Message-ID: <3A5F3D92.89C669C5@sql.de> Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2001 18:23:30 +0100 From: Joerg Bruehe <joerg@sql.de> Subject: Upgrade 6.1 -> 7.0: First Experiences (long)
Hi AXP-Linuxers,
as a follow-up to yesterday's questions (thanks to all those
who answered), I would like to tell some first impressions.
(All this was done on an "Alpha Station 200 4/166" with 96 MB RAM,
running SuSE 6.1 / kernel 2.2.9, with a TGA graphics card.)
1) As a first step, I built a "milo" (2.2) floppy.
Following the book (page 19), I also made a boot selection entry
in my ARC BIOS.
In general, the floppy would come up correctly.
However, its messages would be displayed with some accents above
characters which never take them ("r" and "k", among others),
and no letter would extend below the base line ("g" and "j"
lost their lower parts ...).
I then noticed the table on page 18 and corrected my boot entry
from kernel "vm_full.gz" to "vm_tga.gz",
the kernel texts were displayed correctli, but milo's were still
funny (but readable).
I propose to add/repeat a note about the different kernel images
where the ARC entries are described, or to use a different font
for the file name to show this may need modification.
2) Following the "Updating ..." description in section 13.1.2 (page
334),
I repeatedly tried to boot CD 2.
This would always fail with MILO 2.2, so I made and tried a 2.0.35
floppy (page 20) and played around with the "OsLoadOptions"
parameter - which also failed.
It took me several such tries till I realized that the note to use
CD 2 is plain wrong for AXP systems - like a new installation,
updates are also done from CD 1 on these systems.
(It seems there is no "Yast2" for AXP systems, is that the reason
for the different CD usage ?
Not that I miss it, "Yast1" is fine with me.)
3) I then booted via Floppy (MILO 2.2) and CD 1 into Yast1.
(I may later try to make a working boot selection for CD,
now that I know CD 1 must be used and not 2.)
I started a "system update".
It did some packages, the last line being "nkitb". This was followed
by
"Removing package libauth-0.1-7"
and then a shocking message in yellow letters on red background:
/bin/sh: error in loading shared libraries: /lib/libncurses.so.5: symbol
__register_frame_info, version GLIBC_2.0 not defined in file libc.so.6.1
with link time reference
execution of script failed
(I have not yet really used the system after the update, except for
some minor cleanup, so I can not tell whether that message has any
bad consequences or can safely be ignored.)
The upgrade proceeded with package "pam".
All other messages were warnings about backup copies and
configuration
file changes, the final lines read
Base system: SuSE-Linux-US-Version-Alpha 7.0.0-0
INSTALLATION COMPLETE.
4) Leaving that screen and the base system, Yast proceeded to the
other packages.
I was told that there are no new versions for packages "gccfront",
"libgif", and "ssh". For neither of these, I found any hint in the
book ("From Version to Version", section 13.2).
(I was not even aware I had installed "libgif" and "ssh",
but I know that gcc packaging may change over time, due to the
"egcs"-"gcc"-intagretion - correct ?)
I also accepted all upgrades with "Uncomparable version numbers"
(packages "gccinfo", "libc", "libcinfo", "nssv1", and "timezone")
as all of these had newer dates (installed Jun 1999, on CD Sep 2000),
and started the upgrade.
Immediately I got a message about missing dependencies.
Most of these were "AND", so I tried "AUTO" to get them resolved.
But "kbase(kde)" was said to need "glx", "mesasoft" (both of "x3d")
OR "xf86_glx(x)". My only choice was "Continue",
the upgrade proceeded without any problem indications.
(As described below, KDE comes up even without that prerequisite.
Again, I do not yet know whether there are any real problems.
I agreed to using the new template files ...
My old panel configuration was kept unharmed.
The X server fell back to use display 7, the default, even though
I had it use display 5 in the old configuration. I will have to
look for the changed file.)
5) I then let Yast install a kernel with TGA support,
and "SuSEconfig" was run automatically.
6) When the new kernel booted, it failed to activate the swap device.
I have not yet analyzed that ...
I was offered to have some more packages automatically updated,
from CDs 2 and 3.
(I had had to leave the machine during step 4, so this may have
been caused by a timeout ?
Or is this due to the ramdisk on CD 1, so that the CD could not
be changed during step 4 ?)
7) Upon the next reboot, I was told that starting "syslog" failed.
However, my swap partition was listed correctly by "swapon",
and KDE came up working (slightly changed style, it seemed).
I reset my old "/etc/inittab" (I use consoles 1 .. 4 only,
so the X server may use display 5).
I then called "shutdown -r now", KDE + X terminated, I fell back
onto console 1 - and the machine hung.
8) I waited for some time (in case any flush daemon was still running)
and then dared to press the "reset" button.
The machine rebooted correctly, "syslog" was started,
but it was still done by the old MILO (2.0.35) for the old kernel
(2.2.9).
I copied the new MILO (2.2) from "/boot" to "/dos" and changed
the "OSLOADOPTIONS" (maybe my old setup had been wrong ...),
then it rebooted using all the new stuff.
MILO (2.2) again shows these distorted characters (described in
step 1), but the kernel messages are o.k.
For some reason I have yet to check, the KDE login window does
not offer the "root" (and "nobody" ?) user symbols any more.
10) I will have to look for all changed configuration files,
but that has to wait until next week (and an "updatedb" run ...).
As a summary, I would say the upgrade worked without any real problems,
but it is noticeable that the Alpha platform is not used in so large
numbers as the x86 stuff, and so the coverage by tests and reports
is too low.
However - enjoy it (and your special, individual taste)
and have a nice weekend,
Joerg Bruehe
--
Joerg Bruehe, SQL Datenbanksysteme GmbH, Berlin, Germany
(speaking only for himself)
mailto: joerg@sql.de
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