So I have now been planing for several months to reinstall my OS that I have run for a year or so. I have few reasons for this: Firstly there are some bugs that occur randomly, like file explorers taking a long time to open a directory (it has happened on every DE and file explorer that I have tried). There are also other minor bugs that are in the DE or deep in the system. Secondly I don’t particularly like Pop! OS and Debian just sounds very appealing.

So is there easy way to switch or do I have to download my home folder and other config files from /etc and other locations to another disk and then move them back? That sure sounds like a lot to check and remember.

Info that you may need: The whole system is in one partition and it isn’t encrypted.

  • GreatSquare
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    1 year ago

    What some people do is put the home directory on a different partition of the drive. Then you can change or update the OS without affecting home. It may take a bit more drive space and take longer to mount a separate partition when you boot.

  • atomkarinca
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    1 year ago

    if you’re planning on changing distros you most probably will redo most of the stuff. you are right to think that backing up your home and /etc folders would be the first thing you should do. you can also get a list of your installed packages so you can reinstall your applications with a sort of checklist. i’m not familiar with popos so i can’t help you with that process, but it shouldn’t be that complicated.

  • LatzzeOP
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    1 year ago

    Thanks for all the tips. I am going to copy my home directory and some of the /etc files that I have modified to another drive. I also made a list of apps and packages that I need to indtall. I am going to install debian and hope that everything goes right and that I didn’t miss anything.

  • signofzeta
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    1 year ago

    Can you afford a new disk? If so, bam, you have an instant backup. Install a new OS and copy over files as needed.

    • LatzzeOP
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      1 year ago

      That would be nice, but I would line the new disk to be at least as fast as that I have now and those fast ssd are quite expensive.