System Tools

[anonprivate]

When I used Windows, I had access to certain tools for system maintenance, for example, removing unwanted files, temporary files, and maintaining the cache. In addition, a Defrag utility would maintain the hard disk.

Are there such utilities available for Kubuntu?

Thanks

[Rog132]

Cleaning

KDE tool: Sweeper

:~$ apt-cache show sweeper
Package: sweeper
Priority: optional
Section: universe/utils
...
Description: history and temporary file cleaner
Sweeper can quickly remove temporary information, such as web page cookies,
browser history, or the list of recently-opened documents. It helps provide
additional privacy on a system shared between multiple users.
.
This package is part of the KDE SC utilities module.

Homepage: http://www.kde.org/
Bugs: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+filebug
Origin: Ubuntu
Task: kubuntu-full, kubuntu-active-full

More KDE Utilities: https://utils.kde.org

5 of the Best Free Linux System Cleaning Tools: http://www.linuxlinks.com/article/20...mCleaning.html

[Rog132]

Defrag

Usually you don't need to but if you want to (ext4): http://askubuntu.com/questions/22107...disk-type-ext4

[claydoh]

Defrag is not needed, so the tools to do so are few and far between.

As Linux is not Windows, I am sure these type of activities are a bit different in terms of how they are done. Mostly they are command line tools , and often custom scripts to automate the tasks.

However, a tool that seems popular is bleachbit, which is a gui tool that can perform the things you may be looking to do.


Personally, for desktop use, there really isn't a lot of maintenance to do, to be honest. I remember it being difficult for me to *not* have to fiddle and tweak things so when I first dove into Linux.
Luckily, we get to choose what and how to do it

[anonprivate]

Thank you.

I'll have a look at the tools, although i appears that they are not needed.

I haven't yet got used to not doing the work that I used to do in Windows. I am surprised that maintenance is not needed, Linux is not Windows, but it is an OS - to my knowledge it does not self-maintain.

Best wishes.

A

[Al1000]

I've only been using Linux for a few months, but have not found that I need to do any maintenance, although I run the command:

sudo apt-get clean && sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

...now and again, to get all of the available updates and upgrades for all of the software on my computer. I have noticed that Klipper and Konsole history only store a limited number of entries, so old ones are automatically deleted, and I wouldn't be surprised to find that the same happens with other such history files.

The only other thing I do with any regularity is delete temporary internet files, by utilising the menus in the browsers themselves, just like I used to do with Windows; which must surely be a quicker and more efficient way of doing so compared to running an application to do the same job.

The first Linux OS I installed was Ubuntu 12.04, and one of the first applications I installed to it was clam-av anti-virus software. Then when I discovered Linux Puppy shortly after that, and decided to start using it as well, one of the first things I did with it was find out about and install some anti-virus software to it too.

It seems to take a while to stop thinking of a Linux OS as being like a Windows OS, until you get used to the advantages over Windows that Linux has.

[oshunluvr]

One of the great things about linux - maybe the greatest - is you can configure and control almost every part of the system.

For example, the easiest way IMO to "manage" temp files is to simply use RAM for temp. Then at every reboot temp is cleared. Adding this to /etc/fstab will make this happen:

#TMPFS in RAM
tmpfs /tmp tmpfs noatime,mode=1777,size=16G 0 0

The size option is not needed. The default is half RAM size. You can increase it's size at the risk of swapping, but if it's too small, some operations might fail if TMP is full. That doesn't happen often though.
The only "cache" cleaning I'm aware of is for apt-get. If you use the command line to update/upgrade;

sudo apt-get clean

does the trick. You could easily add this command as a cron job if you're really worried about space. Issuing this command will show you how much drive space apt is using for cached files:

du -sh /var/cache/apt/archives/

It's usually only a few 100MB. I think it must be cleared automatically at some point by most package managers, but I'm not 100% sure.

Finally, I'm not actually sure what you mean by "unwanted" files. fslint can find duplicated files. Digikam has a dup photo tool also.

[anonprivate]

The first Linux OS I installed was Ubuntu 12.04, and one of the first applications I installed to it was clam-av anti-virus software. Then when I discovered Linux Puppy shortly after that, and decided to start using it as well, one of the first things I did with it was find out about and install some anti-virus software to it too.

A couple of points. I note that you installed an AV programme. did you find it necessary?

I see that installed two Linux systems - did you need both?

Best wishes.

A

[SteveRiley]

As anonprivate intimates in the question, client-side anti-malware utilities are generally not needed on Linux desktops.

[claydoh]

A couple of points. I note that you installed an AV programme. did you find it necessary?

I see that installed two Linux systems - did you need both?

Best wishes.

A

Hehe at one point back in the day (2000 to 2002), I had 6 OSs installed on 2 hard drives: Windows, BeOS, Mandrake, ELX, Redmondlinux (nee Lycoris), and some other long forgotten distro. Of course I needed them all, so I could find out which 2 or 3 I wanted to run as primary OSs

As to AV software, the use of it more or less is determined by:

• if you have a large number of files transferring back and forth between you and Windows machines/users, and you want to help them
• You simply wish to run it

[anonprivate]

Of course I needed them all, so I could find out which 2 or 3 I wanted to run as primary OSs

Isn't one enough.

I can understand why someone who, say, plays a lot of games wanting to use Windows for this purpose, while preferring Linux for all other uses, or a similar scenario, but otherwise!

I know, Your second point above, they simply want to

[vinnywright]

Isn't one enough.

that would depend on what you like to do .............

@hear I have 3 OS's (all kubuntu) in this HP-G62 12.04 , 13.10 , 14,04 at the moment.

it started with 11.04 ,,,,,,,and has had all the releces in between at one time or another .

1 will be the main OS wile I test the next beta and mabe 1 other OS ,,,,,,,, the only reason I dont have Kubuntu-14.10 right now is because this laptop is going to be retired next week and given to my son when I get my System76 Bonobo Extreme .

this box is partitioned as folows to make testing more than 1 OS easy.

vinny@vinnys-HP-G62:~$ sudo parted -l 
[sudo] password for vinny: 
Model: ATA WDC WD5000BEVT-6 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 500GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos

Number  Start   End     Size    Type      File system     Flags
 1      32.3kB  4195MB  4195MB  primary   linux-swap(v1)
 2      4195MB  26.0GB  21.8GB  primary   ext4            boot
 3      26.0GB  237GB   210GB   primary   ext4
 4      237GB   500GB   264GB   extended
 5      237GB   268GB   31.6GB  logical   ext3
 6      268GB   300GB   32.0GB  logical   ext4
 7      300GB   500GB   200GB   logical   ext4

2=kubuntu-12.04
3=kubuntu-12.04's /home/vinny
5=kubuntu-13.10
6=kubuntu-14.04
7=storage

after 12.04 I quit having a separate /home partition and just started linking all the basic /home directory’s (Documents,Music,Videos,Downloads,ect,ect) to their counter parts in the storage partition .

12.04's Grub is used for booting all this as on a new install I have grub put in the install partition not /sda ,,,,,,,,,,,,

VINNY

[claydoh]

Isn't one enough.

I can understand why someone who, say, plays a lot of games wanting to use Windows for this purpose, while preferring Linux for all other uses, or a similar scenario, but otherwise!

I know, Your second point above, they simply want to

One is enough for me, usually nowadays. I haven't used Windows at home since 2002, But how I decided on Linux, BeOS, or Windows meant using each one. Of course we have virtual machines now that make this a lot easier. With so many different ways of doing things in Linux, it is worth checking a few different ones out to see which fits. Each major "brand" has enough differences to matter, but not enough to make it overly difficult to move from one to another, I think.









I still miss BeOS, I do. That was fun.

[Al1000]

A couple of points. I note that you installed an AV programme. did you find it necessary?

It was more out of being used to having anti-virus software than anything else.

I see that installed two Linux systems - did you need both?

Best wishes.

A

I currently have 5 installations on two computers. I use Kubuntu 14.04 on my desktop pc for just about everything that I do on it; XP for a few games that I rarely play, and Precise Puppy 5.7.1 more out of curiosity than anything else.

My laptop is old and only has 768MB of RAM (with less than 700MB remaining after what the computer reserves for graphics), and dual boots with Kubuntu 12.04 and Lucid Puppy 5.2.8.6. Kubuntu by itself uses around 280 - 290MB of RAM, while Lucid uses only 75 - 80MB, so while I prefer Kubuntu and have it set to boot by default (if I don't select Lucid on the boot menu), I use Lucid for resource intensive things like downloading videos from project-free.tv with the Flashgot Firefox add-on, and also playing videos on full-screen, because the Lucid specific version of vlc media player that's available in its Package Manager is the only media player I have found that will play videos full screen smoothly on this laptop.

So apart from Precise Puppy on my desktop pc, all of my operating systems have a purpose.