1

After setting up a new Ubuntu virtual machine guest, I like to take a disk snapshot so that I can restore to a working state in case I break something later on. I'd like to avoid snapshotting unnecessary files, so I always run apt-get clean beforehand.

What else might I be interested in cleaning up before taking the snapshot?

4
  • What are you using the VM for? Does it have a GUI? If yes, are you using it for internet browsing?
    – Lekensteyn
    Jun 7, 2011 at 16:24
  • @Lekensteyn It's for typical desktop use, so I can pull up an unmodified installation when helping out others, and to provide a place to test out experimental configurations without putting my primary installation at risk.
    – ændrük
    Jun 7, 2011 at 16:31
  • 1
    You might want to check the question What files and directories can be excluded from a backup of the home directory?
    – Lekensteyn
    Jun 7, 2011 at 16:54
  • As snapshots will need considerable space you may consider cloning your fresh VM and play with the clone.
    – Takkat
    Jun 7, 2011 at 18:20

2 Answers 2

3

Not sure what cruft there should be on a fresh installation apart from the apt cache. I'd rather concentrate on uninstalling unneeded packages. In synaptic you can sort them by install size.

0

Depending on your programs, but I think that you can pretty much purge everything in /var/cache/ and ~/.cache and also delete your browser's cache or other programs like that.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .