Need I upgrade from Fedora 8 to 9? Will my current drivers eg. Graphics still work?
 

Excuse my ignorance but I have in the past updated the kernel in Fedora 8 and had all sorts of problems with screen graphics especially in MythTV. I had to install new drivers - I think. If I upgrade to Fedora 9 or 10 will the current drivers that are running my hardware odds and ends be retained? Or will the new Fedora come with it's own drivers that will overwrite the current ones that are working fine?

Also, if I upgrade to a new Fedora will I need to re-install codecs for proprietary sound and video files mp3 DivX, mpeg etc.?

Cheers,
Berwhale

well in fedora yum will take care of the driver for a nvidia card UNLESS you installed the nvidia.run file .Then, for EVERY kernel and xorg update you will need to rerun " sh *.run " to rebuild the driver .
please post WHAT card you have in the box .
mythtv runs fine on fedora 9
and see:
" Nvidia Videocard Setup In Fedora Linux "
http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=188241

P.S.
do not use "updrade " it only works SOME of the time
Do a fresh install

IF you just need a functional system and can live without the flash of the bleeding edge, I would look at Centos 5.2. Centos is RHEL(Red Hat Enterprise Linux) with the logos removed(built from the same source code) but is free to download/update(unlike RHEL). Centos/RHEL 5.X was based on FC6. One of the main advantages to running Centos is that it has a five year support life, as opposed to Fedora's 13 month support life. Since it is based on Fedora, Centos has the same "feel". The downside to running RHEL/Centos is that the versions of most packages are older (more fully debugged).

If you have very specific drivers on Fedora 8 (MythTV, codecs for proprietary sound and video files mp3 DivX, mpeg etc.) and you absolutely need it, then either create always full documentation of all your specific installs, configurations and changes (to reproduce the setup in case of need)- or simply stick with Fedora 8 to err on the safe side.

The optimal solution would be to have another PC or a virtual system (VMware, VirtualBox, etc) to test for bleeding-edge Fedora versions, before applying upgrades and updates.

If you can live without the flash of the bleeding edge, then you can also live without CentOS, and simply keep Fedora 8.

Berwhale,

If your codecs etc are similar to the non-free codecs for mplayer etc, then yes, the codecs will survive just fine. Did you get your codecs from a yum repository or did you download a tarball and just place them on the system? If you did use a repository, make sure the new repo supports the new version of Fedora beforehand. As previously mentioned, switching to a distro like CentOS will extend the support life-cycle of your OS, but there may be additional work needed to get the same level of Myth support on an enterprise OS like CentOS/RHEL. It does sound like your driver issue is as a result of installing new kernels with something like a propriatary driver from nVidia (meaning you have to re-build the kernel module each time you install a new kerenl) so you would have to take this step if you upgraded to FC9 from 8.

Ultimately, more information about your system would be most helpful, but as a general rule, if your hardware is supported under Fedora 8, it will be supported (and most likely better) under 9.

Hope this helps,
~Art

I would most strongly disagree with this statement. In about a month all updates of any kind will cease for F8. Running any machine that does not get regular security updates is just plain reckless. While RHEL/Centos runs older versions of packages they are FULLY patched to the current security levels. Suggesting that running a unsupported version of an OS is the equivalent of running RHEL/Centos, is at best foolhardy and could be construed as having malevolent intentions.

lazlow how true but if Berwhale's hardware is old like mine .Up until recently i had to run fedora8 xorg on my fedora 9 box . So putting CentOS on the myth box would be best .There is a much longer life cycle than the 13 mo. with fedora . Also unless you are using the akmod-( nivida,fglrx) driver there may be a 1,2,or 3 day delay in the driver ( kmod)

But if the hardware is old it may not handle the HD content .

Hi all,

I have apparently "borked" (?!?) my system by updating Firefox from 2 to 3 but with the test version for Fedora 10 (?!). Anyhoo, I am now trying to upgrade to Fedora 9. I have downloaded the Fedora 9 iso file from fedoraproject.org - burnt it to DVD - booted from this disk - and began the installation. The disk is then verified - which it passes - then there is an "Error" to which the computer ejects the disk - with the only onscreen response available of "OK" upon which the disk is promptly re-inserted - and just as promptly ejected with the "Error" (it says nothing but "Error"). Very confusing.

Should I do a clean install, or upgrade? With a clean install, I'll need to backup my personal files obviously, but what other files should I backup - ie. the codecs to play mp3s and DVDs etc. Also, I suppose clean install will mean I will need to reinstall MythTV and its codecs???

Do any foresee a problem? I have not had all that much luck - especially with Wireless internet and such

Meanwhile my graphics card is: 256MB NVIDIA Geforce 8500GT

And my wireless card is a Real-Tek "rtl8185"

Cheers,
Berwhale - confirmed Newbie still

I would look on the Fedora Forum for answers to setting up wireless. Fedora 10 should be released tomorrow.

http://forums.fedoraforum.org/

And here is a excellent guide to set up all the multimedia.

http://www.mjmwired.net/resources/mjm-fedora-f9.html

Ok, the borked (other than FF) is not that you installed FF3 from the test repos but that you had the test repos enabled. Which means any yum update you did (with the test repos enabled) installed F10 packages(the hint here is to NEVER enable the test repos). If you need to install a single package from the test repo you can do so by "yum install package --enablerepo reponame". See man yum.

Fresh installs are always advised. Anything you installed via rpm will probably have to be reinstalled anyway. rpms are(usually) distro, version, and arch specific. This is why I pushed Centos so hard. In about 6 months (1 month after F11 is released) support for F9 will be dropped. So in 6-7 months(using F9) you are going to be in the exact same position you are now.

that is a common problem with the fedora9 dvd .It ejects after the disk check ( it is looking for the next cd not dvd for some odd reason.
next time skip the check and if it pops out again reinsert it then push the power button ONCE this will complete the install .

do NOT save the fedora8 codocs .Those rpm's WILL MESS UP the upgrade
also if you DO use the upgrade then UNINSTALL ALL rpm's from the 3d party repos ( freshrpm,livna,koji,... ) these WILL FUBAR the upgrade .
REMOVE ALL programs you built from source ( they may cause conflicts with the new software .