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#1 2008-07-24 11:25:11

Trevorofmolino
Member
Registered: 2008-07-24
Posts: 37

Upgrading vs new install

I thought that upgrading packages as I need them pacman -S would keep me current with things. But now I am wondering if i shouldn't go to a new installation. I have Duke and the newest is Overloard. Is there any advantage to doing one over the other? In my installation of new packages I am running into a lot of problems that now I am down to only an xterminal. my kde will not work. firefox  and thunderbird will not execute printer accepts jobs but will not print. I really don't want to loose all my data and programs I have that did work. Any thoughts?

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#2 2008-07-24 11:41:48

Zoranthus
Member
From: muc
Registered: 2006-11-22
Posts: 166

Re: Upgrading vs new install

Concerning the packages it shouldn't matter, if you reinstall arch from scratch or just download the latest versions with pacman.
Actually, if you do an FTP-install, the exact same files will be downloaded and installed.

However there are many ways to mess up one's various config files and disturb pacman with random symlinks and unpackaged software put into the wrong directories. I reinstalled like 4 months after my first arch installation for exactly that reason. big_smile.
Also there are sometimes mandatory changes to config files, that will not be automatically commited (like the ide-legacy switch some time ago or the pata/sata adressing in grub).

Last edited by Zoranthus (2008-07-24 11:43:09)

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#3 2008-07-24 15:31:23

Mr.Elendig
#archlinux@freenode channel op
From: The intertubes
Registered: 2004-11-07
Posts: 4,092

Re: Upgrading vs new install

Trevorofmolino wrote:

I thought that upgrading packages as I need them pacman -S would keep me current with things. But now I am wondering if i shouldn't go to a new installation. I have Duke and the newest is Overloard. Is there any advantage to doing one over the other? In my installation of new packages I am running into a lot of problems that now I am down to only an xterminal. my kde will not work. firefox  and thunderbird will not execute printer accepts jobs but will not print. I really don't want to loose all my data and programs I have that did work. Any thoughts?

Your problem is that you havn't updated your system regulary. Arch is a rolling release distro, and you will run into problems if you don't keep it up to date. You can still do an -Syu to update, but it will be alot of work. If you got a seperate /home, I personaly would just do a reinstall and reuse the /home partion.


Evil #archlinux@libera.chat channel op and general support dude.
. files on github, Screenshots, Random pics and the rest

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#4 2008-07-24 15:34:20

tesjo
Member
Registered: 2007-11-30
Posts: 164

Re: Upgrading vs new install

It should be easier, faster to just upgrade with pacman -Syu, but dont try to cherry pick packages individually for update you will certainly get breakages.

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#5 2008-07-24 17:21:35

phrakture
Arch Overlord
From: behind you
Registered: 2003-10-29
Posts: 7,879
Website

Re: Upgrading vs new install

You should never need to reinstall Arch. A regular "pacman -Syu" will keep your machine up to date. I usually update once every 2-3 days

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#6 2008-07-24 17:26:47

kclive18
Member
From: Columbus, Ohio, USA
Registered: 2008-05-08
Posts: 219

Re: Upgrading vs new install

As long as your kernel and other things are up to date, I don't see the point of downloading the ISO of the latest release.  I don't see why other distros don't do rolling release, as it is the most sensible way to keep systems up to date (less downtime, especially for servers).


My Rigs:
- Mid-2007 iMac 20", Intel 2GHz Core 2 Duo, 2x1GB DDR2-800, 250GB SATA HDD, and...MIGHTY MOUSE!!! tongue, OSX 10.5 Leopard, ATI Radeon 2400XT 128MB
- HP zv6203cl, AMD Athlon 64 3200 S939, 2x512MB DDR400, 80GB 4200rpm HDD, ATI Radeon Xpress 200M 128MB, Arch i686 cool
- 1986 Gibson SG Junior Cherry Red, Ibanez 15W amp, DigiTech RP250 modeling processor

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#7 2008-07-24 17:56:43

rooloo
Member
Registered: 2008-07-09
Posts: 218

Re: Upgrading vs new install

I agree across the board, updating once a week is usually a genius of an idea.

Make sure you read pacman output, as sometimes there is very important info posted that you must follow to complete the update.

Last edited by rooloo (2008-07-24 18:00:31)

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#8 2008-07-24 17:57:40

rooloo
Member
Registered: 2008-07-09
Posts: 218

Re: Upgrading vs new install

btw,

pacman -S

does nothing as you have apparently found out.

use

pacman -Syu

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