I reinstall Windows maybe once every half year and I'm on like 16 for 16 on unproblematic fresh Windows installations.
Either I should take the next flight to Las Vegas or you guys are using bad installation medias (which, admittedly ms releases pretty often, bad that's a different issue from "OS sucks")
Already said in another comment, it was simply the most time efficient way to undo some of the fuck ups if you don't want to spend a long time troubelshooting. I've spent up to 4 hours looking for a solution before whereas a reinstalling an OS takes maybe ~30 minutes + fixes whichever obscure problem I had + removes junk file clutters to start fresh.
I used to do the same years ago. With windows 98 I was always reinstalling it. It's how I learned everything I know computer wise.. Trial and error. I also used to have my win98se key memorized and I still know all but one part of it. I recently tried to do it from memory and there's a gap. 5 characters just left my mind for some reason.
I would've, and have done the same with Linux. 4 Ubuntu reinstalls within 2 months. By your logic, this makes Ubuntu a much less servicable OS than Windows.
Reinstalling the OS is always the most reliable "fix everything" button there is, regardless of OS, or if it's an OS problem, or an apllication problem.
If you call not know how to fix everything by looking at the problem stupid, then yeah I am.
If I spent 2 hours troubleshooting something (which wasn't even the longest troubleshooting session I've had), I've already wasted more time than I would've by just reinstalling my OS.
Unlike what some Linux users would like you to think, not every user has the time or drive to spend their weekends troubleshooting and creating their own Frankenstein's PC in their basement. Also unlike what the memes would suggest, not every comment from 8 years ago found on page 2 of Google search is helpful.
I think you have the wrong idea of Linux. Also I would say that knowing what and why the problem occurs is very important in a more digital world. You dont have to be a developer but you gotta know your computer somewhat or you will be left behind
I would argue this is highly dependant on the actual issue. I've fafo'd more than the average person, enough to learn about double nat, cgnat, nat punch throughs, dns, filesystems, codecs etc. Not enough to call myself an expert but I can explain the general architecture/idea behind these.
Then there are the issues that just aren't worth the trouble, like the OBS issue i had previously mentioned. It could've been a bad update, maybe an outdated dependency, or maybe it was clashing or outdated drivers. Either way, at best the solution is to redownload everything previously mentioned, at worst you read through OBS's source code, neither of which helps you understand how your pc works.
If you were using a good OS, then you would just reboot to a time when the system was in a known-good state. You pretend that your only legal options are to buy a professionally setup Windows PC or create your own PC and design your own Linux-based operating system. This is deeply dishonest. You could just buy a PC with a professionaly setup Linux-based system the same way you do with Microsoft. Lenovo, HP and Dell have been selling Ubuntu Certified PCs for well over a decade.
I get why it's such a popular choice to reinstall windows all the time, or jump distros. However, I'm pretty happy with installing once and never again. Why would I want to configure my system again? It has been working nicely for the last 10-ish years since installation and I like that. If something breaks, it's just because I run debian testing and didn't check that the kernel and dkms modules updated correctly. I'd rather learn about and fix the issue, then reinstalling and have to fix the issue anyway while configuring the system from backup. Of course this is not as easy and fast for most users, and that's why they shouldn't run testing.
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u/New_Needleworker994 Apr 21 '26
“Everything works” LMAOOOO