So, my old nemesis has come back to haunt me: installing all sorts of programs on my laptop and then finding out I didn’t like or really need them, proceeding to uninstall them and finding out said programs have left all sorts of traces on my laptop. It’s rather frustrating to someone like me who will resort to a reformat of her laptop just to keep the pristine nature of things! Right now, I’ve got a bunch of entries in my “Users and Groups” that I know I have no need off. However, a simple deletion of those entries simply restores them on the next reboot. Of course, that tells me that somewhere on the laptop lies a file or several files that reference that user group. Thus, said user group cannot be deleted. I’m certain there is a ‘force delete’ command somewhere, but I’m getting cold feet on what file(s) could possibly need said user group.
*sigh* Thankfully, the reinstall/reformat process takes less than 1 hr (I’m dead serious) and I do believe that will be my next option. Before this next reformat, I will make a list of programs I absolutely need and I will find a way to institute a Question-and-Answer session before I install that next shiny program. lol. Heck, I’ve burnt other Linux distros (Fedora‘s looking pretty good) and I’m rather curious to see what those other distros look/feel like. Quick tip: DistroWatch is the place to check out scores of Linux distributions. Something tells me to let sleeping dogs lie, but I’m feeling frisky. What can I tell ya? 🙂
Since that is my consensus, here’s the main thing I need to do to ensure a smooth transition:
1) Rsync: This is Ubuntu’s sync utility that is really self-explanatory. I’m currently using Grsync to backup my /home directory which has the files I need most (documents, pictures and video). It’s so easy that a caveman could do it (sorry Geico) and that is my solution of choice after giving up on the ‘professional’ backup solutions like backuppc and sbackup which, I’m ashamed to confess, confused me. Given that the installation of Ubuntu/Linux is a breeze, I’m content with having just copies of my files and simply coping things over.
2) Burn a copy of my essential files and hard-to-find programs. Make a list of must-have programs and be more judicious when it comes to installing programs.
3) Get a beer before starting the process. 🙂
