## Uncomment the following two lines to a

[Goh Lip]

> Myriam Schweingruber wrote:

> > On a final note: the average user doesn't have to edit the
> > /etc/apt/sources.list file. There is kpackagekit in the SystemSettings
> > or any other GUI frontend of apt where you can choose the repositories

> > learn the use of an editor, you can break sensible things so please,
> > think twice...


> I wonder how difficult it would be to create two OS's and make them 
> available to
> each of us by choice.  One could contain an OS where someone else 
> and 100% in favor of freedom.
> 
> Steven


> > I think it's time to throw the towel and recommend a full reinstallation. :(
> >
> > I hate it when this happens.

> For Steven it might just be easiest to re-install. He could've been
> running by now. Ric




Steven, 

I was about to give you the same recommendations as Myriam's about uncommenting backports' repositories but she beat me to it. I also hesitated because I realized that you are very keen in finding new things to experiment with; and that, when you find it good, is entirely up to you to decide and we should try to help you, if able, to go in the direction you wanted.

The majority of people on forums like this to find solutions to some glitches or issues and people helping out are naturally tuned to provide more sensible and stable recommendations. Obviously, this often conflicts with with some who may want to try out a more cutting edge and riskier approach. Unfortunately, there often can be no such thing as cutting edge and stable. Case in point, KDE4.0 vs KDE4.2. Kudos to the KDE team.

If I may suggest, in view of your experimental nature and self-professed claim, modestly we think, of inexperience, that you try multibooting, or more accurately, multigrubbing with a dedicated boot partition with a first grub.

The idea is to have a stable, nicely running OS in one partition, henceforth called the 'production OS' and set up another "experimental OS' in another partition that you can mess up whatever you want to mess up to your heart's delight. You can try out wine, visualization, cloud computing or whatever till you are satisfied that you can commit to the production OS. Another benefit is that you can almost always remedy your messed up experimental OS through the production OS. And if the remedy is too daunting, reinstall the experimental OS without messing up the production OS. Configuration setup files can easily be reset by copying some hidden files from the production OS or sometimes made unnecessary by using a common dedicated /home partition, again ensuring no loss of data from your dalliances.  


What this involves is to set up your hard disk to 3 primary partitions and 1 extended partition which is expanded to 5 more partitions. Use GParted. A typical example for a 350 GB HD is as follows. Of course, you can follow what you want.


1st primary   - Windows      - NTFS     sda1      40 GB
2nd primary   - Win Data     - NTFS     sda2      40 GB
3rd primary   - Other Distro - ext3     sda3      40 GB
4th extended                            sda4
              - swap                    sda5       2 GB
              - boot/grub    - ext2     sda6       150MB
              - Prod OS      - ext3     sda7       30 GB
              - Exp OS       - ext3     sda8       30 GB
              - home/data    - ext4     sda9      170 GB

Let me stop here, Steven.
Will continue if you want to proceed and you have partitioned your hard disk. Safer to get a new one, keep old as 2nd data disk. I am proposing this as I know you have no fear in tinkering with your video card and you are prepared to spend on 8GB RAM and more... some of us are not so lucky.

Important note : It is very okay if you do not want to proceed with this. I won't be hurt, honest.

ps : personally, I don't dig Wine or Visualization. Cloud Computing may be different though. But, then again, it is perfectly okay to totally disagree with anyone. Don't you think so?



Regards,
Goh Lip


Do not seek the truth, only cease to cherish your opinions.


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