How do I remove my user and the homefolder?

Reploid · 2008-09-22 14:54:30

Is there anyway to remove my cluttered homefolder, my user, and start over again fresh, without having to do the entire install over again? I have been playing around with both installing games and burning dvds, and I seriously can't find out which files are filling up my home folder.

bwalk · 2008-09-22 15:11:13

Just delete it?

Reploid · 2008-09-22 15:19:16

What about my user, then? Do I have to create its home folder again, manually? What about the groups I am in, and so on? And will deleting all the hidden folders cause any problems for my installed problems, causing the whole shit to crash??

Last edited by Reploid (2008-09-22 15:20:22)

mcmillan · 2008-09-22 16:21:21

Just deleting everything in the user's home folder should reset pretty much anything as if you created a new user. It shouldn't cause any problems with programs running, since if it does it would cause the same problem for any new users you create. You'll just lose any configuration you've done.

If you really want to get rid of the user and start from scratch write down what groups you have (list by typing groups into a cli) and then userdel -r [user] to get rid of the user and the home folder at the same time. Use the command adduser to make a new one.

I can't think of a reason you would need to get rid of the user entirely, but there might be some I can't think of. If you say what you're trying to accomplish we might be able to help more. It may not even be necessary to trash all the folders in the home directory.

Reploid · 2008-09-22 17:19:50

Thanks, mcmillian! I am trying to do two things. 1) free up space, can't find the files that have filled up the last gigs of my /home. 2)Learn how stuff works.

Lord Illidan · 2008-09-22 17:35:10

Are you using Gnome? If so, there is an utility that can show you what files are eating up the space. It's called baobab, (Gnome Disk Usage Analyzer). Not running Arch atm, but I'm sure it is in the repositories, as it's part of gnome standard installation.

Good luck.

ghostHack · 2008-09-22 18:05:44

Reploid wrote:

Thanks, mcmillian! I am trying to do two things. 1) free up space, can't find the files that have filled up the last gigs of my /home. 2)Learn how stuff works.

A common cause of 1) is deleting stuff using a graphical file manager, they usually just move it to trash/wastebasket folder which is in your home area (~/.local/share/Trash) so you don't acually regain the space that you think you should until you empty the wastebasket..

skottish · 2008-09-22 18:14:47

You can check for the top ten biggest memory users in your home directory by running:

du -a * | sort -nr | head -10

It will print both folders or files in them (if the files are on the list of the top ten). This includes hidden files.

Reploid · 2008-09-22 19:16:50

thanks for all helpful tips, most appreciated, but too late... I KILLED THE FOLDER HEHEHEHEH Uhh... how do I get the necessary files back to start gnome with the "reploid" user? I just installed another user now. It seems to me like whenever I create a user, a set of hidden files is automatically generated within the specified home-folder. Am I right? How do I get these back? If I copy the hidden files from my new account, I bet the permissions will be all wrong, and although I can chmod the files to be accessible to all user, I don't know if I can change the files to be only accessible to ANOTHER user...

skottish · 2008-09-22 19:28:51

Recreate the user reploid and the basic structure will reappear.

SamC · 2008-09-22 22:39:51

I think that most of the default files are in /etc/skel, as well.

dav7 · 2008-09-23 00:38:45

And if you're looking for a good utility to tell you what's eating the most diskspace, try 'ncdu' (that's its package name).

It's basically du + ncurses, and works great.

-dav7

Cosay · 2008-09-23 15:35:01

SamC wrote:

I think that most of the default files are in /etc/skel, as well.

That's what I do in my test account. I delete everything inside the home directory and copy the contents of /etc/skel into the home directory. Logout, login, and its like a newly created account.

(This is one thing I really prefer about Unix based systems. Windows' registry seems to makes this kind of thing impossible without actually recreating the user account.)

pgoetz · 2014-03-12 10:26:11

To answer the question directly:

# userdel -r reploid

substituting your username for reploid if it's not that. If you leave off the -r, it won't delete your home directory (however, you won't be able to use it if you don't recreate the account with the same UID).

Please mark this as solved by adding [SOLVED] to the beginning of your posting title.

Awebb · 2014-03-12 13:23:43

First post: 2008-09-22 15:54:30
Last post: 2008-09-23 16:35:01
Your post: 2014-03-12 11:26:11

Good answer, though.

fsckd · 2014-03-12 13:37:08

Forum Etiquette: Old Threads / Necro-Bumping. Closing.

Arch Linux

#1 2008-09-22 14:54:30

How do I remove my user and the homefolder?

#2 2008-09-22 15:11:13

Re: How do I remove my user and the homefolder?

#3 2008-09-22 15:19:16

Re: How do I remove my user and the homefolder?

#4 2008-09-22 16:21:21

Re: How do I remove my user and the homefolder?

#5 2008-09-22 17:19:50

Re: How do I remove my user and the homefolder?

#6 2008-09-22 17:35:10

Re: How do I remove my user and the homefolder?

#7 2008-09-22 18:05:44

Re: How do I remove my user and the homefolder?

#8 2008-09-22 18:14:47

Re: How do I remove my user and the homefolder?

#9 2008-09-22 19:16:50

Re: How do I remove my user and the homefolder?

#10 2008-09-22 19:28:51

Re: How do I remove my user and the homefolder?

#11 2008-09-22 22:39:51

Re: How do I remove my user and the homefolder?

#12 2008-09-23 00:38:45

Re: How do I remove my user and the homefolder?

#13 2008-09-23 15:35:01

Re: How do I remove my user and the homefolder?

#14 2014-03-12 10:26:11

Re: How do I remove my user and the homefolder?

#15 2014-03-12 13:23:43

Re: How do I remove my user and the homefolder?

#16 2014-03-12 13:37:08

Re: How do I remove my user and the homefolder?

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