reinstall but keep home MUCHLY SOLVED--STARTING NEW THREAD

[dougmack]

I'm not sure I understand the question.  When I reinstalled pclos, I did not format the /home partition  (by using
the custom install routine).  When the reinstallation was finished, it had put whatever it thought it needed
on that partition,in  /doug, but none of what was on the partition is still there, as far as I can tell.   However, using Dolphin I located the copy of my old /home/doug (on a different partition altogether) and highlited it and said "copy", and then, using Dolphin, I went to the latest /home partition, where I was unable to paste, and called up the /doug directory. I then pasted what I had copied.  Now I have, in my latest install, /home/doug, and /home/doug/doug.  (I think I
have that right--I'm working from a different distro now, since the new  pclos Thunderbird does not receive.  I will
go back and check in a little while.) 

I don't know how to move  /dev/disk-1/doug (the place where I save the old /home information)  to sda7, which is the /home partition of the new install, and if I did that, would I wipe out whatever the new install already has put into that partition under /doug?  I really don't want to have to reinstall _again_!

This is all probably very simple, and I'm missing something, but it's not obvious to me.

Thanx for your input, folks.  --doug

[dougmack]

I guess I don't understand what you folks are saying.  I have installed a newer version of pclos, to wit, 2010.12.  What I need to do is
to move the contents of /home/doug/doug to /home/doug. (Actually, just the saved mail and the /Documents subdirectory.)

With that exception I have everything working that I think ought to be--both F/F and T/B are up to 8.0.x--except neither LibreOffice nor OpenOffice are showing up in Synaptic, so I can't install either. If I get desperate, I will get the RPM of Symphony from IBM and install
that.  I DO NOT want Abiword--there are things that it really hoses.  (No, I don't remember what, but it does.)

Sorry to be so stupid, but I guess that's what I am. . . .

Thanx, all who put up with me!   --doug

[chrisretusn]

What I need to do is
to move the contents of /home/doug/doug to /home/doug. (Actually, just the saved mail and the /Documents subdirectory.)

cp -a /home/doug/doug/* /home/doug/

[kjpetrie]

Sorry to say, but 2010.12 is too old to upgrade to present. Even after running aptupgrade you are likely to have great difficulty.

Why should 2011.9 be slower? If so there is a problem with it that needs investigating, but installing an older version isn't the answer unless you are content with the applications on the livecd and never intend to upgrade or add software.

[dougmack]

Due to some difficulty, I am willing to try the 2011 version, IF I can still change the desktop background, AND I can get rid of
whatever that junk on the right-hand side of the screen is, and I can still put my icons or widgits or whavever you callem on the desktop.  This is showing shades of Ub***o from a year ago, that made me sick.  Before I download this, please advise.

[Old-Polack]

Due to some difficulty, I am willing to try the 2011 version, IF I can still change the desktop background, AND I can get rid of
whatever that junk on the right-hand side of the screen is, and I can still put my icons or widgits or whavever you callem on the desktop.  This is showing shades of Ub***o from a year ago, that made me sick.  Before I download this, please advise.

Please explain, first, what you are talking about. No idea what that may be from your description.

One of my desktops;

[ternor]

Hello, Old-Polack.  I notice two rows of icons to the left of your system tray.  I presume they are application launchers.  How did you manage to get two rows?  I only have one row so can place very few application launchers on the panel.

[Old-Polack]

Hello, Old-Polack.  I notice two rows of icons to the left of your system tray.  I presume they are application launchers.  How did you manage to get two rows?  I only have one row so can place very few application launchers on the panel.

They are application launchers, using the Quick Launcher applet. I right clicked on it and selected Quicklaunch Settings. For Number of rows: I chose 2.

At the top of the desktop is a second much thinner panel, which holds the Smooth Tasks taskbar in the center, a timer applet to the right of center, and another single row Quick Launcher at the far right. At the far left is a dictionary applet.

[dougmack]

Reply to OldPolack's input with the picture:  I was looking at the KDE illustration on the PCLINUX page from which you could download the latest version.  It shows a black screen with a clock at the 12 0'clock position, and a gray-colored batch of stuff too small to make
out on the right-hand side of the display.   I remember trying to get rid of it, whatever it was, with no success. This reminds me of
something that a year-ago version of Kubuntu did.  I think I threw the live CD of that away!

Anyway, you seem to have modified the desktop to your liking, and I guess I can do that also, so I'm going to give that latest
version a shot, and hope that it's not slow, like the update on another similar computer (no longer on the air) was.  This laptop
has about the same speed cpu and the same amount of ram--not further expandable.

Running on an older MINT at the moment; interesting how the old Gnome worked.  It's too bad they don't make it any more.

Will report back on my results.  Thanx for the input.  --doug

[ternor]

Thank you, Old-Polack.  Doug, I don't know what you are after but the Quick Launcher and many other widgets are available for an updated 2010 installation.

[dougmack]

I had most of 2010 working, and then I bollixed it up, so I said the heck with it and installed the 2011.9 version,
which is where I am now.  Now I have to set up a lot of stuff.  I already screwed up once:  I accidentally deleted the "Trash" icon from the screen.  How can I get it back?

Thanx to all who have been following and helping.  I hope I'm soon in the clear!

--doug

[ternor]

All I can think of is copying the file from /root/Desktop/ and changing the ownership (both as root).

[Old-Polack]

I had most of 2010 working, and then I bollixed it up, so I said the heck with it and installed the 2011.9 version,
which is where I am now.  Now I have to set up a lot of stuff.  I already screwed up once:  I accidentally deleted the "Trash" icon from the screen.  How can I get it back?

Thanx to all who have been following and helping.  I hope I'm soon in the clear!

--doug

Right click the desktop, Unlock Widgets, then right click again and choose Add Widgets. From the selections offered, scroll to the Trash Can widget and double click it. Close the widget choice ribbon, then lock your widgets again.

[dougmack]

Thank you, Old Polack for the trash info.  I wish there were a manual for this stuff--one with an index!  KDE is surely a mysterious world!  However, I wouldn't trade it for Gnome 2, and certainly not for Gnome 3!

PS:  I'm still using what I think is the first post I got from you--the screen background I call "no_bull".  I found it in
the archives here and installed it again.  Thanx!

--doug