Reinstalling Linux vs Reinstalling Windows
One of the unexpected side effects of running Linux is that you have the opportunity to grown and learn in areas you may not have expected. For example, I have learned so much of the intricacies of my operating system and read so many articles that my understanding of computers has expanded to levels I wasn't expecting. In contrast with Windows, sad to say, I felt I had been stagnating. When I speak to qualified, certified, experienced Microsoft engineers, when faced with a O/S issue, their response is to upgrade the ram, cpu or reinstall O/S. In fact, reinstall O/S is the most common bit of advice I hear from Microsoft People. Next to reboot, of course.
The side effect of this is that you tend to interuupt your working Windows setup and you have to download a ton of apps and reinstall them. Antivirus, Web Browser, CD Writer, Chat Clients, Email, etc. Often you forget to backup shortcuts, documents, notes, etc, and they are lost forever. Its possible avoid this by storing data away from the O/S, but it seems you lose some integration by doing it that way. 10 years later, people still have the same issues with reinstalls that they had now. I tended to run a Windows install about 2 years between reinstalls and my biggest problem was finding forgotten driver cd's.
On to linux. One of the first tips you learn is to seperate your O/S partition from your home partition. Its a simple task you do at install time and from that point forward, you life gets *VERY* easy. It means you can reinstall your O/S, login to your desktop and have all your familiar folders, shortcuts & icons as you had before the reinstall. What a joy. It becomes even better. You can *CHANGE* linux distributions and test them this way. In the last 24 hours, I have gone from openSUSE 11.2 RC1 to Kubuntu 9.10 and now back to openSUSE 11.2 RC2. All my documents & settings remain intact and my music library & documents are where I left them.
I can't put a price on what value this is to me in terms of convenience and time saved. To any linux users out there who took this for granted, another reason to be glad you left Windows behind.
Lastly, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Its trivial to backup the O/S settings and patches before reinstalling, saving even more time setting up services, databases, applications or system updates.
The side effect of this is that you tend to interuupt your working Windows setup and you have to download a ton of apps and reinstall them. Antivirus, Web Browser, CD Writer, Chat Clients, Email, etc. Often you forget to backup shortcuts, documents, notes, etc, and they are lost forever. Its possible avoid this by storing data away from the O/S, but it seems you lose some integration by doing it that way. 10 years later, people still have the same issues with reinstalls that they had now. I tended to run a Windows install about 2 years between reinstalls and my biggest problem was finding forgotten driver cd's.
On to linux. One of the first tips you learn is to seperate your O/S partition from your home partition. Its a simple task you do at install time and from that point forward, you life gets *VERY* easy. It means you can reinstall your O/S, login to your desktop and have all your familiar folders, shortcuts & icons as you had before the reinstall. What a joy. It becomes even better. You can *CHANGE* linux distributions and test them this way. In the last 24 hours, I have gone from openSUSE 11.2 RC1 to Kubuntu 9.10 and now back to openSUSE 11.2 RC2. All my documents & settings remain intact and my music library & documents are where I left them.
I can't put a price on what value this is to me in terms of convenience and time saved. To any linux users out there who took this for granted, another reason to be glad you left Windows behind.
Lastly, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Its trivial to backup the O/S settings and patches before reinstalling, saving even more time setting up services, databases, applications or system updates.
Comments