I've been using Fedora for a while now, and everything's working perfectly for me. However, I'm interested in switching to btrfs because I really like its snapshot features, especially since I'm using an Nvidia laptop that has issues with power management when it's supposed to be in sleep mode. Is it possible to migrate my ext4 filesystem to btrfs without having to completely reinstall the system? Any guidance would be appreciated!
4 Answers
While migrating is possible, I'd personally recommend backing up your /home directory and doing a clean install for safety. If you want a hassle-free experience with btrfs that includes snapshot features, consider looking into openSUSE Tumbleweed, as it comes with btrfs and Snapper preconfigured.
Sounds like a plan! But honestly, if the goal is to have things running smoothly with snapshots, you're probably best off with a clean install. It simplifies everything, and you'll feel more secure about your data. Just my two cents!
Yes, you can migrate from ext4 to btrfs without a full reinstall! There's a tool called `btrfs-convert` that facilitates this process. You might need to tweak your fstab or bootloader settings afterward since the UUID will change during the conversion. Check out the official documentation for detailed steps! [Here's the link](https://btrfs.readthedocs.io/en/latest/btrfs-convert.html)!
Alternatively, if you have a spare drive, you could set up btrfs there and use rsync to transfer your data. This way, you can create subvolumes and then do the switch. Once that's done, update your fstab in chroot and refresh grub. Just a thought if you're wary of the automatic conversion.
That's great news! Just be sure to have a backup before you start, just in case.