6

Ubuntu checks and installs updates automatically which takes up a lot of space in the system.

Is there a something similar we can do to uninstall deprecated or unused services or libraries so that space will be freed? I install all the updates is it good?

smali
  • 574
  • 1
  • 7
  • 17

2 Answers2

12

From man apt-get:

  • clean (sudo apt-get clean)

    clean clears out the local repository of retrieved package files. It removes everything but the lock file from /var/cache/apt/archives/ and /var/cache/apt/archives/partial/.

  • autoremove (sudo apt-get autoremove)

    autoremove is used to remove packages that were automatically installed to satisfy dependencies for other packages and are now no longer needed.

  • autoclean (sudo apt-get autoclean)

    Like clean, autoclean clears out the local repository of retrieved package files. The difference is that it only removes package files that can no longer be downloaded, and are largely useless. This allows a cache to be maintained over a long period without it growing out of control. The configuration option APT::Clean-Installed will prevent installed packages from being erased if it is set to off.


You can set your choice for update from Software & Updates as following:

screen

Select check box(s) only that you want to get update.


Also Visit this & this for more information.

Hope this helps for maintain.

Pandya
  • 35,771
  • 44
  • 128
  • 188
0

I found This information while searching for Safeness of update. https://superuser.com/questions/163716/is-there-a-restore-point-in-linux-debian-ubuntu-like-windows

I install all the updates is it good?

  • Primarily, Linux distributions are a lot more serious than Microsoft about stable releases being upgraded only to fix important bugs and with minimum changes. For example, with Ubuntu and Debian, you can choose to receive only security updates (-security), or only security updates and important bug fixes (-updates).

    • Kernel upgrades are the riskiest ones, because of the chance that a seemingly beneficial change will cause trouble on a specific hardware configuration. This is why most distributions allow more than one kernel version to be installed at the same time; for example, at the time I'm writing this, Ubuntu 10.04 has three kernel versions available: 2.6.32.21.22 from the original release, 2.6.32.22.23 with security updates, and 2.6.32.23.24 with non-security updates as well. If the ...24 release causes a problem on your computer, you can reboot under ...23 (and even mark the ...24 as forbidden to install, at least if you're using aptitude).

    • There is no registry: all configuration data is in files (in the /etc hierarchy), which can easily be restored individually if something goes wrong. Even then, updates to the stable release rarely affect files under /etc.

    • If you're installing packages from some source other than a stable release, then you may want to keep copies of older versions of packages, and keep backups of your configuration files. Here are a few hints about this in Debian and Ubuntu.

    • Downloaded packages are kept in /var/cache/apt/archives. If you have the disk space, just don't delete old package files until you've confirmed the newer version works for you.
    • Many sources keep older versions, so you can downgrade easily (either by downloading and installing an older version manually, or by using apt preferences). For Debian, look at snapshot.debian.org.
    • There is a very easy way to set up version control over /etc: install the etckeeper package and activate it with the command etckeeper init. (I do it, but not because I'm worried about upgrades breaking something, rather because I'm worried about my changes breaking something.)
smali
  • 574
  • 1
  • 7
  • 17