Any re-installation tips?

[Gort]

Hi All

I am having an issue that I can't stand and the problem isn't going away. I posted this issue here:

http://linuxmint.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=21854

I think the easiest way to fix it is to re-install. Is the a way to store all of the packages that I installed in a file and read them back into the Package Manager. Also, should I just tar /etc/apt/ and untar it to get my repositories back?

Thanks

[herman]

You can make a backup copy of your /etc/apt/sources.lst file, and use the same file again in your new installation if you want to keep the same repositories.

The software packages we download from the repositories are stored in /var/cache/apt/archives, in compressed files with a .deb filename extension.
You can make a backup of all of those .deb files you have now and copy them to the /var/cache/apt/archives/ of your new installation. Then you will be able to re-install the same software again as you have now, but it will be much faster since you won't need to wait for the .deb files to re-download from the internet. They'll be there in your /var/cache/apt/archives/ already.

[Gort]

Thanks, restoring "/var/cache/apt/archives/" is a great tip. It will save a bunch of time. I will be re-installing on the weekend.

Thanks