Description of problem: Installation on a machine with a separate home partition does not set the right selinux permissions to use the old home partition. A simple work around is to execute $ restorecon -R /home after installation, but anaconda should do it automatically since a separate home partition is a common setup, also suggested in fedora documentation. Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable): Anaconda from Fedora 20 XFCE How reproducible: This behaviour was seen in Fedora 20 64bit xfce, but I guess it is a broader issue with the installer. It should be noted, however, that it may be linked to the fact that the previous linux installation on the machine was not using selinux. Steps to Reproduce: 1. Get a PC with a separate home partition 2. Install Fedora 3. Try to login Actual results: Cannot login using the old home directory ("/home/user"), login in non graphical mode is forced using "/" as home. Expected results: Login normally. Additional info: Bug 758207 is a possible duplicate, but it was suggested that it was rather connected to NFS, not being used on my machine.
I'll have a look at this. It could be a simple fix, but I'm a bit concerned about the SELinux policy existing in the installer -- SELinux is turned off in the installation process and I'm not sure we have the policy in the installation environment.
The big hammer way to fix this is to have anaconda touch /.autorelabel so it'll happen on the next reboot. There may be a faster way, though.
This fix is included in current Fedora 21 builds.