Ubuntu 10.04 is dying and I'm ready to reinstall if I can keep all my files.

impert · 10-31-2010, 09:52 AM

In practice, my system has handled even being brutally unplugged while several apps are open. NOT that I would recommend to anyone to do this, of course, but accidents happen. (Power supply company employees who helpfully demonstrate how to test the circuit breakers, for instance). I think modern hardware may have something to do with it, too.

Quote:

It would be a better advice to show her the shutdown command.

Well, perhaps, but I thought she was struggling enough without complicating things further.

stress_junkie · 10-31-2010, 10:32 AM

I would use a live Ubuntu CD to copy the data files to an external disk and to rename the .config directory in the user home directory. If renaming the .config directory works then great. If not then use the same live Ubuntu CD to reinstall.

Then get into the habit of making copies of your important data onto an external storage device like a disk drive or flash drive. That way if the computer stops working you will already have a copy of your important data.

vyver · 10-31-2010, 12:30 PM

Backup and Restore is so important, that any amount of over-emphasis about it can be justified! I have a Dual-boot with Win.XP PRO installed! I have bought a 750GB EXTN.HDD(Seagate-free agent Pro), a while back. You will never,ever regret it! I found as the @OP mentioned, that B&R in Ubuntu is tricky for a newbie(include me). I was browsing the Debian Distros and found that Linux Mint has got an excellent B&R in-built.(Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu,isn't it?) Does Linux have any software to predict a dying HDD?Win. has a free one from the Acronis stable and i found it reliable.It uses the S.M.A.R.T. parameters which hold good for any system,because it's a Hardware issue!

impert · 10-31-2010, 12:52 PM

@MsRefusenik

How are you getting on? Did you notice how all the blokes jumped in to help the damsel in distress, and then promptly started squabbling amongst themselves? Always seems to happen when a woman asks for advice on the forums. We'd be quite cute if we were better-looking. Our mummies shouldn't give us guns to play with, though.

Your problem of sluggish behaviour - I mean your OS's sluggishness! - could be a result of running out of space. Putting your home folder on a separate partition, as suggested above, is the best way to stop this happening again.

PehJota · 10-31-2010, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vyver

Does Linux have any software to predict a dying HDD?Win. has a free one from the Acronis stable and i found it reliable.It uses the S.M.A.R.T. parameters which hold good for any system,because it's a Hardware issue!

A bit off-topic, but yes. smartmontools does this very well and can even run in the background and tell you as soon as S.M.A.R.T. reports a potential problem. It's available in most distributions' repositories, and you can of course check the manpages of 'smartctl' and 'smartd'.

Outcast · 10-31-2010, 01:34 PM

I think you've all scared her off !!

If it's just text files & pics could she not have uploaded them to Ubuntu One?

If she has knackered the top panel then she can press (left) alt + F2 and type gnome-terminal

then enter this to rebuild top panel

Code:

gconftool-2 --shutdown
rm -rf ~/.gconf/apps/panel
pkill gnome-panel

Outcast · 10-31-2010, 01:40 PM

Reading the OP again it does appear as though not enough room has been assigned for Linux partitions.

I hold my hand up and admit I made that mistake once !!

vyver · 10-31-2010, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Outcast

I think you've all scared her off !!

If it's just text files & pics could she not have uploaded them to Ubuntu One?

If she has knackered the top panel then she can press (left) alt + F2 and type gnome-terminal

then enter this to rebuild top panel

Code:

gconftool-2 --shutdown
rm -rf ~/.gconf/apps/panel
pkill gnome-panel

You can count me out of the "Scarers"(Does this word exist?), because i know so little about Linux, that i found the MOD's second post where he advised BACKING UP TO A GMAIL ACCOUNT AND I GAVE HER THE LINK TO "HOW TO GO ABOUT IT".IN THE SIT.REP. SHE GAVE, I FOUND THAT WAS THE QUICKEST AND A NEWBIE'S (@op) EASY WAY OF B&R (VERY sorry for the bold type!)!Sheesh guys, you've scared me too! http://www.linuxmint.com/rel_isadora...php#mintbackup

vyver · 10-31-2010, 09:14 PM

To PehJota,
Thanks for the post and the link!Looking at the left panel of your post, you must be a PRO! Nice to have one around!The lesson is "never go by the number of posts"(include me there)!I have deleted the Lucid Lynx LTS from the desktop and have installed the 10.10 netbook version Ubuntu MM on my lappy and it's a hit!
regards,
vyver.