I don't know what it is, and I hesitate to put the blame solely on this release, but it was working great for years with 13.1. The only thing I did was reinstall and put all my configs back and now it seems it hasn't been working since June and after about 5 years with Linux I am ready to throw in my hat and call it quits.

The only thing physically that has changed is removing my switch and replacing it with a crossover cable directly connecting my win7 box with my slack box. Coincidentally, the majority of my problems have been network related. I don't know if there is anything else you need to do that differentiates using a crossover cable vs the use of a switch.

So, I've read the Changes and hints file and there was nothing in there that related to any of my problems, and there have been many. I'm wondering what has changed that would render my slackbox useless?

I can't be of much help with your scenario, but I bet that another title would have attracted more focused answers. Also the content doesn't give any hint on which kind of error, any messages etc...

The only thing is that "blindly" overwriting new configs with old ones can lead to breaks and malfunctions as you might miss some new behaviors and settings...

I'd have diff'ed the /etc/ tree instead (or similar directory where your old config resides), retrieving old settings when required...

Also, it's better (at least easier) just to use netconfig, in my own experience.

When you say configs, you mean stuff in /etc or just /home/$USER ?
Specifically did you just copy stuff in /etc/rc.d ?

Hi,

You should learn to use descriptive titles for your threads. That way you will receive targeted responses.



FYI: I suggest that you look at 'How to Ask Questions the Smart Way' so in the future your queries provide information that will aid us in diagnosis of the problem or query.

'jeremy' ask that all our crystal balls be sent back, malfunctions when viewing over LQ members shoulders. Plus not proper to personally invade LQ members space.

If you want both machines to have access to the internet when you use a crossover cable then one of the two machines must have two NICs. One NIC for the crossover cable and one NIC to connect to the internet. The box with two NICs needs to have IP forwarding enabled so the other machine can pass through to the assigned gateway. Typically the gateway is a router or the ISP device.

Previously you did not need two NICs because you used a switch to connect the two machines. Then either the switch had a built-in router or the switch connected to the ISP device to provide both machines access to the internet.

I have been using the same config files for years. The trick is not to blindly copy and paste all config files, such as rc.d scripts. Typically with rc.d scripts I use a graphical diff tool to compare scripts between versions to keep what I want. Most config files in /etc can be maintained between releases without problems, but I still always use a diff tool to look for unique differences with the newer release.

I know not everybody can do this, but when I want to update releases I first start in a virtual machine. Then I start comparing config files and rc.d scripts to decide how to merge the files. I do a lot of rebooting of the virtual machine and testing long before I decide to update my system. Also I duplicate my primary install in different partitions and then when I am satisfied with the virtual machine testing, I then update the duplicate partitions. I continue testing there. After I have compiled notes for myself I finally update the primary partitions. Many people have no need to do this but I have too many years of custom tweaks to perform a blind update. Basically, I never am in any hurry to update releases.

I install /boot, /home, and /usr/local on separate partitions so updating never overwrites that data and files. When I update kernels I create a new boot manager option and do not delete the previous kernel until I am satisfied the new kernel works. Usually I leave the boot manager that way for many days until deleting the option for the previous kernel.

I guess the point is being methodical about updating (anything) tends to reduce stress.

I'm running 13.1 on my primary machine and 12.2 on three other systems. I have 13.37 installed in a virtual machine but I lack the time to update my primary system. Maybe a mid winter project

1 members found this post helpful.

Well, I was looking for a broad response, not something specific. Maybe there was some major change that wasn't mentioned or was mentioned in some obvious place I overlooked.

That's a very good idea. I think next time I upgrade, I'll just buy a new hard drive and keep my old working system in case something goes wrong.

Thanks for your responses.

It could depend on what you might be running too.

Personally, I've had terrible issues with KDE as of late getting the Network to function at all. if I load KDE it totally and completely kills dhcpcd and all my other networking abilities. I've had to remedy it by using XFce and such lighter weight desktops. No idea why KDE has been a headache but oh well.

try different stuff on your system and see if maybe it could be some bad packages or software that is having conflict issues.

Slackware 13.37 works fine here on both desktops and servers. (End of broad response )

0 members found this post helpful.

I have no real hope to offer specifically other than check your cable, they can and do go bad and frequently aren't worth a squat to begin with and I wonder why you were making changes in the first place if there weren't any problems to begin with... Maybe what you thought was a switch problem was something else??

On the broad 13.37 note though, I had quite a few problems working from 13.1 to 13.37 via current, and never quite made it all the way to the final release of 13.37. There were a few annoyances (I had problems initially with the NVIDIA binary driver, firefox, and google-chrome) and then for some reason after running more or less fine for about 4 months without a reboot I started getting major system hangs generally revolving around ktorrent.

I did a fresh install of 13.37 this week, built a new 2.6.39.4 kernel based on the generic .config from -current with just a few tweaks, installed the latest patches and the newest NVIDIA driver, changed all of my passwords, and rather than just saving my old /etc/*.conf and copying them over, I saved them and just referenced my old ones for the things I needed up and running, and in truth it was 20 minutes of hand editing which just reinforced my knowledge of those things anyway. My system is working great, everything from Slackbuilds is building fine, and with AlienBob's repository, a cable modem and a fast processor I have everything I need in about 3 hours from the time I formatted, to the time I started watching Batman Begins in VLC, while serving up my little dumb webpage.

I guess what I'm saying is so far I am VERY PLEASED with 13.37, I like this version of KDE far more than what was released with 13 or 13.1 (Thanks Eric for the packages and Slackbuilds in the meantime), and I have yet to find anything to complain about other than the fact that I was having issues with KDE freezing before I installed the NVIDIA driver and switched to a generic kernel. All of that was well documented with fixes before I even began or is just general Slackware knowledge of what to do with a new system.

:-)

I am on 13.37 and no issues here.

@Woodsman,

Great response.

cheers,

Same here on altogether 6 machines. Broadly speaking.

With regards to "copy over configuration files", or "preserving them by using a dedicated /home partition": some programs unfortunately do not cope well with their own config files from previous versions. It appears some KDE components behave like that, but surely they are not the only ones. So one needs to decide on a case-to-case basis which configuration file can be re-used.

Martin

13.37 has been designed from the ground up to be broken and reduce the bloated Slackware fan base in favour of minor distros like Ubuntu and Fedora.




(Just kidding)

1 members found this post helpful.

Hi,

Then why post such an absurd statement?

Use a switch, that's the proper solution not some crossover cable. I'm sure that's probably the source of the problems, but you have not been at all specific.