Mageia forum

Hello,

I was wondering if it is possible to upgrade to Mageia 7.1 from Mageia 6.1 using mgaonline (the automatic update function in the GUI). I have everything set up to be alerted when an upgrade is available.

I checked the release notes (https://wiki.mageia.org/en/Mageia_7_Rel ... _.28GUI.29) and just noticed that this functionality is marked "Warning! Not yet available" so I'm not sure what I can do now. Will I have to do a clean install and have to reconfigure all my settings? I can do that but it'll be a giant pain. Is there another option to upgrade without doing a complete reinstall?

Please advise.

Thanks,

Brad

linuxbrad wrote:I can do that but it'll be a giant pain. Is there another option to upgrade without doing a complete reinstall?

Yes. They're in the same section of release notes you linked to already: https://wiki.mageia.org/en/Mageia_7_Rel ... e_Internet and https://wiki.mageia.org/en/Mageia_7_Rel ... to_Upgrade

Thank you! I was put off by the big warning and so did not read further.

However, I now have another question. The CLI instructions say the following:

The best method for performing an upgrade is to use run-level 3 so that the X server and graphical environment is not running.

Therefore, the upgrade should be cleaner using run-level 3 than using a terminal application as fewer programs are running which could potentially mess up the upgrade.

How do I drop into run-level 3 to properly do this from the command line?

Thanks,

Brad

linuxbrad wrote:How do I drop into run-level 3 to properly do this from the command line?

append your kernel boot line such that it ends with 3

if you are booting using grub-2, just press "e" during your grub boot selection screen, and then use the keyboard arrow navigation keys.
there should be a screen of text, and at the end instructions to exit or boot up.
the kernel boot line would normally contain the following: quiet splash.
go to the end of this line and just add a (space)3, then ctrl-x to start the boot up.
when you would normally be presented with the login greeter, you will be presented with a text login.

TBH, I would set up my new MGA-7 on-line repos before restarting, so that you can be sure that the mirror is good, as then it just becomes a case of logging in as user and then switching to root, or logging in as root and running instructions

Code: Select all

urpmi --auto-update --auto --force

as per "Upgrading online, using urpmi (CLI)" (from https://wiki.mageia.org/en/Mageia_7_Rel ... e_Internet)
please read carefully, and be prepared for breakage, as QA have not yet approved mgaonline upgrade, so there is obviously still some issues.
so, back up your data, remove excess kernels, general housekeeping...etc.
depending on the size of your /, you may need up to 5GB clear space on your / partition, more is better.

lease read carefully, and be prepared for breakage, as QA have not yet approved mgaonline upgrade, so there is obviously still some issues.
so, back up your data, remove excess kernels, general housekeeping...etc.

What I'm seeing on this thread is that the upgrade option isn't likely to work properly. Ugh.

Am I stuck doing a clean install then since the upgrade seems likely to break my install anyway? That's going to be a huge pain as I had to do a bunch of fiddly things to get VPN functionality to work (e.g. install and use Network Manager as my default connectivity system and deactivate the default).

I wish this wasn't so difficult.

You can wait until it is sorted out, Mageia 6 is still supported, or just go with it.
You could also do an upgrade from the DVD ISO, just do not forget to set online repos. A good backup is common practice naturally.
If the upgrade should fail you then can reinstall from scratch.

I am not sure why mgaonline is not working yet but I guess there are some issues, that does not mean that it will affect you. There are people on the forum IIRC that did the upgrade without problems.

Exactly that, there will surely appear news in near future concerning the mgaonline-issues.

linuxbrad wrote:What I'm seeing on this thread is that the upgrade option isn't likely to work properly

I have upgraded 8 or 10 systems from Mga6 to Mga7, and only had one go pear shaped - so a failure of between 10 and 15%.
mainly my fault, as I had insufficient spare capacity on my / partition.
so the risk is there.
to be extra safe, just grab a clonezilla live and create a backup image off your machine.
that way at lest you can restore to where you were before you started.
and if not needed, its a good practice to get into anyway.