[ubuntu-uk] Re-installs - How do exp users do it?

[stephen]

On Mon, 2007-09-03 at 14:22 +0100, Gav Ford wrote:
> On Mon, 2007-09-03 at 14:05 +0100, Eddie Armstrong wrote:
> > Thanks Gav and Mathew
> > If I combine your ideas then I should be covered ?
> > Will this get things I have installed from debs or compiled?
> > Probably not apps I've downloaded directly (bin or whatever)
> > Do you think aptonCD a good idea combined with either/both of the above.
> > 
> > Eddie
> > 
> > 
> 
> This will just restore things installed via apt-get type things,
> synaptic, aptitude etc.  Not things installed via source or any other
> way.
> 
> As to downloaded debs, you may get lucky if they are now in the
> repositories.  Hopefully someone will correct me on this one as I'm
> still not 100% on the debs system Ubuntu uses.
> 
> I don't know what aptonCD is or does, so someone else will have to heop
> you there.
> 
>   -Gav
> 
> 
> 
Not sure how useful this will be, but it can be a time saver. Basically
I like to keep a central cache of debs that I have downloaded, then just
copy them between machines rather that have to download a new
OpenOffice.org or updated kernel separately for each machine. There is
an app called apt-cacher that does this as well.

The debs are cached locally in the /var/cache/apt/archives/ directory
and usually hang around for a while depending on disk space or if you
have run apt-get clean recently. So you can take debs out and store them
or put debs in and run Synaptic (or apt-get) as normal.

I find it comes in handy when I persuade someone to try out Ubuntu, as I
can get them a fully up to date system without having to wait for the
updates to come down over my 0.5Mbps ADSL line. As long as you have
access to the repos lists, the packages will be authenticated.

Steve