Use Virtual Box to delete the Linux Mint installation and start fresh.
Use Virtual Box to delete the Linux Mint installation and start fresh.
Take snapshots/checkpoints. Restore backups and reinstall the OS.
Linux lacks a direct equivalent to Windows' wipe-and-reload feature, but you can restore data using recovery options or backups.
Consider using the existing setup or a virtual machine to experiment and verify before installing on your main system. A secondary drive containing important data is a good idea, so you can safely reinstall without affecting the primary drive. This approach is faster since a reinstallation is typically quicker than troubleshooting on the host.
Previous steps involved moving /home to another partition or disk. After that, you can reinstall the system while keeping /home intact. However, you need to adjust the advanced partitioning settings during setup. I haven't done this in many years; back then, all distributions offered advanced partitioning as the sole choice, so I had to use it. Alternatively, you can back up /home, reinstall, and then restore your files. Ensure backup and restore settings operate at the folder level or display hidden files to avoid losing configuration files. Regarding snapshots, they aren't ideal for backups. VMware snapshots begin recording changes to a separate file that expands over time with system updates. At our scale, we retain snapshots for just three days due to storage concerns. If you need a fresh copy, duplicate the disk and store it post-installation. Ultimately, neither snapshots nor a full disk backup preserves your data while maintaining system state—unless you're willing to ignore your information. In that case, simply reinstalling is usually quicker and simpler.