How do you finetune an openSUSE installation?

English Open Chat
1

Because I regularly install openSUSE on different computers from friends/family,
I made a checklist in order not to forget things:

First backup: .mozilla (or export bookmarks) .thunderbird .Skype

openSUSE 11.3

  • perform a default install with KDE4 (20GB for “/”, the rest for “/data”)
    For myself I create four partions with a size of 20 GB so that I can experiment with different distro’s and/or versions.
    So, every version can acces the /data partition. This setup is better than creating separate partions for “/” and “/home”
    because using the same home directory for different distro’s and/or versions will mess up the KDE- and programsettings!
  • switch off update applet
  • run updates
  • reboot
  • set panelheight
  • set digital clock (add date)
  • remove “show widget” from panel
  • add “show desktop” to panel
  • add terminal/console to panel
  • console font: Droid Sans Mono 11, green on black
  • configure Dolphin
  • set launch feedback to 10 sec.
  • set splashscreen
  • create a directory /data/username/Documents, delete ~/Documents, create a symlink instead: ~/Documents -> /data/username/Documents
  • set startdirectory of Dolphin to /data/username
  • personal settings -> about me -> paths: set documents path to /data/username/Documents
  • set kdm theme
  • set kdm theme in yast system etc/sysconfig (for example “circuitblue”)
  • configure bootloader (remove “splash=quiet”, I like to see the system messages during booting without the need to press escape)
  • add users
  • disable apparmor
  • disable firewall (only in case an external router/firewall is used)
  • disable ipv6
  • enable ssh deamon
  • set ntp (to adjust the clock during boot)
  • configure repo’s (Packman, Mozilla)
  • add/update packages: Firefox, win32all, K3B, K3B-codecs, lame, rar, zip, sensors, audacious + plugins + transport http + transport mms, midnight commander, kate, thunderbird
  • set appearance -> workspace -> elegance
  • set analogue clock on desktop
  • set weatherforecast on desktop
  • set klipper history to 1000
  • set personal settings -> appearance -> style -> fine tuning -> graphical effects
  • set firefox preferences (find as you type, remove cookies when closing Firefox)
  • install adblockplus
  • set Thunderbird
  • remove amarok (via Yast -> software management)
  • bind audacious to mp3, ogg, wav file extensions
  • add “rm -rf .macromedia” to ~/.profile (for privacy reasons)
  • set kate font: droid sans mono 10 zandkleur: #f6deb4
  • install printer
  • install scanner
  • install skype (“LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l1compat.so skype”)
  • check microphone level in Skype
  • install Google Earth
2

Hello Teuniz,

I like the idea, but I never do this myself.
The problem for me is that after a fresh install of openSUSE I always forget on or two things.

This is for me the most important thing: Setting the color scheme to Green on black.:stuck_out_tongue:

When do you install drivers for your graphics card?

I also configure Firefox after a fresh install.

  • add “rm -rf .macromedia” to ~/.profile (for privacy reasons)

What I do is run Bleachbit every week.
Not only for privacy reasons but also for disk space.

What I really miss in your list is locking your widgets.
I hate it when those plasmoids move/disappear/resize.

Good luck!:wink: