Best strategy for a clean reinstall.

[Donn]

> I have painstakingly customized the combination of packages for this
> machine to included what I want.  What is the best backup, clean reinstall,
> and restore strategy?
>
At end, the one making the rounds at the moment.

hth
/d

 Kubuntu Tricks - how to generate a list of installed packages and use it to 
reinstall packages.(modified from http://www.arsgeek.com/?p=564)

First, let's make the list. You'll be doing all of this in a Terminal Session:

     dpkg --get-selections | grep -v deinstall > Kubuntu-files


Now you've got a list of all of your installed debs in a fairly small file. In 
my 
case, I simply moved this file to a thumb-drive. You could also store it on a 
seperate partition or on a disk somewhere. Heck, it's not that big, email it 
to 
your gmail account.

So now you've got this list and all is well, until your Kubuntu install either 
dies or has to be reinstalled for some reason. Go ahead and do the base 
install.

Once you've got Kubuntu back up and running, copy your Kubuntu-files back into 
your home directory and do the following:

     sudo apt-get update

     sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

     dpkg --set-selections < Kubuntu-files

Now you've told your system what it needs to install, so let's install it all.

     sudo dselect

This will open up a dselect session. Type 'I' and allow dselect to install of 
the 
the packages listed in your Kubuntu-files document. When it's finished, 
type 'Q' 
and hit the ENTER key to exit dselect.