Re: [gentoo-user] Old devfs files in /etc
Dale schreef: Hi, I switched to udev a while back and have some old devfs files left in /etc. Here is a list: /etc/devfs.d /etc/devfs.d/.keep /etc/modules.devfs.256 /etc/config-archive/etc/udev/scripts/ide-devfs.sh /etc/config-archive/etc/udev/scripts/ide-devfs.sh.dist /etc/modprobe.devfs /etc/modprobe.devfs.256 /etc/modprobe.devfs.old /etc/modules.devfs /etc/devfsd.conf Can I get rid of these files and not kill anything? I already unmerged devfsd though. It just doesn't get rid of the config files. It would be nice of there was a option to tell it too. There is, of course, an option to tell it to; you just don't know about it :-) . You might want to have a closer look at the Gentoo Documentation pages, most specifically Gentoo Linux Documentation -- Environment Variables at http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?part=2chap=5 . In any case, the deal is configuration files are protected by default. That means that when you unmerge a program (or merge a new version of the same program), the configuration files will not be automatically overwritten (or deleted, for that matter). This saves you trouble, because it doesn't screw up your config, if you later reinstall the program, or when you update a program that had a complex configuration. However, it also means that things such as what happened to you can happen (config files that you want deleted don't get deleted automatically). But the thing is, such files are important enough that they shouldn't be just deleted like it's nothing. That's the Gentoo design and the Gentoo way; an action like deleting /etc/devfsd can have sweeping consequences if the system is not prepared to pick up the ball with udev-- forcing you to delete it manually is both a way of making sure that you know you did it, and also making sure you know what you're doing before you do it (90% of the users ask the list before taking any action, which is fine-- we *want* people to know what they're doing and have a healthy respect for their own power to bork their system, so good you ask first!) In any case, yes you can override the setting (of *course*, this is Gentoo!) to delete certain (or all) protected files after an unmerge of various programs; but now you have to look up how to do that, and that means you have to read a bit about the consequences of your proposed action before taking it (since you don't know how to take it before you read a bit), and then you have a much better chance of not doing something that's going to come back and bite you in the butt later, but will instead make your system more effective for your usage pattern for the future. Holly -- gentoo-user@gentoo.org mailing list
Re: [gentoo-user] Old devfs files in /etc
Holly Bostick wrote: There is, of course, an option to tell it to; you just don't know about it :-) . You're kidding right. Something that I don't know about, yea right. LOL LOL Treat me like a sponge, I'm absorbing your knowledge, I hope anyway. I have been using Gentoo a while and have a little understanding of how it works but not much. I just know it is better than winders. You might want to have a closer look at the Gentoo Documentation pages, most specifically Gentoo Linux Documentation -- Environment Variables at http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?part=2chap=5 . That link didn't make sense. That the right chapter? May just be me. LOL In any case, the deal is configuration files are protected by default. That means that when you unmerge a program (or merge a new version of the same program), the configuration files will not be automatically overwritten (or deleted, for that matter). This saves you trouble, because it doesn't screw up your config, if you later reinstall the program, or when you update a program that had a complex configuration. However, it also means that things such as what happened to you can happen (config files that you want deleted don't get deleted automatically). It is no suprise that I didn't know about it, yet. I did a man emerge and didn't see it. Is it a newer version that I don't have yet? I run stable packages. But the thing is, such files are important enough that they shouldn't be just deleted like it's nothing. That's the Gentoo design and the Gentoo way; an action like deleting /etc/devfsd can have sweeping consequences if the system is not prepared to pick up the ball with udev-- forcing you to delete it manually is both a way of making sure that you know you did it, and also making sure you know what you're doing before you do it (90% of the users ask the list before taking any action, which is fine-- we *want* people to know what they're doing and have a healthy respect for their own power to bork their system, so good you ask first!) I have been running udev for a while and it seems to be working fine. Time for devfs to go. In any case, yes you can override the setting (of *course*, this is Gentoo!) to delete certain (or all) protected files after an unmerge of various programs; but now you have to look up how to do that, and that means you have to read a bit about the consequences of your proposed action before taking it (since you don't know how to take it before you read a bit), and then you have a much better chance of not doing something that's going to come back and bite you in the butt later, but will instead make your system more effective for your usage pattern for the future. Holly I cheat. When I know I am about to delete some config files that I worry about, I back-up my /etc directory. I save it until I reboot a few times just to make sure. Smart huh? Thanks for the help. Dale -- To err is human, I'm most certainly human. -- gentoo-user@gentoo.org mailing list
Re: [gentoo-user] Old devfs files in /etc
Dale schreef: Holly Bostick wrote: There is, of course, an option to tell it to; you just don't know about it :-) . You're kidding right. Something that I don't know about, yea right. LOL LOL Treat me like a sponge, I'm absorbing your knowledge, I hope anyway. I have been using Gentoo a while and have a little understanding of how it works but not much. I just know it is better than winders. You might want to have a closer look at the Gentoo Documentation pages, most specifically Gentoo Linux Documentation -- Environment Variables at http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?part=2chap=5 . That link didn't make sense. That the right chapter? May just be me. LOL From the link; under Important Examples CONFIG_PROTECT This variable contains a space-delimited list of directories which should be protected by Portage during updates . CONFIG_PROTECT_MASK This variable contains a space-delimited list of directories which should not be protected by Portage during updates. From man make.conf, under variables: CONFIG_PROTECT = [space delimited list of dirs] All directories that are defined here will have config file protection enabled for them. For more information, please see `emerge --help config`. CONFIG_PROTECT_MASK = [space delimited list of dirs] All directories that are defined here will have config file protection disabled for them. For more information, please see `emerge --help config`. In any case, the deal is configuration files are protected by default. And the CONFIG_PROTECT and CONFIG_PROTECT_MASK variables are how it's done. snip It is no suprise that I didn't know about it, yet. I did a man emerge and didn't see it. Is it a newer version that I don't have yet? I run stable packages. Did I say man emerge? I meant man portage... oops, wrong again, should be man make.conf. But the thing is, such files are important enough that they shouldn't be just deleted like it's nothing. That's the Gentoo design and the Gentoo way; an action like deleting /etc/devfsd can have sweeping consequences if the system is not prepared to pick up the ball with udev-- forcing you to delete it manually is both a way of making sure that you know you did it, and also making sure you know what you're doing before you do it (90% of the users ask the list before taking any action, which is fine-- we *want* people to know what they're doing and have a healthy respect for their own power to bork their system, so good you ask first!) I have been running udev for a while and it seems to be working fine. Time for devfs to go. Indeed. It's continued presence is shortly going to start causing you problems if it hasn't already. There was a 'grace period' where they were allowed to co-exist; that grace period has ended for unstable users not long ago, and stable users with both systems installed will be seeing issued as devfs finally goes definitively from 'deprecated' to 'obsolete'. So yes, it's time for it to go. In any case, yes you can override the setting (of *course*, this is Gentoo!) to delete certain (or all) protected files after an unmerge of various programs; but now you have to look up how to do that, and that means you have to read a bit about the consequences of your proposed action before taking it (since you don't know how to take it before you read a bit) I cheat. When I know I am about to delete some config files that I worry about, I back-up my /etc directory. I save it until I reboot a few times just to make sure. Smart huh? You're one of the few I mean, it's extra work for you, and not really necessary, but better that you should do a little unneccessary extra work than bork everything. Better safe than sorry, as it were. But I'm sure you know how many computer users don't take any precautions whatsoever to protect themselves from system error, or human error. Doing so is not 'cheating', it's just good common sense. Holly -- gentoo-user@gentoo.org mailing list
Re: [gentoo-user] Old devfs files in /etc
051102 Dale wrote: I switched to udev a while back and have some old devfs files left in /etc : YES/etc/devfs.d YES/etc/devfs.d/.keep N/A/etc/modules.devfs.256 N/A/etc/config-archive/etc/udev/scripts/ide-devfs.sh N/A/etc/config-archive/etc/udev/scripts/ide-devfs.sh.dist YES/etc/modprobe.devfs N/A/etc/modprobe.devfs.256 YES/etc/modprobe.devfs.old YES/etc/modules.devfs YES/etc/devfsd.conf Can I get rid of these files and not kill anything? I already unmerged devfsd. I found similar stuff lying around after going over to Udev some time ago have removed the items marked 'YES' rebooted successfully; the others (N/A) are not present in my machine. /etc/devfs.d contained svgalib , which I hadn't remerged for a while, but after merging a newer version, it didn't restore that file (and tried to remove /etc/devfs.d/svgalib , which wasn't there); I tested Mplayer (which uses Svgalib) it runs ok. As always for safety in such cases, I created a dir /etc/devfs-old , into which I moved the items I have dropped, so that I could easily restore them if there were a problem: after a few days, I'll probably remember to delete it. Holly's comments are sensible, as always, but it's a good idea to tidy things up every so often as part of understanding what's going on in your box, which is the real point of using Gentoo in the first place (smile). -- ,, SUPPORT ___//___, Philip Webb : [EMAIL PROTECTED] ELECTRIC /] [] [] [] [] []| Centre for Urban Community Studies TRANSIT`-O--O---' University of Toronto -- gentoo-user@gentoo.org mailing list
Re: [gentoo-user] Old devfs files in /etc
Philip Webb wrote: 051102 Dale wrote: I switched to udev a while back and have some old devfs files left in /etc : YES/etc/devfs.d YES/etc/devfs.d/.keep N/A/etc/modules.devfs.256 N/A/etc/config-archive/etc/udev/scripts/ide-devfs.sh N/A/etc/config-archive/etc/udev/scripts/ide-devfs.sh.dist YES/etc/modprobe.devfs N/A/etc/modprobe.devfs.256 YES/etc/modprobe.devfs.old YES/etc/modules.devfs YES/etc/devfsd.conf Can I get rid of these files and not kill anything? I already unmerged devfsd. Holly's comments are sensible, as always, but it's a good idea to tidy things up every so often as part of understanding what's going on in your box, which is the real point of using Gentoo in the first place (smile). That is what I have been doing the last couple weeks, cleaning up a bit. If it was not for all the compiling and all, I would just start from scratch. I have a current snapshot and all the distfiles anyway. I just hate to do it. It sounds to much like winders to me. I usually back up the whole /etc directory. That saved me when my inittab files got blanked somehow. It wouldn't boot without it for some reason. No clue why. LOL That was my humor OK. I'll make a back-up after the current merge gets done and slide them out the door. The ones in config-archive are from using dispatch-conf thing. I generally use etc-update though. To old for new tricks. O_O Dale -- To err is human, I'm most certainly human. -- gentoo-user@gentoo.org mailing list
