Question on update installation

This one is a bit far out, but what chance is there of moving a disk from a
dead AMD-based machine into an Intel based box? Other than video - two
different Nvidia cards are involved but a “safe” boot or booting to a
command line should work around that particular issue and it should boot
around most of the different hardware changes - about like replacing some
cards. Some - many - won’t work with the old kernel but if I can get booted
to a command line that’s pretty straight forward.

Now the big buggaboo: the disk is in legacy MBR format, the new machine has
EUFI with a bios option for legacy booting. IF - note the big if - I can
get some sort of useful bootup, would an update install from the 12.3 DVD
install grub-efi as part of the update process or will the update simply do
what it can with the existing legacy boot?

I’ve got full, current backups of all the disks involved so I can recover
any real messes but I was wondering about the possibilities here.

Lots of cross-generation hardware will be showing up in the next couple of
years an this is going to become a fairly common circumstance so I’d like to
see what can be done.


Will Honea

On 2013-06-10 19:46, Will Honea wrote:
> This one is a bit far out, but what chance is there of moving a disk from a
> dead AMD-based machine into an Intel based box? Other than video - two
> different Nvidia cards are involved but a “safe” boot or booting to a
> command line should work around that particular issue and it should boot
> around most of the different hardware changes - about like replacing some
> cards. Some - many - won’t work with the old kernel but if I can get booted
> to a command line that’s pretty straight forward.

I have done that, works fine. You have to reconfigure video, sound,
network card… etc. No big deal. :slight_smile:

> Now the big buggaboo: the disk is in legacy MBR format, the new machine has
> EUFI with a bios option for legacy booting. IF - note the big if - I can
> get some sort of useful bootup, would an update install from the 12.3 DVD
> install grub-efi as part of the update process or will the update simply do
> what it can with the existing legacy boot?

It should boot in legacy mode.

> I’ve got full, current backups of all the disks involved so I can recover
> any real messes but I was wondering about the possibilities here.

Not many people have done that, it is more or less uncharted territory.

> Lots of cross-generation hardware will be showing up in the next couple of
> years an this is going to become a fairly common circumstance so I’d like to
> see what can be done.

Nice - you are going to explore this brave new world and recount to us
its marvels! :wink:


Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)

Carlos E. R. wrote:

> Nice - you are going to explore this brave new world and recount to us
> its marvels! :wink:
>

Marvels - or disasters. Rebuilding the 2tb drive with the HP recovery disks
takes over 3 hours and that’s the only way I’ve found to recover from a
hosed EFI table.

Wish me good luck (buen swerte).


Will Honea

On 2013-06-10 20:49, Will Honea wrote:
> Carlos E. R. wrote:
>
>> Nice - you are going to explore this brave new world and recount to us
>> its marvels! :wink:
>>
>
> Marvels - or disasters. Rebuilding the 2tb drive with the HP recovery disks
> takes over 3 hours and that’s the only way I’ve found to recover from a
> hosed EFI table.

Ho ho.

Never been there myself. Why so long, I wonder. But you could clone the
HD yourself, faster next time.

> Wish me good luck (buen swerte).

:slight_smile:

“Buena suerte” :slight_smile:

I was exploring a new upgrade method a few days back… took me two days
to have a working system. I’m still solving issues…


Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)