Why is it difficult for a non-tchnical person to EITHER repair or uninstall UBUNTU?

Make your procedures user-friendly.

Did you try just installing it from your CD into your existing partition? I haven't tried this, but I suspect that you can do it.

"installing it from your CD into your existing partition?" This won't be
possible because the Ubuntu installer Ubiquity removes everything and then
installs Ubuntu. This is one of the operations currently being worked on in
the community but it still needs more time to be completed and implemented.

--
Regards,
Vikram Dhillon

On Saturday 21 November 2009 04:15:23 pm VanillaMozilla wrote:
> Question #90704 on gnome-terminal in ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-terminal/+question/90704
>
> Status: Open => Answered
>
> VanillaMozilla proposed the following answer:
> Did you try just installing it from your CD into your existing
> partition? I haven't tried this, but I suspect that you can do it.
>

Ron,

It is entirely possible to create your Microsoft Windows/Dell OEM bootable recovery CD/DVD's you simply need to follow the instructions specific to your manufacturer or brand. A quick search on google should elude an effective solution, or reading the documentation/software that came with your system at time of purchase. And if I may add is an essential and important first step you should be doing with any OEM builds that do not provide you with bootable optical media. Sure we could go into a rant about why they do it, but it won't change their behaviour. If you don't like this concept, then you should choose or demand 'at time of purchase' your rights or requirements and not settle for something less. Regardless this hasn't anything to do with your question, but I wanted to mention this since I feel it's important for everyone on the planet to understand that if we all chose NOT to buy systems like this, then the manufactures would change their habits. Unfortunately not enough complain or choose to purchase their systems wisely.

Now, "Repairing" or "Uninstalling" is not technical, but really doesn't make much sense. Unlike Windows, Ubuntu does not offer a 'repair' option since it doesn't suffer from the same type of system operational issues. It does however have it's own unique issues as you will likely uncover should you continue to use Ubuntu or other various Linux distro's.

As for the rest of your comments about your frustration is not unique, but I can only respond by saying that Ubuntu is already at the bottom looking up, and the road is getting wider and less steep every day. Sure some folks cannot open their minds to accepting that Ubuntu is different but that isn't a dead end. Besides we are not here to feed you propaganda, we are here to answer your questions. So without further adieu, let me offer my answer.

If you installed Ubuntu the normal way (via a desktop CD you downloaded and burned), to Uninstall is a simple 'format of the hard disk' By formatting it you effectively eliminate the filesystem and everything stored on it. In many cases you could simply choose to install some other OS and let it take care of the formatting during it's normal installation procedure. Of course you should backup any important data first. If you installed it as a dual-boot scenario then good care should be taken that you format the 'correct' partition in order not to affect any other OS's on your hard disk. Of course everyone who cares would suggest that ANYTIME you undertake such an operation you should do proper and effective backups to ensure you do not lose anything important, and I care enough to suggest you should be doing this. Of course I'd never suggest dual-booting for a non-technical user, or someone who isn't considerate of the challenges for doing so.

Repairing is a simple but involved matter of first explaining what needs repair. Ubuntu, like many Linux distro's, have great logging capabilities and error generation that can be provided to the great volunteer network here on launchpad to get assistance and find solutions. Comparing this with Windows simply cannot be done since many of the details are not privy to many windows enthusiasts and in many cases you may need to seek out a trained professional. You also have the same option with Linux but it isn't the necessity as it can be with Windows.

I think you are looking for what we (here where I work) quaintly call a 'time machine' that simply reverts the machine to a previous state. Many of us call these 'image-based' backups. Before you make drastic changes to a machine, you take a complete image of the hard disk, so that if something goes really really wrong, you simply restore the image and be done. Again, this is part of some folks backup processes, but we know many users are not known for doing backups before making drastic changes to their machines even though for decades it's constantly hammered home.

As for user-friendliness, I was watching a TV show about computers back in the '70's when 'technical types' had to make their hardware from kits, or even write the software to do what they wanted, and many of these 'pathfinders' described that many 'system administrators' in the big corporate world who were almost 'godlike' to some of these early enthusiasts. But these 'gods' had come to the conclusion that they should be 'users' and not worrying about the low-level interactions inside their systems since they needed to get work done and ensure the systems just did what they needed. I think this is very wise of them to understand that not everyone wants to build their own computer, some folks just want to use them. So I suggest you should give this some consideration. I know the path isn't very clear, but if you ask I'm sure someone could install Ubuntu on a system for your without too much fanfare, and if you want you could even question them to learn the process. Many Linux User Groups are very helpful and you should give it some consideration.

Sometimes the road isn't very clear without a light shining the way for us. Especially when we are alone on the road less traveled.

Best wishes and good luck!