While caution is always a good thing to use as a standard procedure, I
have to say that a there's a few times when an upgrade can work out
well, even if you're using a mix of repositories.
For example, it is 100% possible to mix Mandriva 2006 with the rpms
provided by Hawkwind at http://www.seerofsouls.com which have been
flawless for me on 65 installs in the last week or so. In fact, they've
been bulletproof as far as working without problems.
Whether that's due to the extra care Hawkwind puts into his work or even
just plain luck (I strongly suspect the former rather than the latter),
I couldn't think of one reason NOT to upgrade to his packages.
Call that an endorsement if you want, but the only perspective and
experience I can offer is my own and I have had exactly 0% problems with
Hawkwind's packages.
As for the full version of Mozilla, I can't say much, since I haven't
used it for about 2 years, but the Firefox and Thunderbird packages at
'SoS' are great!
As we've all found from time to time, there are a few things to keep an
eye on when considering this type of upgrade;
1) Install any other desktop system you want and log into that new
desktop before making any changes, removals or upgrades to the one you
prefer to have. I personally use IceWM as my temporary desktop system
when upgrading KDE to Hawkwind's packages. It's small, quick to install
and includes the 3 main taskbar buttons that you'll need for the upgrade;
- One for Mandriva's Control Center and the package installer/remover
RPMdrake,
- One to launch Firefox so that you can read the online instructions on
how to upgrade, and,
- One to launch a console or shell so that you can use the CLI to add
the SoS repositories that you'll be needing.
2) Before making any changes to your packages at all, open a console and
launch Konqueror as root, with this command;
'konqueror' (without the quotes)
Go to 'View' and select 'Show Hidden Files', then browse to every single
home folder for each user and delete the '.kde' folder that each one
has. Obviously, if your desktop is something other than KDE, you can
probably follow the same idea for your preferred desktop, but others on
this list will know better than I.
Many times, the profiles and configs for an older version of a desktop
can cause immediate or future problems with the new version, so it makes
a lot of sense to get rid of it. That will prevent possible conflicts
and while it may take you a few minutes to set up your desktop's
functionality the way you like, it will also give you an opportunity to
try out any new features that the new version may include.
3) Once that's done, close Konqueror, and return to the console. Copy
and paste the first SoS urpmi command string into your console and press
enter.
'urpmi.addmedia SoS-2006 http://seerofsouls.com/mandriva/2006/i586/2006/
with hdlist.cz' - Don't include the quotes!
4) For a KDE upgrade, go to this site and follow the instructions to the
letter!
http://www.linuxfordummies.org/index.php?topic=302.0
5) For other desktops, use RPMdrake to remove the older versions and
copy/paste the appropriate one from SoS into your console and run it.
6) PLF sources are optional, not mandatory, so you decide whether or not
you want them.
7) Keep your 'Contrib' repository in RPMdrake! SoS does not provide a
'Contrib's' repository at the present and you'll probably need the one
from Mandriva to make everything work properly with your upgrade.
8) Once you've finished the desktop upgrade, feel free to upgrade
Firefox and/or Thunderbird, but while you're at it, it's a better option
to remove the old ones, Firefox and Thunderbird BEFORE installing the
new ones from SoS, who's repositories will also upgrade things like
'libnss' and 'libnspr' while the new Firefox and Thunderbird are being
installed.
You might have to re-establish your symbolic links for Java, Flash, etc,
into the new Firefox 'plugins' folder (found in /usr/lib/Mozilla-Firefox
1.0.6/plugins), but if you make a copy of them and paste them into the
plugins folder of your upgraded Firefox (as root of course), it should
be pretty easy.
Keep in mind that your personal profiles, bookmarks, emails, address
books will NOT be touched when you remove the old versions and will need
NO adjusting or re-configurations when the new ones take over.
Everything should just work fine as long as you follow Hawkwind's method
and the tips I've mentioned here, everything should go very well and
without problems.
Last notes;
I'm a big fan of KDE and I almost never use any of the others, except
for IceWM as mentioned above, so if you use a different desktop than
KDE, my suggestions may not be of much help. You can make a backup copy
of your entire '/home' folder and use it to recover your old desktop,
etc., if something goes wrong.
Don't upgrade every package at one time, do it in smaller 'chunks' by
following Hawkwind's instructions and the tips on the 'Linux For
Dummies' site. They actually work and if 65 installs are any example,
they work great.
Enjoy!
DL
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