[Techtalk] I have broken my Libranet :(

[aesop at fables.co.za]

Hello,

First, hello, since I am new here although I had subscribed a few years back.

I have been running Debian-based Libranet 2.8 for past year or so. I intended to update a package  via Synaptics but .....

I got a huge download, like maybe all of the main, 2 hours on adsl. I was scared to cancel in the middle of this.

In the following config operations there were several packages that gave me the option of retaining the existing .config or using the one included by the package maintainer. Foolishly (?) I chose the latter.

Where we are at now, is that when I choose (in Grub dual boot options) to go into Libranet I only get a terminal. I have to do 
$: startx to get into the (wrong) window (Ice).

I want to get back to the default Libranet GUI operation. I just don't know how this works. Can anyone please put me on the right track as to what happens after grub and what may have been broken. I've looked, but maybe what I want is not there any more.

As an alternative, I thought about a basic reinstall. This is a debian install, and I can get to where I see the existing partitions. If I select 'Write' with the existing partitions on view, will I lose existing data?  I seem to remember resizing partitions with existing data in before the original install (shrinking win partition, maybe with parted) and losing nothing. Otherwise I can't get past the partition stage.

Any ideas or help appreciated, thanks

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Anne Wainwright