>have reinstalled debian 4 times in the past week over basic shit
>system was completely functional
>now i want to reinstall it again because i moved my wallpaper to a different location and when i rebooted it had a generic placeholder one
>didnt even break anything
How the frick do I cure myself of this illness? It's genuinely taxing because I spend at least 10 hours a week reinstalling and configuring stuff. I know it's stupid but I can't help myself.
literally install gentoo
I'm not experienced enough for that.
I feel like when the system added the placeholder one I somehow broke something deep within the OS files. I switched it back but I don't feel better.
I don't want to but I have this feeling in my head that's telling me I need to.
you could set up a window manager, do more things manually? like setting the wallpaper with feh under your .xinitrc instead of having it be managed by a desktop environment.
That's true. Do you have any ideas for what WM I should use? I tried Openbox when I was using a Raspberry Pi a few years ago, but ended up switching back because I like DEs more.
That's what I do too. First I read the text out loud two times, then say it in my head two times. Process takes about 10 seconds depending on what it is. Hate it.
I take Risperidone already for autism.
>Do you have any ideas for what WM I should use?
idk, it's up to you. maybe icewm and find a decent looking theme? or hyprland, i3/sway, qtile if you're willing to try a tiling wm. for me, dwm is bliss, but it's configured through a C header. it's not that difficult tbh, but it can be a bit tricky if you don't know what you're doing. but once you're done, you just compile and have your own fork, and you don't have to worry about configuration.
>That's what I do too. First I read the text out loud two times, then say it in my head two times. Process takes about 10 seconds depending on what it is. Hate it.
Yeah it sucks
Worst part is when your done checking everything and then dont find the button to close the menu and then you get worried you accidentally messed with the settings and check it again
>I take Risperidone already for autism.
There's your problem. Taking pharmaceutical drugs is a bandaid fix that makes things worse in the end.
Why in the frick would you re-install instead of just fixing the problem you encounter?
>I feel like when the system added the placeholder one I somehow broke something deep within the OS files. I switched it back but I don't feel better.
That's psychotic, that's not how it works.
>That's what I do too. First I read the text out loud two times, then say it in my head two times. Process takes about 10 seconds depending on what it is. Hate it.
Oh, I see you're actually deranged, got it.
So you should try to force yourself to maintain a single install.
It might help to either put all your config files in git, or put your home directory on something like ZFS where you can take periodic snapshots, and then you can look back and compare the filesystem state. OpenSUSE has a utility called snapper that does this for btrfs, and it take's snapshots before major package changes/updates so if something get's fricked it's easy to revert.
Smaller stuff like the wallpaper are going to be in your home configs though so you would need to manage those snapshots yourself.
Try to realize that small system configuration changes like the wallpaper are just a line in a config file on linux. It's not deeply intrinsic and intertwined in the OS like windows or mac. Your desktop manager is just a program. When something is off, it's not broken it's a misconfiguration. Misconfiguration can be fixed without re-imaging the system.
It's at least easy to see configuration changes on a Linux system by looking at file system differences. So if you learn to use the tools a bit better maybe you can convince your brain to stop freaking out about stuff.
Good luck anon.
Then just choose not do and deal with being uncomfortable for a while and you'll get used to it.
Why not just.. change the wallpaper
yes. you want to reinstall your system. you NEED to reinstall your system. GIVE IN, ANON.
macOS doesn't have this problem
> made for morons
exactly. just shit by default. no way to configure that.
i have this too. Am diagnosed with ocd and configuring stuff is hell. I always have to stare at the setting and convince myself its properly configured and i didnt accidentally click it
This sounds like genuine paranoid delusional thinking bordering on schizophrenia.
Seek help op
It's literally OCD, but IQfy believes only Autism and Schizophrenia exist.
I really don't want to recommend Nix, but this may be one valid (albeit moronic) use case. and put your config files in a git repo or something.
also maybe Guix is better, but I can't vouch for it. at least Scheme is nice.
>How the frick do I cure myself of this illness?
stop using computers
Try to focus your energy into maintaining your current install, or something else entirely. At least make a repo with your configs so you can download and apply it quickly.
I have this but it's not as bad as the wallpaper changing when you move the wallpaper file (wtf do you expect). I get it when shit like NVIDIA drivers frick up and I need to use a different version, I'd rather install fresh with the other version than attempt to switch on the existing install.
Cute pige
based vegan
I'm not vegan, I love pork but I think piges are cute too.
severe OCD is indicative of demonic possession / influence. something else in your life is broken or hurting you. fix that first. then slowly force yourself to not give in to your OCD.
the reinstooller
>"ah I accidentally pulled a dependency I didn't need. the system is dirty! I must...reinstooll!"
>reinstools on any bug they see on their system
>drives write cycles are nearly exhausted from all the reinstooling
>begs others for help on how to stop, then reinstools
>Because I feel like I've made the system "dirty" and performance will be poor as a result. Yes, that doesn't make sense. It's like I know it's moronic but some low-level subsystem is forcing me to do it anyway.
>I'm going to see if I can make the install process easier so it's less painful. This is really stupid, but could I set up my system and then make an exact image of it on a USB drive? I'd probably need some utility to copy files/do whatever as well. USB drives are unreliable but I'm thinking about having 2 backups as well as the main one.
Did you read my post? Snapshots are a point in time copy. It restores the system to the same state, it's simpler and more elegant than a copy on a USB or something of the like.
> It's like I know it's moronic but some low-level subsystem is forcing me to do it anyway.
If you want to get better you _must_ not give into your lizard-brain's demands.
You have to catch thought processes and correct it. DO NOT appease the thing inside you that is insisting on doing something irrational. This will only make your afflictions worse. You should seek out a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) trained counselor/therapist.
Drugs are not enough you must correct the thought processes. Doing things to make the irrational actions easier will make you more sick. You don't want that. You must pull the affliction out at the roots, it will be difficult. But it can be done. Finding a good therapist is critical, and sadly often difficult. You can find information online about CBT. That will get you some of the way.
Right now you are fighting a battle on your enemy's terms. You're accepting the frame of your feelings. It "feels" dirty, It's not. You know this to be true. You must view the feeling as it is: Just a feeling. It does not reflect reality. You know this to be true and you must insist on it. CBT will give you tools to fight the mental distortions that are plaguing your psyche.
Good luck anon.
Install arch and that way you would see the futility of a full os reinstall.
Or go with nixos and a full reinstall will take you 1 minute.
Diagnosis: tinkertroony
Cure: install deb-
switch to an os that doesn't lend to tinkertrannism like MacOS, chromeos