Cannot clean install openSUSE/KDE on dual-boot Debian/KDE system

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1

New user here moving from Debian/Gnome+KDE to openSUSE+KDE desktop. I’m installing openSUSE* on a new partition but keeping Debian on a separate partition for times when I need it. Both openSUSE and Debian will use the same /home that is on a separate disk.

  • installed Tumbleweed but might change to Leap 42.3 for stability.

I cannot do a completely clean install of openSUSE+KDE because KDE seems to detect a previous installation and uses these settings files. I’ve renamed some of the settings directories in an attempt to force the creation of new ones. For example,

mv ~/.kde ~/.kde_old
mv ~/.config/akonadi ~/.config/akonadi_old

… but this feels like a game of Whack-a-mole. If I miss a single setting file location, I end up with a non-clean install.

Can you suggest a way that I can keep my existing /home (and personal files therein) but also do a completely clean installation of openSUSE + KDE that is not contaminated by previous KDE settings files in /home or elsewhere.

Thanks for your help.

2

If you use mixed versions it is best to use different user ID otherwise the two system will constantly fight each other. ~/.config is where most KDE setting are these days at least in openSUSE

3

Ah, good point, and a very good suggestion about how to keep the two worlds separate.

I’d hoped to be able to share /home between the different OSes but that might now be possible.

Thanks.

4

edit to previous post.

I’d hoped to be able to share /home between the different OSes but that might not be possible.

5

If you do as gogalthorp suggested (ie 2 ids) you can symlink common data files (eg ~/Documents) so they work with both ids.

6

That is a very helpful suggestion. I will investigate. Thanks.

7

When installing a second distro, I usually mount the home partition at “/xhome”. So that way “/home” is part of the root file system. But then I use symbolic links to make most of my normal home stuff available. But the configuration parts (mostly in “.config” and “.local”) are separate.

8

Thanks for that tip. I think it will make things a whole lot simpler, and certainly easier for error tracking in case of problems.