44
submitted 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) by Dort_Owl@hexbear.net to c/libre@hexbear.net

I'm guessing yes, that you have to make a back up of all your files etc. But I figured I'd ask anyway, just in case.

To anyone who's done it, how do you prepare when you change distro?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] segfault11@hexbear.net 5 points 4 days ago

personally i just go ahead and nuke everything since it's easier lol, all my really important stuff is backed up to cryptomated cloud storage and everything else i can download again since it's all free/pirated/"owned" software and videos

i feel like some people actually do make scripts to back up all their config files and whatever, at a minimum you might want to copy your home folder to a USB drive and manually look through it to restore the files you want after installing the new distro

this post was submitted on 02 Feb 2026
44 points (100.0% liked)

libre

10146 readers
4 users here now

Welcome to libre

A comm dedicated to the fight for free software with an anti-capitalist perspective.

The struggle for libre computing cannot be disentangled from other forms of socialist reform. One must be willing to reject proprietary software as fiercely as they would reject capitalism. Luckily, we are not alone.

libretion

Resources

  1. Free Software, Free Society provides an excellent primer in the origins and theory around free software and the GNU Project, the pioneers of the Free Software Movement.
  2. Switch to GNU/Linux! If you're still using Windows in $CURRENT_YEAR, take Linux Mint for a spin. If you're ready to take the plunge, flock to Fedora! If you're a computer hobbyist and love DIY, use Arch, Gentoo, Guix or the many, many offerings out there.

Rules

  1. Be on topic: Posts should be about free software and other hacktivst struggles. Topics about general tech news should be in the technology comm or programming comm. That doesn't mean all posts have to be serious though, memes are welcome!
  2. Avoid using misleading terms/speading misinformation: Here's a great article about what those words are. In short, try to avoid parroting common Techbro lingo and topics.
  3. Avoid being confrontational: People are in different stages of liberating their computing, focus on informing rather than accusing. Debatebro nonsense is not tolerated.
  4. All site-wide rules still apply

Artwork

founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS