Reinstalling 8.04

[steven vollom]

On Monday 18 May 2009 12:00:03 pm J. Michael Morse wrote:
> I have decided that I am going to reinstall Kubuntu 8.04. I have googled
> looking for a particular website that I reviewed the last time I installed
> 8.04 but I can't seem to find it.  Basically, I want a separate /home
> partition so that if/when I upgrade or switch distros in the future, I
> won't lose my stuff.  Is there a "how to" page on the Kubuntu website?  I
> looked there also, but had no luck there either.  Can someone please
> provide a decent tutorial website that would provide instructions for doing
> this?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Michael
Dear Michael,

I just reinstalled the Rc Jaunty with Kde 4.2.3.  The complete installation 
took me 20 minutes including configuring Kmail so I could answer this email.  
If you are interested in Jaunty, I can give you the setup where you won't lose 
data if you have system crashes with any application, including your OS, but I 
this can be best done using Jaunty.

What are the details about your computer.  Processor, memory, video card, etc.
If you are running nVidia chip or video card, you have to include an entry in 
your boot record, pci=nomci, however that done, your computer should run 
great.  They key to keeping your data safe from a crash is by naming your 
mount points for partitions as follows:  /home/michael for your main 
partition, and if you have a backup partition, name it /home/michael/backup.  
If you do this, all saved data will be located in a partition outside your OS, 
so if you have any kind of catastrophic crash, you don't lose any data.

Additionally, all of your data will be contained in the /home directory, so 
you can open Dolphin split-screen and copy data from your home directory to 
your /home/michael/backup directory.  It is so simple you will never want to 
change how you set up, I believe.  I run a 64bit quad with lots of memory, so 
I need Jaunty to perform best.  If you are reasonably current with technology, 
it is probably the best choice for you too.  

I tell you one thing, most people who do not like the new system, are just 
used to the old way.  I really believe the new system is far better, faster, 
and easier to locate the things you want.  It just takes a few days to get 
used to the new way.

If your setup is for a business, get your help from someone else, because my 
experience is just personal use, and I think there may be better setups for a 
business, I just don't know.

If you want to use Intrepid, you can still best protect your data from loss by 
naming your mount points on your partitions always with the /home/michael 
first, then whatever you want to name the partition you are addressing.

Additionally, literally everything in your computer except the OS will be on-
screen when you open /home/michael, even your backup partition and for 
instance if you have a partition for movies it will show too, just make sure 
to mount the Movies Partition this way, /home/michael/movies.  If you have a 
partition for photos, name the mount point as /home/michael/photographs.

Anytime you open your /home directory your backup partition will be in a 
folder named backup, your movie partition will will be in a folder named 
movies and your photographs will be in a folder named fotographs.  It can't 
get any simpler than that.

I had a computer genius friend from South Africa help me get squared on this;  
I'd give you his name, but he prefers his privacy.  I am in Ohio, so if you 
want telephone help and want to do this, you can call and I will help you set 
it up.  I can get you to a fully installed Jaunty including updates and email 
configured and ready in about 20 minutes, providing your internet speed is DSL  
at least with 3mb service.  If you can download at rates of 300kpbs, it will 
only take you 20 minutes to get to the point of installing the applications 
you want to install and their configuration.

Steven