and I'm saving my configuration there also. I even used Klik to download firefox to that locaton. Before shutting down, I saved configuration there. On reboot, used "knoppix26 myconfig=scan home=scan", but my home files were gone, including firebird and all traces of Klik. Tried it with "knoppix26 myconfig=/dev/hdb5/ home=/dev/hdb5" also. The configuration (printer definition, wallpaper and the like) stays, but nothing in the persistent home does. It has worked before, but most of the time it seems not to. hdb5 has 312 MB free space out of 342 MB. When I click the home icon, it brings up /home/knoppix/, which is the default ramdisk. If within /home/knoppix I click the desktop, and then /hdb5/, I see the same icons, but config.tbz, knoppix.sh and a locked file called lost+found are in there too, but nothing else. Any ideas?

TIA

JD

[SunnyB]

If your home directory i something other than /home/knoppix, ie: /home/joe,
when you boot and use a persistent home, knoppix will restore all of the files
and directories from /home/joe to /home/knoppix. They will not be restored to /home/joe.
The only things that will be restored to /home/joe will be your config files and the /home/joe/Desktop files if you have chosen this option.

The only way I have been able to assure that my important files and directories are
restored to their original place is to install them into the desktop directory.

Hope this answers your question

[j.drake]

If your home directory i something other than /home/knoppix, ie: /home/joe,
when you boot and use a persistent home, knoppix will restore all of the files
and directories from /home/joe to /home/knoppix. They will not be restored to /home/joe.
The only things that will be restored to /home/joe will be your config files and the /home/joe/Desktop files if you have chosen this option.

The only way I have been able to assure that my important files and directories are
restored to their original place is to install them into the desktop directory.

Hope this answers your question

Mmm. . ., that's not the way it's working for me at all, I'm afraid.

Here's what I do. I click the penguin icon -> configure -> Create persistent home. Then I confirm that I want a persistent home. Then a list pops up, offering me a choice of different proposed locations - I select /dev/hdb5/, then click next (nothing appears which is a subdirectory of a home folder - e.g. /home/joe). I click OK, then it asks me if I want to do the entire partition, or just create an image - I say entire partition, then click Yes. Then it asks me if I'm sure, and warns that all data will be lost in the partition, and I click yes. Then it asks me if I want it encrypted, and I say No. Then it formats the partition, comes back with a screen telling me that the partition has been formatted in ext2, and telling me what the cheatcode is on reboot, and tells me that I can use it in conjunction with the cheat code for my config, if I want to. I click OK, believing that all is well.

Then, let's say I install Firefox using Klik, or, let's say that I install it to my home directory from the Mozilla website. Doesn't matter either way, IIRC. Then, let's say I change the wallpaper, or some other aspect of my configuration, click penguin -> configure - save KNOPPIX configuration, check the box to save all files on desktop, then OK. A list of locations pops up, and since I have room in my /mnt/hdb5/ partition, I check that box, then click OK. Now that the home has been created and the configuration saved, I restart. On restart I enter "knoppix26 home=scan myconfig=scan", or even "knoppix26 home=/dev/hdb5/ myconfig=/mnt/hdb5", it doesn't really matter as far as I can tell. The text goes by and gives every indication that all is well, that the config has been located, and more times than not, the desktop pops up with my saved configuration, but nothing is in my desktop except for the default items- no firefox, no shell script to launch. If I click the desktop folder, and then /hdb5/, I see the configuration file saved, but no firefox. I click K ->, but there's no Applications (Klik folder), and nothing to indicate that either Klik or Firefox had ever been installed. I can reinstall Firefox, but all of the bookmarks and extensions I had installed before are gone.

As far as I can tell, I'm following the instructions. The idea you suggest of installing to a home directory isn't made available to me in the installation script, so how do you specify this? And, out of curiosity, *which* desktop? Certainly, I don't see how you could install a persistent home to the ramdisk desktop, because that isn't saved. So, I assume you're talking about the desktop folder created in hdb5, right?

Thanks for your help.

JD

[eco2geek]

One thing that was true of previous versions of Knoppix, that's probably true of the current version as well (haven't tested it with 3.4):

Your config files and your persistent home must be loaded from separate partitions.

So if the saved config's loaded first, from hdb5, your persistent home won't be.

Try saving/loading your config files from a floppy (or whatever other free, writable partition you have) and your persistent home from hdb5, and see if that works.

[SunnyB]

Whether they are on different drives / partitions or on the same makes no difference.
I have a 256Mb swap file on hda6,

I also have different knoppix.img & configs.tbz on all three partitions.
I use all three depending on what secondary software I want to use during that session.

The knoppix.img & configs.tbz on partition hda1 have Open Office 1.1.2, Firefox, Thunderbird.

The knoppix.img & configs.tbs on partition hda3 (where the swap file is) does not have Open Office but it does have a Trillian and Forte Agent directory.

The knoppix.img & configs.tbz on hda5 are a backup of hda1.

My knoppix.img is 500Mb. My configs.tbz is around 128Mb.

If you use a different user and a different /home directory and use the saveconfig command from the knoppix icon or from the /usr/sbin it does not correctly save your /home/director or configs. It looks for a current user "knoppix" and saves to that /home instead. Each time I use it the Desktop directory is reported as 0Kb. Empty. The only way I have found to save configs as a different user is by using the GKSU (Run as different user) command for the saveconfig & mkpersistenthome commands. Then the directory size is reported correctly.

I have also modified my knoppix.sh to extract the configs to my /home director then chown the entire directory to me:me. Otherwise there is nothing put into my /home directory.

I will eventually have different .img and configs.tbz files for different members of my family.
They can be specified by name. ie: sunnyb.tbz and sunnyb.img from the boot prompt.

[j.drake]

Whether they are on different drives / partitions or on the same makes no difference.

If you use a different user and a different /home directory and use the saveconfig command from the knoppix icon or from the /usr/sbin it does not correctly save your /home/director or configs. It looks for a current user "knoppix" and saves to that /home instead. Each time I use it the Desktop directory is reported as 0Kb. Empty. The only way I have found to save configs as a different user is by using the GKSU (Run as different user) command for the saveconfig & mkpersistenthome commands. Then the directory size is reported correctly..

I haven't set up any user accounts at all. In that event, does your statement mean that the process I used should work?

If not, then if I'm understanding you correctly, I have to bypass the GUI process and open up the terminal, and enter "GKSU saveconfig" and "GKSU mkpersistenthome" commands. If I do that, I assume that it will prompt me for a location, and I can enter hdb5. Or , do I need to "man GKSU " and employ a more complex syntax? I assume also that I'll have to create a user account (call it JD) in conjunction with this, and somehow work that into the bootcode sequence. Am I understanding correctly?

P.U.!! I'm having a real hard time understanding why it shouldn't be sufficient to follow the script prompts!! Do you guys think this qualifies as a bug?

[j.drake]

One thing that was true of previous versions of Knoppix, that's probably true of the current version as well (haven't tested it with 3.4):

Your config files and your persistent home must be loaded from separate partitions.

So if the saved config's loaded first, from hdb5, your persistent home won't be.

Try saving/loading your config files from a floppy (or whatever other free, writable partition you have) and your persistent home from hdb5, and see if that works.

Thanks, I'll try that too. FWIW, I've tried switching the order of home=scan and myconfig=scan in the boot prompt, but it didn't make any difference.

JD

[j.drake]

Whether they are on different drives / partitions or on the same makes no difference..

Now thqat you mention it, when I run the script, one of them specifically instructs that they can be run together.

If not, then if I'm understanding you correctly, I have to bypass the GUI process and open up the terminal, and enter "GKSU saveconfig" and "GKSU mkpersistenthome" commands.

Well, I tried that, and I even tried inserting a "-u". Neither command executed. I must not be understanding you.

JD

[j.drake]

Try saving/loading your config files from a floppy (or whatever other free, writable partition you have) and your persistent home from hdb5, and see if that works.

Nope, And ver. 05-17 didn't help either.

[SunnyB]

GKSU can be ran from the menu.
Knoppix / System / Run As Different User (GKSU)
Type in saveconfig then click on advanced.
Click on Preserve Environment then Close.
Now click on OK. It will prompt you for the root password.
It will then ask if you want to save the desktop along with all the other configs.
Check Desktop. It should also give you the size of the desktop in Kb.
It will then prompt you to pick a partition or a floppy drive.
When it completes it will tell you it has been successful.

Saving a persistenthome is about the same but be careful with the third prompt.
It prompts you if you want to make a persistenthome, then it prompts you for
the partition, then it asks if you want to use the entire partition or just make a file.
If you chose wrong it will prompt you one more time before formatting the partition.

If you chose to just make a file it will tell you how big your /home is so you can
pick the size of the persistenthome file accordingly.

HTH