[SATLUG] internet and updating

[Don Wright]

On Monday 02 October 2006 07:37, Chris Lemire wrote:
> I destroyed Debian Etch on my computer trying to install XGL. Now I 
need to update everything to try to fix the problem, but I have no 
internet, and I do not know what packages I need.

Additional thoughts:
You might be able to boot into init 1 maintenance mode and delete the X 
configuration files so it no longer attempts graphics mode on startup. 
This might let you use existing tools like aptitude to reinstall the 
standard desktop. If you still have no network, I think it's hosed 
enough for reinstall.

The Debian Installer does not rebuild in-place, so you'll have to format 
your root, /etc, and most other directories. Preferred practice when 
upgrading/reinstalling is to tar the whole thing and stick it somewhere 
safely out of the way, then copy back only what you must.

If you have a separate /home partition, you can leave that as-is during 
the install. Select Manual Partitioning to preserve this data. If you 
don't have one, use GParted to shrink an existing partition and create 
one, then mount your old root and copy selected data to the new /home. 
This assumes the problem with your system is not related to the user 
config files stored in your home directory. You can use the same idea 
to create an archive partition to store the tarball while rebuilding 
your main partitions.

Enjoy the experience! For most of us, installing Linux is a rare 
event.  --Don