Just been informed that there will be no more updates.
I have 10.2 installed on a desktop and a laptop.
I do have a copy of 10.3. from a manual I purchased.
Which would be the best way to go now.
I would prefer not to do a new installation.
Which is the next stable version? 10.2 has been exceptional in its stability. I would like to install the new version over the existing installation if possible.[like as an update!]
I can backup my personal data but not too computer literate, just a user that knows a certain amount.
Are you saying even 10.3 cannot be installed as an upgrade?
If I loaded Suse 11.1 would I get the option to format during installation?
Once installed would all the settings for kontact,[the mail settings etc],the router etc be kept.The existing installations were done for me - would it be necessary to re-install say jbidwatcher and google earth?
These computers have been working for nearly 3 years without problem using 10.2, I fail to see why upgrades make it necessary to be a ‘computer boffin’. I have tried Microsoft XP as the laptop has a dual boot option. It’s typical Microsoft unstable. I must admit my Microsoft media centre software, basically XP has been up and running for 3 years, without problem.
signetone wrote:
> Hi
>
> Thanks for the reply.
>
> Are you saying even 10.3 cannot be installed as an upgrade?
> If I loaded Suse 11.1 would I get the option to format during
> installation?
The upgrade from 10.2 to 10.3 should work; however, every installation collects
crud while running. For that reason, it is recommended to install, not upgrade,
when changing versions. Yes, 11.1 would give you the option of reformatting.
> Once installed would all the settings for kontact,[the mail settings
> etc],the router etc be kept.The existing installations were done for me
> - would it be necessary to re-install say jbidwatcher and google earth?
User data such as your kontact data is usually kept in the user’s home directory
tree. If you have /home in a separate partition, then keep that intact and do
not reformat it. If /home is not on its own partition, then you should back it
up before starting. When you do the installation, you will have the option of
creating a partition for /home. You should take it, then restore your data. I’m
not sure what you mean the router settings. Those are usually stored in the
router and you only need to select DHCP, etc. for your network. That will not
change.
>
> These computers have been working for nearly 3 years without problem
> using 10.2, I fail to see why upgrades make it necessary to be a
> ‘computer boffin’.
I don’t understand this, but as 10.2 is no longer getting security upgrades, you
should go to something newer. Incidentally, 10.3 will not be supported much
longer - 11.1 is the way to go.
You do need to move on from 10.2
11.0 or 11.1 could be installed and keep /home but you would probably be best to install with kde3 if you use kde? You can add kde4 later if you like. Gnome should be ok.
During install you can opt out of auto login. I would choose to do that. If there is any issue logging in to your old settings kde or gnome, you can easily try icewm.
Make sure you use the SAME username as you have now during the install.
Either way, if you do have issues. You can always create a new user account and migrate any settings and files you need from the old one - which you can eventually delete.
If my memory serves me, 10.2 doesn’t automatically install with a separate /home partition and uses reiserfs.
I found I could not use the update from 10.2 to 10.3 (as did others) and had to back up /home (which was not on a separate partition at the time) and do a fresh install of 10.3 which gave me a separate /home partition.
So, if you do not have a separate /home partition, I would advise backing up /home and going straight to 11.1 in a few days. If you do have a separate /home (and no mysql tables), you can do a fresh install with any distro by using expert partitioning to make sure it does not overwrite /home.
On the laptop I have a dual boot with windows, but in linux
I have hda4 23G seems to be mount point /home
and hda3 10G seems to be /dev/hda3 mount point/
As a matter of interest when does the option for the use of KDE come in, during the installation.
I think it’s all a bit technical for me. I am basically a user of computers. I do have an external hard disk formated to fat32 so it can be read on both computers and windows.I use this for backing up personal data but /home has hidden files and permissions!
Most important thing to keep in mind when using free software is that the life cycle is shorter than most paid-for versions. openSUSE is a leader in this department as all of their versions are supported for two years; the only distro that outdoes openSUSE is Ubuntu’s LTS versions (3 years on the desktop, 5 years as a server) but by default Ubuntu=18 months, openSUSE=24 months.
If you think this highly of your systems regarding updates, perhaps SLE is your best bet as support is longer although you have to pay for it.
Strangely it is free but much better than Microsoft windows, I would gladly pay for the software.I have purchased the Opensuse Handbook, which came with 10.3.
SLE=SUSE Linux Enterprise, you have a choice of Desktop (SLED) or Server (SLES). It’s not that expensive honestly, plus SLED is a solid choice, I’ve used it myself for a while but I’m more the tinkerer and into the newest technologies by nature which is why I prefer openSUSE to SLED.
The main advantages of SUSE Linux Enterprise is long term support, a more stable system and assistance from Novell the company with any problems. Like I said, if your concerns are more about long-term support, SLE is probably the best way to go. Currently, SLED is at service pack 2 I believe, and SLED 11 should be coming out within the next few months.
Then again, as per the recommendations stated already, if you keep a separate /home partition, and keep it backed up, you should have almost zero problems with either upgrading sequentially (10.2 to 10.3 to 11 to 11.1) without any data corruption or doing fresh installs every 2 years or so. Upgrading has always been one of openSUSE’s strengths from my experiences. Plus you get to save some money, which is always a good thing - especially this time of the year!
I wouldn’t imagine so, as long as your Windows partition is detected via Grub, you’ll be ok regardless of which version/distro you decide to run. If 10.2 found your Windows partition, you should be fine with any sequential versions, as well as SLED/S.
That your partitions are already formatted ext3 is helpful. One can make an argument to go straight 10.2-11.1, or go 10.2-10.3-11.1. There are very significant changes since 10.2, in the kernel, in software package management, in the desktop environment (although KDE 3.5 has been stable right along, so that’s a plus). It is important to use the DVD as it will make changes in your configuration files which are critical, e.g., the kernel as of 10.3 will be naming all your hard drives like SATA (sda, sdb, sdc) rather than hda, hdb, hdc - which is only used for optical drives.
Finally, re your Thinkpad: It could really pay off to try the KDE LiveCD for 11.1 before attempting any reinstall. That will test how well the machine likes the new kernel and X server; you may uncover some small issue which could be resolved at time of installation rather than being an bigger annoyance later.
