I keep a file called "Migration Script" for each server. It's a list of everything I had to install to operate everything on the server. Any time I have to install or change the config on the server, I update this file as well. Every 2 years or so, when I'm getting ready to set up a new server, I review this file as I build a new system. After everything has been installed, I prepare a final "switchover plan" that contains detailed (line by line, file by file) instructions in review for switching over things like /etc/passwd & /etc/shadow, ntp.conf, sshd_conf, /etc/sysctl.conf, and so on. This keeps downtime in switchover minimal, even when I'm doing a "worst case" emergency switchover. (EG: hosting provider goes belly-up without any warning at all, which happened once) One of the steps in this whole process is that I carefully keep a list of all client data in var by directory (eg: /var/spool/mail, /var/spool/cron) and otherwise keep all other client data in /home, so that I know exactly what files to keep from OS to OS. (For example, copying over /var/lib/rpm could seriously bork things, while keeping /var/www can be crucial) I use rsync to copy over this data, either from the server-to-be-replaced or from backups as appropriate to the new server. -Ben On Sunday 05 March 2006 06:34, Thomas E Dukes wrote: > I am getting a new computer and am going to need to move the files from the > old to the new. What is the best way to do this? > > Should I install CentOS from scratch on the new computer then move the > directories I need? How do I maintain permissions if this is the best way? -- "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." - XEROX PARC slogan, circa 1978 -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.