[Feisty 7.04] System Log doesn't work and question about System Restore

[John Toliver]

Thank you for responding to my original posts.  I completely missed the 
responses you gave which is why I am now responding.  I appreciate the 
push in the right direction.  I just gave up and installed Gutsy.  I 
test the user log and it works so maybe my burned CD was bad.  I don't 
know.  I will still go over the information.  I'm not criticizing but I 
come from a windows background, so what do I do if (when) Ubuntu 
crashes, either by itself, or because I do something dumb and damage it?

Is it possible when I backup my home folder to save the settings that go 
with each program I have installed, so that when I reinstall the 
programs recognixe the configurations from the old installation.  
Basically does some document on system recovery exist on steps to 
perform etc.  Does the install CD have some repair commands to use etc?

Thank you for your responses.

Charlie Kravetz wrote:
> On Mon, 2007-11-05 at 07:52 -0500, John Toliver wrote:
>   
>> I have a thinkpad T23 with 1GB and 30GB HDD running Feisty 7.04:
>>
>> I just installed 7.04 as a test thinking it wasn't going to work and
>> wanted to do it just for fun.  I was surprised that the installation
>> actully went over smoothly and was getting comfortable into the system
>> when I ran into a problem.  Apparently Linux has this wonderful
>> feature (user auditing I think?) that records the actions of each user
>> and I though the output went to the system log. 
>>
>> 1. The system log will open for a split second when clicked on and
>> then dissappear.  No way I can think of to make it work and I would
>> like to fix this.
>> 2. Is the system log where I want to go to see a log of all the
>> changes I have made to my system over a period of time, for example if
>> I were to need to undo a configuration change I made etc.? 
>>
>> 3. Does linux have the equivalent of system restore? (if yes what is
>> the equivalent?)
>>
>> Thanks in advance for answering my questions...
>> -- 
>> Patience yields far greater results than brute force or rage ever
>> could so relax......it's just life !!! 
>>     
>
> I´m sorry, I forgot to address the question of system restore. No, linux
> does not have such. Generally, you will need to keep a backup of
> important data, such as your /home files. The really great thing is,
> linux is stable compared to windows. It does not crash like windows, and
> unless you run the latest that is still in test, you probably will never
> need that backup. Since May 2005, I have yet to lose any data in Ubuntu.
> Keep in mind, though, the latest versions are normally not considered
> ready for machines that absolutely cannot lose data. For that you should
> use the LTS versions, which at this time is Ubuntu version 6.06-01,
> Dapper Drake. The next Long Term Support Ubuntu will be next year. These
> versions have a minimun of three years support for the desktop, 5 years
> for the server.
>
> I hope this provides some answers.
>
> Good luck,
>
>