Can't backup my user folder?

I have to erase and reintall Mac OS 10.4 on my iBook G3 notebook computer. When I try to backup my user folder it come up with the error that it can't copy folder/file because it has too many characters or it can't recognize the name and stops backing up my user folder.
What is the maximum characters can a folder name/file name can have and which characters are best not to use when naming the folder/file when using Mac OS X.
I would like to avoid getting the above error when making a backup of my user folder.
Please reply with the answer.
Thank you
Russ
iBook G3 Mac OS X (10.4)

What is the maximum characters can a folder name/file name can have and which characters are best not to use when naming the folder/file when using Mac OS X.
These depend on the format of the disk you're copying the files to; you can find this out by selecting it in the Finder and choosing Get Info from the File menu. Two disks which have the same format have the same restrictions on filenames, and you can change the disk's format by erasing it in the Disk Utility, which is in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder. All of the Mac OS Extended variants are identical with regards to allowable filenames; Mac OS Standard, MS-DOS, and some other formats are more restrictive.
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Hey forum,
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Speaking from a strong unix background and some admittedly limited Mac OS admin experience. I found another discussion:
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/Dion
dstempfley,
After perusing
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5820852&tstart=0
a bit, it appears as though I'll have to directly change the /etc/fstab file and insert references to the disk partitions without the use of labels.
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As for solving this..
"df -h" revealed
/dev/disk0s2 20Gi 11Gi 9.2Gi 54% /
/dev/disk0s3 166Gi 108Mi 166Gi 1% /Volumes/root
I'm aware line 1 = "sys" and line 2 = "root", but how and where do I apply the "/dev/disk0s2" versus "/" or "/dev/disk0s3" or "/Volumes/root"?
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/volumes/root
/dev/disk0s3
and even
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Also, I can access /etc/fstab.hd using cd and ls -al commands but I forget how to open and edit the file.
http://www.linuxfocus.org/English/September2004/article349.shtml
seems to answer some core unix structure questions I'm engaging.
From
http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8300945231/m/972007530931/inc /-1
it appears that symbolic links arent' the way to go either.
http://macosx.com/forums/unix-x11/19249-changing-mount-point-volume.html
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Also where is fstab (not fstab.hd)?? only fstab.hd shows up in /etc with the "ls -al" command.
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http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20021011053443661.
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scubaroos wrote:
I use time machine, but I'm worried that my user library folder (containing my Mail folders) isn't being backed up. I can't see it when I browse the time machine folders, but then again, I can't see my user library on my dard drive without using the special access in the Go menu anyway.
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Message was edited by: camino07 Hi, Now, I've uninstalled CS5, delete fontcaches, restart computer an install CS5 complete again.
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