I had installed Knoppix 3.2 on my machine. After doing apt-get update, some 60 - 70 mb worth of .debs had been downloaded and then installed on my machine.
Now, the hdd has developed bad sectors. As the hdd is still within the warranty period, I have to return it to the vendor for testing which will destroy all my data on the hdd.
the .debs have been saved on the hdd somewhere in /var/... (I don't remember the exact location -- I am not at that machine).
my question is:
If I back up these .deb files, will I be able to reuse them after I reinstall knoppix ? if so, how ?
What other files do I need to backup ?
What is the best way to get a working debian install on my machine with all the latest goodies like in knoppix ? (I mean the latest kde for eg, which in woody, even after upgrading via the net gives me kde 2.1.2 which is ancient :( )
I read somewhere that this is best done by installing just a base system from woody and then upgrading the base system to testing or unstable. I can't find this reference now so, any pointers are welcome.
I am a newbie to debian.
thanks,
Sharukh.