Thanks for the replies, everybody. Does restoring from a backup work reliably?
On Sat, Nov 24, 2012 at 3:47 PM, Word Wizard <[email protected]>wrote: > On 11/24/2012 02:06 PM, Dale Snell wrote: > > On Sat, 24 Nov 2012 13:39:27 -0800 > > C W <[email protected]> wrote: > > > >> Is it wise to add other DEs once Ubuntu 12.04 is installed? > >> > >> Hey Everybody, > >> > >> I have a friend who installed Ubuntu 12.04 LTS on his work desktop PC. > >> He's spent the last month or more getting his PC set up the way he > >> likes it. The problem is, he's having problems with Firefox that I'm > >> not having on KDE Mint 13 LTS. Also, he's not liking Unity, in > >> general. He'd like to add Kubuntu desktop, or another DE. He's > >> concerned that this might make things more likely to break in the > >> long run. He might be right about that. He & I both like to err on > >> the side of caution & stability, using only LTS releases, & sticking > >> with an install for years, putting a lot of time & effort into > >> setting up the computer just the way each one of us likes it. In > >> other words, not the popular GNU/Linux geek bleeding edge approach. > >> What do you all think? > >> > >> Thanks, > >> > >> Elcaset > > > If you're going to experiment with adding additional desktops or window > managers (or even new applications that require extensive libs or other > changes to your existing system) I find it helpful to back up my > existing system first. On a regular basis, even if I make no significant > changes to my installation. I use the command line utility dd to make an > image file of the disk partition containing the system I want to back > up, along with that hard drive's partition table. Thus: > > dd if=/dev/sda of=Ubuntu.boot.mbr bs=512 count=1 #(for the partition > table) > > dd if=/dev/sda1 of=Ubuntu.img #(for the partition containing my main > system) > > I keep my HOME directory on a separate partition of that first hard > drive as well as reserving two other partitions of equal size to the > first partition on that drive (a WD 120 gig Sata). That way I have two > extra partitions to use to test new distros as they come along. All > three installations can use the same HOME directory and files. If I need > to remove either a distro being tested or restore the main system after > I screwed something up, I have a known working copy of my everyday > working system ready to reinstall simply by reversing the dd command thus: > > dd if=Ubuntu.img of=/dev/sda1 > > Keeping the backed up image on a separate physical drive (in my case a > 250 gig WD Sata) also keeps it safe if and when that first hard drive > goes poof. The above dd commands are predicated on my using a USB or DVD > live system to log onto that 250 gig WD, which contains the image files. > > Hope some or this helps. > _______________________________________________ > PLUG mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug > -- Free Geek Seattle- Helping The Needy Get Nerdy http://www.freegeekseattle.org/ https://groups.google.com/group/freegeek-seattle/topics?hl=en K Desktop Environment- Experience Freedom & User Friendliness http://kde.org/ Free Lossless Audio Codec https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Flac Protect your digital freedom and privacy, eliminate DRM, learn more at http://www.defectivebydesign.org/what_is_drm _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
