[SATLUG] Upgrade Fedora core 3 to core 6

[Dennis Myhand]

Matt Kinsel wrote:
> I'm getting ready to install FC6 on a Dell laptop currently running Windowz
> ME.  I've got the files I need off of it, and I wish to completely wipe off
> the hard drive and install FC6.  Does anyone have any recommended
> programs/methods for clearing off the drive (OS too)?  I've never erased a
> hard drive before or installed Linux, so any tips/warnings would be much
> appreciated.
> 
> On 12/2/06, Bob Tracy <rct at gherkin.frus.com> wrote:
>>
>> Luis Garza wrote:
>> > I am spending the night downloading FC6 and backing up some of my
>> directories
>> > to CD.  I am feeling very hopefull since I went to church today.
>> >
>> > So I am asking for any lessons learned while upgrading.
>>
>> Best recommendation I can give is to read the release notes and pay
>> particular attention to the *strong* recommendation to do a "from 
>> scratch"
>> install vs. upgrading.  I'm pretty hard-headed and tend to believe 
>> that if
>> a distro vendor offers an upgrade option, it should work :-).  For the
>> most part, it does.  When the smoke clears, you'll have some semi-serious
>> cleanup to do...
>>
>> (1) Your windowing environment of choice will pretty much be trashed.
>>     Fix is to delete all the dot files and directories under your home
>>     directory that have anything to do with GNOME and KDE -- let the
>>     window manager recreate them.  Desktop customizations will, of
>>     course, be lost: you'll need to recreate them.
>>
>> (2) Many packages that were available in FC3 have no replacements that
>>     can be automatically determined by the FC6 upgrade process, i.e.,
>>     they are obsolete or have otherwise fallen out of favor.  After
>>     the upgrade, run "rpm -q -a --last" and save the output somewhere
>>     for reference: this generates a time-ordered list of RPMs on your
>>     system where the oldest RPMs will be at the end of the list.
>>     Anything with a date older than 2006 should probably be removed.
>>     If you need the functionality provided by a package that's a
>>     candidate for removal, try to find a modern replacement.  One you'll
>>     probably run into quickly is the RPM package that provides 
>> alternative
>>     desktop themes: if you had the FC3 version loaded, it didn't get
>>     upgraded and the old one won't work due to changes in where GNOME
>>     expects to find things.
>>
>> Bottom line: if you're adventurous AND feel comfortable doing things
>> from the command line, do the upgrade -- you won't lose any critical
>> data, and you'll have quite the learning experience.  On the other hand,
>> if you don't crave that kind of excitement in your life, save those
>> configuration items and other critical data you can't live without,
>> then do a "from scratch" install.  If you elect the "from scratch"
>> approach and have the luxury of doing so, put it on a different machine
>> and then you won't have to worry about losing *anything*.
>>
>> -- 
>> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Bob Tracy                   WTO + WIPO = DMCA? http://www.anti-dmca.org
>> rct at frus.com
>> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> -- 
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The Fedora disk partitioning tool will do all you need when it comes to 
taking out Bill's bloat.

-- 
Three o'clock in the afternoon is always just a little too late or a 
little too early for anything you want to do. -- Jean-Paul Sartre