Greetings all! I'd like to ask about something I've never found clear information on. Suppose one has an older stable version of Debian. For example, on one machine I have Debian 4 ("Etch"). on another Debian 5 ("Lenny"). But the current stable version is Debian 6 "Squeeze"). What are my chances of successfully upgrading from Lenny to Squeeze? And how to do it? And then what about upgrading from Etch to Squeeze? And what is likely to happen to packages (some external) installed on these obsolete Debians? (Especially where I have made my own modifications to software, most often configuration files and the like)? I should add that within each version I have been happily and successfully following the upgrades from Debian for the various Debian packages. All information and guidance welcome! With thanks, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <ted.harding@wlandres.net> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 Date: 21-Jun-11 Time: 18:54:28 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------
On 21 June 2011 18:54, Ted Harding <ted.harding@wlandres.net> wrote:
Greetings all! I'd like to ask about something I've never found clear information on.
Suppose one has an older stable version of Debian. For example, on one machine I have Debian 4 ("Etch"). on another Debian 5 ("Lenny"). But the current stable version is Debian 6 "Squeeze").
What are my chances of successfully upgrading from Lenny to Squeeze? And how to do it?
I happened to do this just this very afternoon. Use this as a starting guide: http://www.debiantutorials.com/upgrade-from-lenny-to-squeeze/ It wasn't quite as straightforward as the tutorial, but it all depends on what packages you have installed on your computer as to how much will break. This is the easiest debian upgrade I've ever done, I think - the moinmoin wiki broke (ta Brett and Noodles for help), postgresql was a bit awkward, and there was incompatible line in an old config of dovecot. I didn't have Xserver installed on this server - that can often break after an upgrade. Make a backup first of at least /home and /etc if not the whole system.
And then what about upgrading from Etch to Squeeze?
I think you are supposed to hop from etch->lenny then from lenny->squeeze.
And what is likely to happen to packages (some external) installed on these obsolete Debians? (Especially where I have made my own modifications to software, most often configuration files and the like)?
The packages will be upgraded - if the package manager (apt or aptitude) notices that you have modified a config file it will politely ask you if you want to keep your one or install the new one, and offer to show the differences. You can either install the new version and use your backed up copy to re-edit, or keep your one in the hopes that there is nothing in it that will break a newer version. If that goes wrong, you can always grab the new version anyway.
I should add that within each version I have been happily and successfully following the upgrades from Debian for the various Debian packages.
All information and guidance welcome!
Hope that helps a bit - not the most experienced on list, but brimming with enthusiasm after today's success... (and I have another handful to get through by next week....) Jenny
Ted Harding wrote: [...]
What are my chances of successfully upgrading from Lenny to Squeeze?
Unsure but I suspect it's correlated with how well you follow instructions! ;-)
And how to do it?
http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/release-notes/ch-upgrading.en.htm...
And then what about upgrading from Etch to Squeeze?
I think I'd do it in two steps if resources permit, from Etch to Lenny and then Lenny to Squeeze. Etch to Lenny is in http://www.debian.org/releases/oldstable/i386/release-notes/ch-upgrading.en.... at the moment. If I needed to go from Etch to Squeeze, I'd read both sets of release notes and try to make sense of it.
And what is likely to happen to packages (some external) installed on these obsolete Debians? (Especially where I have made my own modifications to software, most often configuration files and the like)?
If you mean debs from external sources, nothing will happen, unless either: 1. you update the external sources.list line for its maker to point to the new release for squeeze, when it will probably be upgraded with the rest of the system; 2. some package it requires is being replaced with an incompatible one, when it will be removed unless you tell aptitude to hold it and that might prevent part of the upgrade happening. Configuration files declared in the deb packaging get special treatment and you should be asked for what to do about changes. If you mean tar.gz compiles put in /opt or /usr/local, then debian probably won't do anything to them and whether they work depends on whether they can cope with the new versions of things they depend upon, like libraries. Good luck! -- MJ Ray (slef), member of www.software.coop, a for-more-than-profit co-op. Webmaster, Debian Developer, Past Koha RM, statistician, former lecturer. In My Opinion Only: see http://mjr.towers.org.uk/email.html Available for hire for various work through http://www.software.coop/
Many thanks to MJR and to Jenny for encouragement and tips. Especially to Jen for sharing a joyful success story! As it happens, I do have a fairly bare-bones installation of Debian Lenny for which it will not be disastrous if it should go wrong, so I'll use that as a test (and as a training-ground for myself). Then I can more objectively contemplate the real thing. Best wishes to all, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <ted.harding@wlandres.net> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 Date: 22-Jun-11 Time: 08:39:55 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------
participants (3)
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Jenny Hopkins -
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ted.harding＠wlandres.net