Everytime after you have reformatted the hard disk and reinstalled the Linux distro of your choice, the one troublesome thing that you need to do is to re-download all your applications and restore all the settings. This is made worst when your wireless connection just don’t work with the newly installed distro. How are you going to download all your applications when you can’t even connect to the Internet?

APTonCD aims to solve this problem by backing up all your packages into a Cd/DVD. You can then install your applications right from the CD/DVD. If you want to save up on CD, you can even store the data as an iso file and restore your system right from the ISO file.

Here’s how it is done:

Install APTonCD

you can also install it via the Synaptic Package Manager.

Go to “System -> Adminstration -> APTonCD”

Backing up package

Click the Create button.

APTonCD will then scan your system for all the package that you have downloaded/installed previously.

When it is done scanning, you can then select the package that you want to backup. Click Burn to start the backup process.

Enter the destination to store the image. Depending on the size of the file, you might need to choose DVD instead of CD.

When it is done, it will prompt you to burn into a CD/DVD. Click Cancel if you only want to store it as an ISO file.

This is all you need to do for the backing up process.

Restoring the package

To restore the package (assuming you have created the CD media), simply pop in the CD/DVD. Your computer will scan the disc and prompt up a window asking if you want to restore the package. Click Yes. Once that’s done, you will be able to install applications from the Synaptic Package Manager (or apt-get) without Internet connection.

Damien Oh started writing tech articles since 2007 and has over 10 years of experience in the tech industry. He is proficient in Windows, Linux, Mac, Android and iOS, and worked as a part time WordPress Developer. He is currently the owner and Editor-in-Chief of Make Tech Easier.

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