I have been using Etch for awhile now Dual boot with Windows XP Pro. This was originally a Sarge install that I upgraded to Etch before it was released as Stable. I just binned Windows due to a recurring BSOD (Due to video driver issues) and installed Etch as the only OS from the 4.0_r0 CD. I am happy with the performance of Etch but I was wondering if there are any advantages to upgrading my distro to Lenny.

New packages and files. If you stick with Etch you are going to be stuck with the same software for the next probably 2 or so years. If you go to Lenny you will get new software as it comes through unstable. This means it won't be the absolute newest software, but it will be recent and in most cases it won't bork your system.

If you are content with the same old stuff for the next two years, Etch is the way to go. It won't break because nothing changes. If you like the idea of progress and change, Lenny is a good choice. Things might not always work right, but that is the risk you take. Plus, it gives you the challenge of figuring out how to fix the problem. And to me at least, that's half the fun of Linux.

Lenny still works perfectly 95+% of the time. To have any real fun, you should go out on a limb, and run a Lenny/Sid mixture. You control the amount of fun you wish to have by the number of packages you use from Sid.

If you don't do it right, you can have so much fun, you'll wind up reinstalling. I put together a howto on "doing it right."

Thanks for the input guys. . .I just finished the upgrade to Lenny.

BTW, thanks for the howto rickh.