How often do you reinstall system?
- Thread starter CaffeineAddict
- Start date
OP
CaffeineAddict
Well-Known Member
Do you know if it's possible to sync between firefox and tor browser? (since both are firefox basically)
Agree, reinstall without clean home dir makes no sense at all.
Yeah, I think it's not necessary because I'm careful, a method that is also good to deal with that without AV and without reinstall is to simply create a new user account and delete old one, this way everything is erased from old homedir including potential bad scripts from browsing.
This sounds solid and reasonable, I think I'll copy that!
Only if you enable the Firefox accounts on Tor, but since it's a privacy based browser I'm pretty sure that is disabled on Tor but you could see if you can enable it.
OP
CaffeineAddict
Well-Known Member
Sadly sync option is not there but it's not a big deal. export\import will do.
I don't know if the tor browser can load bookmarks from a json file but if it can, that might be a way to get bookmarks from firefox to tor.
I keep a clean backup of my .mozilla directory in a .tgz file and regularly (almost every time I start the browser) remove the .mozilla directory and restore it from the clean backup. That, unfortunately, removes any bookmarks I've added since the clean backup was created, so any time I add ore remove bookmarks (which isn't all that often), I backup my bookmarks to a new .json file. A bit of scripting hooked up to a taskbar icon and it's all relatively painless.
I keep a clean backup of my .mozilla directory in a .tgz file and regularly (almost every time I start the browser) remove the .mozilla directory and restore it from the clean backup. That, unfortunately, removes any bookmarks I've added since the clean backup was created, so any time I add ore remove bookmarks (which isn't all that often), I backup my bookmarks to a new .json file. A bit of scripting hooked up to a taskbar icon and it's all relatively painless.
This is one of the things I like about the Chromium-based browsers. It's incredibly simple to share bookmarks between them.
You don't even need to create a bookmarks HTML file.....which is their preferred way of backup/restore. Once you've created a new profile (by firing the browser up for the first time so as to create one), all I ever do is to open up Profile -> Default for the new browser. I leave this window open, then do the same for an existing browser which has all my current bookmarks how I want them. All you then need do is to look for the file named - appropriately! - 'Bookmarks'.....and just copy it across. Restart the browser, and everything's there and ready to go.
Works for me.
Mike.
You don't even need to create a bookmarks HTML file.....which is their preferred way of backup/restore. Once you've created a new profile (by firing the browser up for the first time so as to create one), all I ever do is to open up Profile -> Default for the new browser. I leave this window open, then do the same for an existing browser which has all my current bookmarks how I want them. All you then need do is to look for the file named - appropriately! - 'Bookmarks'.....and just copy it across. Restart the browser, and everything's there and ready to go.
Works for me.
Mike.
OP
CaffeineAddict
Well-Known Member
@MikeRocor
It allows exporting and importing HTML file and that's good enough.
You're using google chrome on Linux??
It allows exporting and importing HTML file and that's good enough.
It works the same when browser is same but Tor browser doesn't support sync.
You're using google chrome on Linux??
When I "upgrade" to a new version of my OS, I do a full install in a new directory along side the previous one, copy my personal data (a .tgz file of /home and such) to the new directory, add a new entry in grub.cfg, make the new entry the default, and I'm good to go. Takes about fifteen to twenty minutes, depending on what apps I install and how deep their dependency tree is, and I do the grub.cfg update (manually) while everything downloads. This leaves the old version completely intact. It also means my hard drive is basically a "Tiny Core Museum" with one of my systems having at least 8 previous versions sitting there against the day when I might want to take a walk down memory lane. With the recent release of Tiny Core 15.0, I've finally got my script developed and tested to where I'll give it a "version 1.0". Yay!
About never keeping data in home... I keep a bit of day-to-day data in my home directory but several types of data get their own space elsewhere:
- static files - photos, vidios, music, ebooks
- big data sets - primarily my email folders
- scripts, unless they're specific to the particular os/version/installation in question
re. "... several computers, all OLD, each for a different purpose, so procedure is different ..." - Are you sure you're not me?
Chrome...Chromium...Brave...Iron...Opera...Slimjet...Yandex browser...Vivaldi...Ungoogled Chromium.....even the current MS 'Edge'; they all use basically the same code-base, so they all function pretty much the same.
Before you say "Chrome? Under Linux?? Aren't you asking for trouble? etc, etc...", well; I've had a Google a/c since 2001. I've been with them so long they must have a ton of data on me, but I really couldn't care less. Their app ecosystem works flawlessly, is cross-platform by nature - because the browser itself is - and, frankly, many of their apps make life so much easier in many ways.
One of the perks of being with them for as long as I have is being given an additional 33% of Drive storage. Instead of the usual 15 GB most users receive, I have 20 GB. I didn't ask for it; it just appeared one day without explanation.....and is still there.
(I discovered a couple of years ago that this is quite normal for the small coterie of their long-term, veteran a/c holders worldwide (basically, anyone who's been with them continuously since the early days). I will also state, here & now, that the Linux build of Chromium/Chrome is one hell of a lot more stable than the Windows build has ever been.....but I lay the blame for that squarely at the feet of M$ themselves. Can't blame anybody else!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm not specifically a Google 'fanboi', but neither am I rabidly 'anti-Google' like some. I make use of the free stuff they provide because it makes my life easier. If the 'price' of all this free stuff is being targeted with a certain amount of 'me'-specific advertising, I can live with that.
(It's a fact of life. As ya get older, you become pragmatic. You come to realise that not everything CAN be challenged/changed/blocked, NOR is there always much point in doing so.......and as most of us age (dis)gracefully, the majority WILL tend to take the path of least resistance. Because it's easier.)
Why make life hard for yourself unnecessarily....hmm?
(shrug...)
Mike.
OP
CaffeineAddict
Well-Known Member
@MikeWalsh
I think I understand your reasons,
I've been using google regularly (email etc.) for several years but that was long time ago, now I use only youtube and google search engine but without login, login only for chat on youtube, and also for google search engine to manage website crawling but other than this google is at the very bottom of my favorites.
The turning point for me just like for many other people was not google itself or MS but rather Edward Snowden, without him I would probably still use google.
I think online trust will never be the same like it was before.
But I respect your choice and reasons ofc.
I think I understand your reasons,
I've been using google regularly (email etc.) for several years but that was long time ago, now I use only youtube and google search engine but without login, login only for chat on youtube, and also for google search engine to manage website crawling but other than this google is at the very bottom of my favorites.
The turning point for me just like for many other people was not google itself or MS but rather Edward Snowden, without him I would probably still use google.
I think online trust will never be the same like it was before.
But I respect your choice and reasons ofc.
PsychoHermit
Member
I don't reinstall my system unless something happens to screw it up, and a timeshift restore doesn't fix it. Which means almost never. Gotta love timeshift. I have home on a separate partition so it survives an install, best way to go.
--glenn
--glenn
Last edited:
mrcrossroads
Well-Known Member
When I was on Windows I would reinstall every 12-18 months. Linux only when distro hopping or I have to.
I'm on my primary box currently, so I'll give some details as to this ~install.
I setup this current install back in 2017 after numerous weeks of testing the box to ensure it was reliable enough after its purchase (refurbished hardware) in 2017. I made 4+ installs testing the install before I was finally happy (its a Ubuntu system, but I like multiple desktops & wanted the best experience for the least hassle; so I tested adding my various desktops in different orders).
That install was trouble free until Lubuntu switched desktop (LXDE to LXQt) during 2018.. and I considered re-install to resolve some issues due to desktop change.. alas didn't & within maybe three weeks I was happy with the system anyway (in my mean time I had Xfce/GNOME/MATE that could be used given the Lubuntu LXDE/LXQt systems weren't 'fun' to use; working/fixing the Lubuntu during spare time).
That install was good until late 2022, when the PSU finally died (release-upgrades being run every six months, staying on the development cycle)
I purchased this replacement box in 2023, and opted to clean install as I do when I use new hardware.
I sit on the development release, and thus problems can be experienced.. I had a problem in August 2023 that meant 2 of my 5 displays were dark (no output).. Whilst I had the same experience when testing with live media I knew there was little I wanted to do about it, but soon the live media didn't reflect that problem, meaning something on my actual install hadn't been corrected. After a few weeks of using the box with only 3 of 5 screens not working, I decided to non-destructively re-install this system to resolve the issue.. it did and it's been good since then.
Normally I re-install on changing hardware, alas I've already re-installed this development release box already once in the last twelve months; but if I was using a stable system I'd not have performed any re-installs except due to hardware failure
(even the Lubuntu LXDE-LXQt issue was during the development change; Lubuntu didn't support that upgrade except thru re-install as problems can be encountered; I experienced them!)
I dragged (drug?) my feet and did a clean install for that one. Fortunately, I was able to use a great deal from my /home directory. I waited until I had mere months remaining of 18.04 support. (I did not do 18.10, preferring the LTS variant on my important systems.)
On other boxes I had no issue with that release-upgrade, alas those were systems that had few changes and a failed or unclean upgrade didn't really worry me. The release that matters was getting the packages one at a time as the upgrade had happened whilst packages in cosmic were all LXDE, thus the LXQt dripped onto that install slowly.. which accounted for some of those difficulties.
As my systems are dual boot, and my other system is LTS, if I'd given details there, re-install only occurs at hardware upgrade.. ie. the 2017 install was good until PSU died (issues on LXDE to LXQt change were insignificant; though I tweaked packages so LXDE remained), and the new install on current box early in 2023 is still perfect (that install never used less than all five connected displays)... but prior post concentrated only on my primary install which is the development cycle (on this dual boot box).
vs2-free-users
Active Member
Hi,
currently i often reinstall my os to find and pretest a new longterm distro for family and friend. Before the fall of Centos . Every 5 to 10 Years.
currently i often reinstall my os to find and pretest a new longterm distro for family and friend. Before the fall of Centos
. Every 5 to 10 Years.
I switched from CentOS to Rocly Linux on my vpses, I'm sure Rocky Linux would work as a desktop os as well if CentOS was working before for your family and friends.currently i often reinstall my os to find and pretest a new longterm distro for family and friend. Before the fall of Centos
How Often Do I Reinstall?
In some cases, never.
Two of my Manjaro (OK, I know, rolling release), have the following:
Manjaro 18.4 (Xfce) - Filesystem created: Tue Jul 30 14:35:31 2019
Manjaro Cinnamon even earlier - Filesystem created: Thu Feb 28 11:32:53 2019
Cheers
Wizard
In some cases, never.
Two of my Manjaro (OK, I know, rolling release), have the following:
Manjaro 18.4 (Xfce) - Filesystem created: Tue Jul 30 14:35:31 2019
Manjaro Cinnamon even earlier - Filesystem created: Thu Feb 28 11:32:53 2019
Cheers
Wizard
OP
CaffeineAddict
Well-Known Member
So overwhelming count of people (100%) says they don't reinstall often at all, I really have no right to claim otherwise!
other than reconsidering my habits.
other than reconsidering my habits.
I wouldn't say that, necessarily.
In your OP, at the end, you said
There are software firewall IP tables you can tweak, penetration testing tools you can install, and so on, to have a safer feeling that your security is not being compromised, and so on.
It just depends if you wish to use them or explore them, rather than reinstall.
In your OP, at the end, you said
There are software firewall IP tables you can tweak, penetration testing tools you can install, and so on, to have a safer feeling that your security is not being compromised, and so on.
It just depends if you wish to use them or explore them, rather than reinstall.
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