Some questions from an Ubuntu user

Since I also hate it when something interrupts my work, and therefore also tested different distributions, it boils down to the following for me:

  1. Updates only at the end of the day’s work, when you want to shut down the system. I save all results to USB anyway; in my job that works. I also use laptops set up in parallel (nothing special), so it can always go on.
  2. Timeshift is helpful. I haven’t had to use it yet, by the way.
  3. I avoid changing the default settings; only very little.
  4. After updates (at the end of the day): reboot to test.

Something can happen with really all systems, whether Windows, Ubuntu, etc., let’s not kid ourselves. I have had problems with some. I get along well with Manjaro. Very stable.

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I’'m a bit late to the party, but Ubuntu usually has multiple kernels, depending on how often you flush them, at least 3.

Sure it’s not quite the same as Manjaro, where you have the option of installing an LTS Kernel (usually the default) plus some other Kernel, like a an experimental or a real time kernel.

On Linux Mint you can actually install additional kernels in a manner similar to Manjaro.

It’s not a big deal, and it is your choice.

As for stability, I got told off for posting about how stable my systems (multiple computers running Manjaro) are after each update… and i use my KDE install for development.

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This is the best system in the world, I am very grateful to the creators and everyone who supports it.KDE is an excellent shell that develops perfectly, it is already a whole multimedia center. Stability and convenience at a premium, for everything else there is Timeshift)

“Fear of doing something stupid” is normal.

Tutorial:

  1. Set up Snapshots (hourly is nice)
  2. Set up Backups (up to you - minimum daily refresh)

You don’t always have to build yourself - the AUR takes care of a lot of it. You can also check your pkgfiles before executing any build.

For sure, Manjaro gives you a lot. Over the years you pick up a lot of little tricks - and switching from Debian means there’s gonna be more (like not being able to run dpkg to get HDDTEMP working with conky…).

I do like KDE, but for stability I’d say try out XFCE, but if you’re comfortable with Gnome that might be a little bit too lean on features.

Basic system is very stable for me - barring the odd snapshot rewind - and I much prefer a regular rolling update to the huge delay and annual distribution upgrades.

BTRFS is sweet for snapshots for sure.

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I have the same OS install since 7,5 year. This should tell you how stable Manjaro can be if maintained right. It doesn’t require a lot of your time either.

Basically, you need to have backup of your system (timeshift) on an external drive plus backup of your home files (grsync).

Most serious issues that you may come across happening are rare, but mostly have solution on this forum. Just read the Announcement section. Usually you need to downgrade some package or roll-back (with backup) your system and wait a few more days to get a fix and apply the update again.

You need to also know how chrooting on Manjaro works, so you could do some fixes when system is not launching at all.

Have at least two kernels. This is a must. In 7,5 years this saved me only 2 times, so it’s extremely rare, but still can happen. It’s a good precaution that costs only some extra space.

To get the newest stuff and have better AUR compatibility, I use testing branch. I recommend switching to it after a year or two, when you know your system and how Manajro works well. If some AUR packages misbehave, you can always fall back to snaps or flatpacks.

Do a maintenance once in a while (once for two months is enough):

  • check your pacnew files for config updates, I use for it pacnew-chaser (AUR) with Meld to overview the changes and merge new lines of configs
  • remove orphaned files or mark them as installed directly if necessary (pamac will show you which packages are orphaned)
  • check your AUR packages and see if some previous repor packages didn’t move to AUR, if they did, it’s safe to assume you should remove them.

Additionally, create a test, default user, so when you encounter some troubles, you could check if it happens on default user as well, or not. It will tell you if the issue is with configs or not.

That’s about all in a nutshell.

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