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

[John Toliver]

Scenario:
I break break ubuntu somehow but I'm smart enough to hook up the HDD to 
another machine and copy the /home/user folder.  then I wipe the install 
and do it fresh.  then I copy the /home/user folder I backed up and 
overwrite the the newly created /home/user folder.  When I download and 
install thunderbird and open it up for the first time, I will see my 
messages as they were before I crashed the system?

Caleb Marcus wrote:
> All your program settings are stored in your home folder. Simply 
> copying your backed-up home folder back to the new system will restore 
> all your program's settings.
> On Thu, 2007-11-15 at 22:10 -0500, John Toliver wrote:
>> 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,
>> >
>> >   
>>
>>