Preparing for the migration

The key to being able to effectively manage your Linux Mint installation is planning it properly right from the start. In order to retain your home directory between installations, you at least must have originally installed Mint with the home directory attached to its own partition. If you haven't, the way you'd be able to move from one release to another is to back up your files, reinstall, and completely start over. Giving the home directory its own partition is a highly recommended practice.

Installing Mint with a separate home partition has several benefits, including the following:

• You can retain your data across different installations
• You can switch from one distribution to another without recopying user data
• If your Mint installation fails, your data is less likely to be at risk
• User applications store data in /home; therefore, the settings will be preserved

  Note

  If you chose to encrypt your home directory during the installation of Linux Mint, you...