Switching distros

[jstreich]

I think it is time to switch distos... Right now I have a Win 98 partition and a RH 8 partition. Since the computer is running a web server, I don't want the install to run long. I want to run Debian, only. Now, I want to keep the current home directories, and the content that the web server is serving... I have a few different ways to go about this.
I could D/L the files needed for installing debian and a back up of the /home and of the /var/

http://www/html

directory on what is now the Win 98 side; I could burn the the /home directory and /var/

http://www/html

directory to a CD, and burn the ISO starting with a clean HD; or I could do some dual boot that doesn't make sense because I'll only use Linux on this computer (and I don't want to touch read hat again... I'm tired of things not being where they should be).

So, which is fastest? Which is recomended? Which would you and why?

 

[j1bber]

The backup sounds good to me but make sure you can read it elsewhere before blowing away your current config.

 

[jwenting]

network install of Debian will have your machine up and running again quickly.
It'll also pull the latest stable packages automatically so you're set with all the known holes plugged (and just 2 commands to be typed to get it fully patched whenever needed!).

Indeed it's best to back things up and start over, then put back the backup.

 

[jstreich]

I decided to run FreeBSD, turns out Debain's package system is based off the port system. I found a BSD CD, and installed to an old harddrive from another computer (not on the network yet). I am debating weather or not to keep RH Linux on this computer and dual boot the other when it gets on the network (running cables is the only problem now), and leave RH just to serve to the outside world... or perhaps run FreeBSD and mirror my data... I don't backup as often as I should nor on a physically seperated location and BSD's CVSup would allow me to that. Perhaps I will still install Debain, and still do the mirroring.