that is a lot of weird stuff in a clean install

By basd on Apr 8, 2009 | In kde4, linux, opensuse

I've been surprised at how many strange behaviors I have in my "clean install" of OpenSUSE 11.1 linux.

...

1. Encrypted /home directory does not mount properly, requiring login to root and remount of /home in order to get to user account.

2. /windows/C does not mount properly, requiring unmount and mount to make it accessible.

3. OpenOffice will not save or pdf print to a number of directories.

4. pppd doesn't properly update my DNS entries when I tether the Blackberry.

These are all new problems that did not exist prior to my new clean install.

OTOH, KDE4 has in fact improved. The kde4 Networking applet/widget has disappeared, but therefore networking is working nicely, using the kde3 applet. I now have three panels, with lots of icons and five desktop widgets. With all this, plasma has not messed any of it up, as would have happened pre-clean-install.

Unfortunately, it looks as though I will have to limp along with a few weird idiosyncrasies for some time, using rube-goldberg workarounds. Then, I'll have to do another clean install -- but how will I know when a new install will be worth the bother of doing it? As in, "will fix this stuff." Because, my experience is these are not the sorts of problems that will go away with updates.

In fact, some of the problems that went away when I re-installed actually WERE the sorts of things I expected to go away via updates.

I do not like doing clean installs. It's a lot of trouble.

Sheesh.