Article: Quick Upgrade from Leap 42.2 to Leap 42.3

English Open Chat
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Introduction

It’s a lazy Saturday today, so I decided not to make a full install of 42.3 this time, just a simple upgrade of my existing 42.2 to 42.3. It should work just fine because going from xx.2 to xx.3 is a bit like when Suse or microsoft release a “service pack”. Here is a fairly easy method, but perhaps for somewhat advanced users.

A very important step: Do a BackUp

I use the easy but accurate copy function “cp” to back up my root and home directories. You can use any partition to store backups, so long as you use appropriate Linux file system (so that the ownership and other file parameters are carried across faithfully). You can also store a backup on USB provided you format it for Linux.

Whenever I copy my root partition to backup, I do that outside of the running operating system, in this case Leap 42.2. So I boot into a live Linux cd or usb stick to do the job. You can use Knoppix or Gparted, Parted Magic, Ultimate Boot CD etc.

Once you are running in the live CD/USB you can mount the storage partition and use a command line like “cp -auv” to do the backup. But be sure to do it as su. (IMHO Knoppix is the best available at this time, and the mounting there is so super easy using Knoppix’s gparted tool).

Alter the Repositories to become 42.3

Once you have the backup done, boot back into the real Leap 42.2 and edit the existing Repositories using Yast. Go to Yast ==> Software ==> Software Repositories. For each Repo you see bearing 42.2 in the name and/or URL, click to “edit” and change the instances of 42.2 in Name and URL to 42.3 in Name and URL.

Optional: download the Leap 42.3 DVD and add it in as a repository (using Yast ==> Software ==> Software Repositories ==> Add ==> DVD ==> Next). Adding the DVD will speed the process.

Run the upgrade

When the editing is all done, open a command console, change to su and run this command:

zypper dup

Switch to Packman

When the dust settles from “zypper dup”, switch focus for key functions over to Packman’s offerings. GoTo Yast ==> Software Management ==> View ==> Repositories ==> Packman 42.3 ==> “Switch System packages to the versions in the repository Packman 42.3” ==> Accept.

The End

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Or do this in a terminal:

Upgrade von 42.2 auf 42.3

sed -i s/42.2/42.3/ /etc/zypp/repos.d/*

zypper dup
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You have ‘forgotten’ to install the latest updates before starting the ‘dup’.

Also you explained how to ‘Switch to Packman’, but can you also explain why this should be done?

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Yes, quite right. Here’s a bit about Packman. And they say on that hyperlink that:

Packman offers various additional packages for openSUSE, especially but not limited to multimedia related applications and libraries that are on the openSUSE Build Service application blacklist. It’s the largest external repository of openSUSE packages.
.

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Hello, and thanks for this article. Can this whole procedure (OP) be used for upgrade from 42.3 to 15.1?? I’m really pressed for time and final config of system this time. (Shared
system with wife!) I usually do complete clean install-from-dvd, but it seems this trick would help. Packman will not give me any issues, I’m sure. Thanks for reply.

      • rob
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That will probably work. But it is not a supported choice and not guaranteed.

If you are using legacy grub for booting, then you might finish up with an unusable system (I think a few people ran into that). I’m not aware of other issues that could arise, but there might be some.

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Thanks for quick reply. Yeah, sounds as though I’ve got to go with the 'long way around (complete ‘clean’ install-from-dvd; especially since I really don’t want default btrf file system
and such. It’s a pain nowadays to even find through expert install ext4 fs the old way, etc. But that is the cost of doing business without all the latest bells and whistles. Oooof!
Again, many thanks. Take care.

      • rob