To transfer your files, contact the Service Desk for assistance or use the following procedure to zip your information manually so you can port it elsewhere.
Zipping your files
We have created a script to package the contents of your home directory into a single file to make it easy to transport to another computer or storage device such as a thumb drive or hard drive. The package can be either be a “zip” file or a compressed “tar” format (“tgz”) file. We recommend using the default "zip" format because the software used to extract files from a “zip” file is available on Windows, and many MACs as well as Linux systems.
Many computers, including Windows and many MACs, use case-insensitive file names. You may see the original name you used, but the computer will not allow you to create files where the names only differ by the case of the character. For example, "Test," "TEST" and "TeSt" would be considered the same name.
How to zip files from the AIX1 and AIX2 servers:
- Sign on to AIX1 or AIX2 using ssh or telnet. You must be inside the campus network to sign on or to transfer files, so use the University VPN if required.
- Check for conflicting file names by running this script with the "-l" flag (lower case L) to see if you have any conflicts. For example, issue the command “package -l.”
- If there are any conflicts, we recommend that you rename some of the conflicting files to eliminate the conflicts. Then recheck and continue to eliminate the conflicts until none are left.
- Run the script to create a package. You can use the default "-z" flag to create a "zip" file or specify the "-t" flag to create a compressed "tar" file. For example, to create a “zip” file issue the command “package” or “package -z.”
- We strongly recommend creating a "zip" file unless you have need to create a compressed tar (“tgz”) file.
- Copy the file to another computer or storage device, then erase it to save on disk space.
- The “zip” file will be called “package.zip,” the compressed tar file will be called “package.tgz.” You can use either “sftp” or “ftp” (in binary mode) to copy the package to another computer. You can create both types of packages, but they cannot exist at the same time because of the disk space that they use. You can create one type of package, move it to another computer, then create the other type of package and move it to another computer.
- You will then need to unpackage the file on a computer to extract the files.
- For Windows, the zip utility to unpackage the file is built into Windows. For MAC and Linux systems, you should use the "unzip" utility to unpackage the files.
- For "tgz" files there is no built-in Windows utility, but you can obtain one. Look for a program that can handle a "zipped" (gzip) "tar" files. On Linux or other UNIX systems, you will usually use command "tar -xvzf <filename>" to unpackage the files.
- We recommend you unpackage the files in their own directory, so you do not mix up your old and new files.
- We recommend you unpackage the files once you have copied the package to make sure that you have successfully copied your data.
If you have any problems or questions, please contact the Service Desk for assistance.
NOTE: You must be able to read all the files and directories in your home directory otherwise you will not be able to copy them into the package.