Can we airdrop critical system files to rescue a broken installation?

[sling-shot]

There are many posts similar to www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,109499.new.html in our forum.
The reasons that lead to this end may be different.
Underlying thing seems to be missing critical system file which prevent the system from booting.

So my question is, can we just copy some of the most basic/critical system files from another similar PCLinuxOS installation to get a basic functional installation and then try a full repair from there on?
Even though it may be worth the time as many of forthcoming posters to this thread are likely to suggest, it will be a good learning exercise.

-SS.

[muungwana]

you may, but that may take much more effort compared to simply reinstalling.

You could, for example, just dump content of "/usr/" from a system that works to a system thats borked.But then, how certain will be that no important binary from "/sbin" was also removed? copying over everything in "/" is more or less the same as installing from a remaster.

If you have a home folder in a separate partition, reinstalling is more or less the same as "copying over critical system files".

[sling-shot]

I expected as much. I just wanted an academic exercise. It just gives me great pleasure to see a broken system heal.

Windows has a utility called System File Checker. If things appear broken but not completely, then one could possibly run this utility to replace any missing / broken system files. We do not have a facility like that I suppose.

What if a copy of the installation image is kept somewhere on the hard disk and then if things go  wrong needed files be extracted from it? That might break the updates or something I guess. But a full update afterwards may be capable of restoring that too.

[craesz]

Windows has a utility called System File Checker. If things appear broken but not completely, then one could possibly run this utility to replace any missing / broken system files. We do not have a facility like that I suppose.

I believe this is because Winblows knows they need such a utility. I am guessing that, because of the way in which Linux operates, many of those types of utilities are not needed. I haven't defragmented a single linux machine in years but that one POS machine I have to have has been on numerous occasions and, if I don't, it simply slows to the speed of frozen molasses. With the permission issue and people adhering to never logging in as root, it seems that system files should remain untouched. It does happen, though, as I've had to reinstall. Not because of Linux I think but because of something going haywire with my DM.

[ghostbunny]

I believe this is because Winblows knows they need such a utility.