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Change distro with encrypted partition

  • 26-09-2011 05:24PM
    #1
    KAGY
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,080 ✭✭✭


    Hi all,
    I'm about to change from xubuntu to linux mint debian edition LMDE. When I installed Xubuntu I encrypted my home partition (eCryptfs). I was just wondering has anyone changed distros before with an encrypted home directory and did it go smoothly?

    After searching google, I'd be confident that I could recover my files, and worst case I have a backup anyway (of my docs, not settings etc). But preferably I'd just like to stick in the key and let it run :)


Comments

  • #2
    KAGY
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,080 ✭✭✭KAGY


    Okay, itchy clicky finger got the better of me :D

    Didn't go smoothly (i.e. transparently and automagically) but I was able to mount it later following http://www.theirishpenguin.com/2010/09/26/accessing-your-encrypted-home-directory-in-ubuntu/

    The big thing was having the mounting / encrypting password from when I set it up.


  • #3
    Khannie
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 37,485 ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    About to move distro's myself (see new thread) and was wondering similar. I had manually set up encryption after the fact though. Good to know you got away with it though. :)


  • #4
    FSL
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,456 ✭✭✭FSL


    Would not the simplest thing be to decrypt before changing and then encrypt after?


  • #5
    KAGY
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,080 ✭✭✭KAGY


    FSL wrote: »
    Would not the simplest thing be to decrypt before changing and then encrypt after?

    if you had enough disk space, maybe, but I had my whole home partition encrypted. Decrypting is normally done on the fly during normal use, but to decrypt permanently makes a copy of the files.

    One thing that might have made it harder for me, I accidentally used a different user name when I was installing the new distro, (I had previously added "2" to the end because I wanted a clean install that time) but forgot to use that name when I was installing this time.

    I'm just going to use a .Private directory this time around, and symlink to the various folders in it. If someone steals my PC, the fact that they can see that I used this panel, or that settings isn't the worst of my problems :-)
    Karl


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