I’m finally comfortable with 12.3 so it’s time to update the wife’s laptop.
I’ve done this 11.4 -> 12.3 several times but on this machine I hit an
immediate problem: the 12.3 install program doesn’t see the existing 11.4
installation as a candiddate for update.
I suspect that the ext3 fs is the issue here. I have been simply updating
since 10.2 or so and have never re-formatted the disk since the initial
install. Is there a simple (?) way to get this update done or am I going to
have to resort to the backup/reformat/restore/update pain?
AFAIK ext3 is still “sorta” supported although probably not recommended. Because at least for now it looks like ext4 will continue to be extended and improved rather than be replaced it’d be a good idea to backup essential files and install new anyway.
On Tue, 20 Aug 2013 15:17:14 +0000, Will Honea wrote:
> I’m finally comfortable with 12.3 so it’s time to update the wife’s
> laptop. I’ve done this 11.4 -> 12.3 several times but on this machine I
> hit an immediate problem: the 12.3 install program doesn’t see the
> existing 11.4 installation as a candiddate for update.
>
> I suspect that the ext3 fs is the issue here. I have been simply
> updating since 10.2 or so and have never re-formatted the disk since the
> initial install. Is there a simple (?) way to get this update done or
> am I going to have to resort to the backup/reformat/restore/update pain?
What’s the filesystem that’s on the system right now?
If it’s ext2, you can upgrade it to ext3 in-place. I would back the
system up, but then you can use tune2fs to add an ext3 journal.
On 2013-08-20 17:17, Will Honea wrote:
> I’m finally comfortable with 12.3 so it’s time to update the wife’s laptop.
> I’ve done this 11.4 -> 12.3 several times but on this machine I hit an
> immediate problem: the 12.3 install program doesn’t see the existing 11.4
> installation as a candiddate for update.
>
> I suspect that the ext3 fs is the issue here.
No, no way. That can not be a hurdle.
However, if the current install is 32 bit, and the DVD is for 64, it
will not see it.
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)
> On Tue, 20 Aug 2013 15:17:14 +0000, Will Honea wrote:
>
>> I’m finally comfortable with 12.3 so it’s time to update the wife’s
>> laptop. I’ve done this 11.4 -> 12.3 several times but on this machine I
>> hit an immediate problem: the 12.3 install program doesn’t see the
>> existing 11.4 installation as a candiddate for update.
>>
>> I suspect that the ext3 fs is the issue here. I have been simply
>> updating since 10.2 or so and have never re-formatted the disk since the
>> initial install. Is there a simple (?) way to get this update done or
>> am I going to have to resort to the backup/reformat/restore/update pain?
>
> What’s the filesystem that’s on the system right now?
>
> If it’s ext2, you can upgrade it to ext3 in-place. I would back the
> system up, but then you can use tune2fs to add an ext3 journal.
The existing filesystem is ext3. When the 12.3 installer evaluates update
candidates, the installer reports errors and comes back with “unable to
mount /dev/sdax”. Wierdly, if I press on and brute force the desired
partitions, the system sees them just fine - the software manager is able to
see all the files and determine the needed “update” files and such. That
would imply that the error message is in fact the error and not a true error
but…
I guess I’ll have to play with this in a VM and see what happens. Like some
of the others have said, it’s wierd that the system appears to have full
access to the drive as expected and 12.3 itself has no issues with ext3. I
was hoping that someone would come back with a how-to that did the ext3 ->
ext4 fs in place but I guess that was just to easy to be true
I’ll also try the online update route and see if that flies. What I’m
actually trying to do is get this last box ready to jump to 13.1 when it
goes GM. I’ve gotten comfortable with the 11.4 -> 12.3 update results now
that 12.3 is at a point where I trust it and I really wasn’t looking forward
to trying 11.4 -> 13.1 in one step.
> The existing filesystem is ext3. When the 12.3 installer evaluates update
> candidates, the installer reports errors and comes back with “unable to
> mount /dev/sdax”.
What errors? That may be important.
> I guess I’ll have to play with this in a VM and see what happens. Like some
> of the others have said, it’s wierd that the system appears to have full
> access to the drive as expected and 12.3 itself has no issues with ext3. I
> was hoping that someone would come back with a how-to that did the ext3 ->
> ext4 fs in place but I guess that was just to easy to be true
I have seen it somewhere - maybe google knows. But AFAIK, the procedure
is not complete, it does not add all the possible features of ext4. I
believe it is better to backup, reformat, and restore; that’s what I
did, but in my case, grub is on a separate /boot partition, so it is easier.
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)
