I installed 12.3 two weeks ago, and got an update notification a day or two later for three updates. I agreed to have them applied, and all went well. After that a notification for over 200 updates appeared. Not knowing which updates to select, I attempted to apply all of them. The update program ran for about nine hours, used up 1G of memory and my 2G swap file. CPU usage started at 97% and eventually fell to about 4%. The update panel went blank, so I couldn’t press “Quit”. Finally, I killed it, using the GNOME system monitor “End Process”.
Much to my surprise, my system still boots and runs normally. How can I tell which updates were applied, if any? How long should the updates run? What happens when they are killed before completion?
What happens if the updates fail and the system fails to boot? I see no failsafe option or backup nucleus in my boot menu.
Thank you, caf4926 and wolfi323: I appreciate the help! Stars have been clicked.
I ran “zypper ref” and refreshed all repositories. Then I ran “zypper up” and found 580 packages to upgrade, 27 new, 1 to remove.
Before I proceed with the upgrade, I have several novice questions:
What if a patch introduces instability?
What if the system becomes unbootable?
What is my failsafe option?
How can I back the updates out?
Why does the notification say 294 updates, as opposed to the 580 detected by zypper?
With so many updates being applied at once,
How do I identify the cause of a problem?
How do I know which update to back out?
How do I determine what updates to apply?
Is it best to apply them all?
On my previous system, I simply ignored the updates – “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. On this new 12.3 system, however, I set out with good intentions and resolved to do the updates. And the updates hung the system! No good deed goes unpunished!
Hm. “zypper up” shouldn’t remove any packages. Are you sure you haven’t made a typo? (“zypper dup” instead maybe?)
You could also try “zypper patch” or YaST->Online Update, then only the official patches will be installed, whereas “zypper up” and the update applet show/install updates from all your configured repos.
# zypper ref
Repository 'openSUSE-12.3-Non-Oss' is up to date.
Repository 'openSUSE-12.3-Oss' is up to date.
Repository 'openSUSE-12.3-Update' is up to date.
Repository 'openSUSE-12.3-Update-Non-Oss' is up to date.
All repositories have been refreshed.
# zypper up
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...
The following NEW packages are going to be installed:
amarok-lang evolution-data-server-lang gstreamer-0_10-fluendo-mp3 icoutils kdeartwork4-wallpapers kdeartwork4-wallpapers-weather kde-gtk-config kde-gtk-config-lang kernel-desktop-3.7.10-1.16.1 kipi-plugins-lang libebl1 libkgeomap-lang
libotr2 libtevent0 libtevent0-32bit oxygen-icon-theme-large python-kde4-akonadi python-kde4-khtml python-kde4-knewstuff python-kde4-nepomuk python-kde4-phonon python-kde4-plasma python-kde4-soprano rcc-runtime unrar xf86-video-geode
yast2-inetd-doc
The following package is going to be REMOVED:
kcm_gtk
The following packages are going to be upgraded: (too many to list here)
My question now is whether to proceed with the “zypper up”. I don’t want to end up with an unstable or broken system, with no contingency plan!
OK, that kcm_gtk package is obsolete. It’s replaced by kde-gtk-config. So that is normal.
You only seem to have the 4 standard repos, so I guess the update would be harmless. I cannot guarantee it though.
Since there’s a kernel update:
Older kernels are kept, so if you have problems booting, you could try to switch back to the older one.
Just select “Advanced Options” at the boot menu (btw, “Recovery Mode” is also in there).
And if you installed a proprietary driver (nvidia f.e.), you would have to reinstall it afterwards.
I guess the difference between the number of packages is, that the update applet doesn’t install recommended packages by default, like the gstreamer-fluendo-mp3 in your list. And probably there just are a few more updates now as well.
If you do want to update in smaller steps, use YaST->Online Update as already suggested, there you can select/deselect single patches.
Thank you! You’ve answered all of my questions. Tomorrow, I’ll proceed with the updates, and now I have confidence that I can recover, if something goes wrong. I hope your assistance will enable other novices to have the same confidence.
Suggestion for future releases: Have the update notice itself provide a brief message explaining back-out and recovery options.
The update went swimmingly and I now have a stable up-to-date 12.3 system. The updates took about 80 minutes. One problem with my initial system – screen flicker – has disappeared.
I have not turned on the “Open GL2 Shader” option yet – the option that repeatedly froze my system earlier. I want to give the existing system a longer workout before changing options. I did have to change the GTK Style to “Clearlooks” to get dialogue panels cleared properly: Apparently “Oxygen” needs the “Open GL2 Shaders” to work properly. This indicates that the “GTK Style” option controls more than just window appearance: the style also affects processing.
I used the “zypper up” command, and found it far superior to letting the “update notification” process perform the updates. For one thing, I can see how the update is progressing. Unfortunately, in my eagerness, I forgot to use tee to send a copy of the zypper log to a file – e.g., “zypper up | tee -a /tmp/zypper.log/” – so the log is gone.
What can I do in exchange for the help I’ve received? Is there a project I can get involved in? How can I express my appreciation?
Suggestion: that the “update notification” panel offer a zypper script as an alternative. The script would
briefly indicate backout options
provide a time estimate for the updates to be applied, based on computer speed or the average of prior update times
indicate whether and when the update can be cancelled and resumed
invoke the “zypper ref”
invoke the “zypper up” with a copy of the log automatically saved
On 2013-11-25 11:06, Iconoclasmic wrote:
> Suggestion for future releases: Have the update notice itself provide a
> brief message explaining back-out and recovery options.
It is not a a back-out procedure. It is just a feature to boot from the
old, previous kernel. You only “back-out” the kernel. Not the other 200
packages. For that you need btrfs and restoring snapshots.
Explaining any of that is not the place of the updater, but of the
documentation, of which there are tons.
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)
> I used the “zypper up” command, and found it far superior to letting the
> “update notification” process perform the updates. For one thing, I can
> see how the update is progressing. Unfortunately, in my eagerness, I
> forgot to use tee to send a copy of the zypper log to a file – e.g.,
> “zypper up | tee -a /tmp/zypper.log/” – so the log is gone.
Not really
You have “/var/log/zypp/history”, where you can see, well, what was
installed or removed and when.
You also have “/var/log/YaST2/”, where other files log what zypper or
yast did and the problems they had.
> What can I do in exchange for the help I’ve received? Is there a
> project I can get involved in? How can I express my appreciation?
You can learn and help others in turn, for instance. As you learn, you
will see many places where you can contribute in the manner that best
suits you.
> Suggestion: that the “update notification” panel offer a zypper script
> as an alternative. The script would
Ha!
That panel is a cross distribution project, whereas zypper and yast are
openSUSE only projects. Their aims are different.
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)
