> 1. "tar cvf var.tar /var/*" to have a backup of the current contents of > /var. > 2. "tar cvf home.tar /home/*" to have a backup of home. Just make sure that there are no files or directories in /var or /home that start with '.'. I made this mistake when I tried to backup a user and lost all his configuration files (.emacs .Xdefaults etc...). Good luck, Nathan