Kernel update possible with live media?

[maluethy]

Hello

I wanted to update the kernel on a live media (USB stick). I was able to download the updates with the graphical update installation tool and the installation was successful. However, after restarting from the live media (USB stick) the old kernel version was displayed. Can I update the kernel on live media? Do I need to install Mageia on my computer for a kernel update? Do I need to install Mageia on my computer's hard disk for a kernel update?

About the background: I would like to test a graphics card and a monitor. However, the graphics card (Radeon RX 5500) requires at least kernel 5.4 and on the live media is kernel 5.1 - I want to do it with different desktops (Gnome, Plasma, Xfce) and so I chose the way with the live medium.

Thanks in advance for the information and regards.
Luethy

[benmc]

not with the live media per se.

if you re-create your live Mageia media but enable persistence then any changes you make - documents to record your experiments, new applications, new kernels etc are available after reboot. Just use a USB device with a bit of spare space, as, even tho' the Live FS is compressed, added packages are decompressed, so take up a lot more space.
The way Mageia Live .isos are now built and alterations to Isodumper at the release of Mageia 7 allow this.
Isodumper, available from the repos, will perform this task, just check the box.

you can even update the entire Live System to the latest packages.
if you are adding applications / packages or updating, it is best to use a USB 3.0 device connected to a USB 3.0 port.
why?, I updated a persistent Live on USB 2 once, it took over 20hrs.

I am aware of one user whom converted a Live XFCE to Live Mate.

[penguinsekai]

I would like to test a graphics card and a monitor. However, the graphics card (Radeon RX 5500)

For now, you'll probably only be able to get it working using the fbdev driver (for a UEFI-based system) or the vesa driver (for a BIOS-based system), until the following bug gets fixed:

Bug 26765 - amdgpu doesn't work on AMD Navi graphics cards (presumably due to missing LLVM 9)

Thankfully, it looks like we probably already know the cause of the problem (likely a missing LLVM 9+ dependency), so this issue should get fixed, once Mageia's kernel/drivers team has time to work on it.

Nonetheless, I'd greatly appreciate it if you could try testing your Radeon RX 5500 anyway, and post your findings to the bug report I linked to above. We currently don't have many reports from users who own AMD Navi-series (i.e. 5xxx) graphics cards. So at the moment, the bug report is only backed by:

• Online research, indicating that Navi cards supposedly require LLVM 9 or higher (Mageia 7.1 is still using LLVM 8)
• The debugging attempts from one PC (mine, as described on viewtopic.php?f=23&t=13511)
• A vague forum post from February (viewtopic.php?f=23&t=13335).

It'd help if we had more reports from other users - particularly given that your card uses different firmware from mine (my Radeon RX 5700 XT should be using the "Navi10" firmware, whereas your Radeon RX 5500 should be using the "Navi14" firmware). Furthermore, if you can test your card's DisplayPort output, that would be great - unfortunately, I've only got HDMI cables/monitors, so it would be nice if someone else could rule out any HDMI-specific issues (by testing DisplayPort).

Also, when the kernel/drivers team prepares a fix for this, I'd appreciate it if you could help test it - again, your help would be particularly valuable, as it would allow us to test against a broader range of firmware.

[maluethy]

benmc, thanks for the tip on Isodumper.

What does the following statement mean?

Isodumper, available from the repos, will perform this task, just check the box.

Just let the application Isodumper install and it should work? Or does the ISO file have to be written to a USB stick with Isodumper?

The IsoDumper manual mentions a root password. In this case, what is the root password for a LiveMedia?
https://wiki.mageia.org/en/IsoDumper_Wr ... USB_sticks

[doktor5000]

Just let the application Isodumper install and it should work? Or does the ISO file have to be written to a USB stick with Isodumper?

The latter. You can also do it manually, if you prefer that. Details are mentioned at https://wiki.mageia.org/en/Installation ... ry_devices

The IsoDumper manual mentions a root password. In this case, what is the root password for a LiveMedia?

This refers to the root password for the system where you create the live media using isodumper.
The live media don't have a root password.

[benmc]

I was guessing you have Mageia as your main system.

you have downloaded a Live .iso for Mageia 7.
install Isodumper from the repos.

insert your USB target device.
start Isodumper.
choose the target device, your Live USB
choose the image, your downloaded Mageia7 Live .iso
check the box "Add a persistent partition in the remaining space."
write to device.
enter your root password.

to create a Live persistent USB from within a Live environment.
you will need 2 USB ports and 2 USB drives, one for your existing Live system, the other as the Isodumper target. (choose your target wisely)

If you do not have Mageia as your main system:
Boot up your Live Mageia on the hardware you created the Live USB on.
if you still have the original downloaded .iso on your computer, you do not need to download again, just mount the partition the Live.iso is stored on.
(if not, mount an existing HDD partition, or create one and mount it. use Gparted or diskdrake.
select and download a Live Mageia.iso and store it on the HDD partition.)
add online repos for Mageia.
add Isodumper from the repos
follow the steps about how to create a persistent Live USB above.

no root password required.

reboot to your new LIve with persistence USB Mageia system

[maluethy]

benmc, thank you for the description of the two different approaches. This is very helpful for me.