This article discusses the steps required for moving an Arch Linux system to new hardware. The goal is to achieve the same ArchLinux installation, in terms of the installed software and configuration that is independent of the hardware.
Warning: Some of the following instructions can be dangerous: you are advised to backup all of your important data on the old system before continuing.
There are two different approaches to migrating an installation:
- Bottom to top: Install a fresh Arch Linux system on the new hardware, afterwards restore the installed packages and configuration files, e.g. as described in dotfiles.
- Top to bottom: Clone the old harddrive to the new harddrive, or place the old harddrive into the new system; modify configuration files where necessary.
The top to bottom approach gives a more exact reproduction of the original system than the bottom to top approach. In other hand, the bottom to top is much more clean and bound to new hardware. This article will describe bottom to top.
AwesomeWM is my favorite window manager in Arch linux. If you like programming (Lua) and prefer perfect fit environment to your workflows - there is no better solution as AwesomeWM! This article is about my personal components, configuration and keybindings for this fantastic WM.
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