********************UPDATE ************
DON'T Do this... to upgrade... read the next post along with this if you are really interested in upgrading..
From here down sounds good.. but prolly won't work.
********************UPDATE ************
You should be able to upgrade easily!!!
But the almight BACKUP should be done if you have anything important on your system..!! If something goes wrong don't you blame me.. this worked for me.
I'm typing to you from my new 9.3 install...
Check it out...
Earlier I posted that I downloaded an 8Gig dvd iso from a bittorrent tracker sight.
Ok here is what I did with it..
1) As root, I loop mounted it to a server on my network.
1a. I created a directory to mount to
1b. I like to have it available all the time so I added this line to my /etc/fstab (I used azureus to download it. and I think you need to have a blank line at the end of the file so don't forget that.)
Code:
/home/My_User_Name/.Azureus/downloads/suse93pro.dvd.iso /mnt/Suse9.3 iso9660 ro,loop,auto 0 0
1c. Then I mounted all available file systems in fstab
1d. Verify you have files in /mnt/Suse9.3
If it's not empty you're prolly ok. (I did it earlier last week with a bad download. and while it looked like it mounted fine the /mnt/Suse9.3 directory was empty. I should have files in it.)
2) As root, I offered this mount over the network with SMB (Keep in mind my Samba Server is already working correctly, so if samba isn't running on your network already this won't work unless you get samba up.)
2a. I edited /etc/samba/smb.conf and added this to the bottom (again not forgetting the new line at the bottom of the file. Note: For those that don't know.. your samba user name can be different from a normal *nix user_name.)
Code:
[Suse9.3]
comment = Suse 9.3 loop mounted iso
path = /mnt/Suse9.3/
writeable = no
valid users = My_Samba_User_Name
2b. restarted the smb/nmb deamon
Code:
rcsmb restart && rcnmb restart
2c. Verified the share was available on a different computer. (Just browse to it from any smb:// protocol compliant browser. Konquer does it by Default I think. Certainly xp will if you have one of those on your network.)
3) Now I went to the laptop I was upgrading, & again as root.
3a. I mounted the smb share from my server to a local directory. I did this in /etc/samba/smbfstab
Code:
//Server_IP_or_nmb_Name/Suse9.3 /mnt/Suse9.3 smbfs username=My_Samba_User_Name,password=My_Samba_Users_Password
3b. start the smbfs service. (You need samba clients installed for this check yast if you don't have it. Should be installed by default but who knows how people set their systems up.. incidently I don't have this start automagically on boot. Only when I need it. SMB is a noisy protocol so I choose not to automount it.)
3c. Check to make sure you have data in /mnt/Suse9.3 (again this should NOT be empty at this point.)
4) I went to yast and changed my installation sources.
4a. KDE Menu->System->Yast (I'm a KDE person. If you use another WM I'm sure you can find yast. If not open a termal and type yast. BUT you know that, and I know you know that. ;P )
4b. Enter your root password correctly when prompted, and goto Software->Change Source of Installation.
4c. Disable any other media sources you have. (Click on the source the name of which should be something like "Suse Linux Version 9.2" and then click the "Enable or Disable" button. The status should read "off")
4d. Click Add->Local Directory then type /mnt/Suse9.3 into the dialog box. Click OK. Click Finish.
4e. Back at the Main Yast window Click Software->System Update.
5e. Satisfy any dependacy problems. (I saw something like 651 packages need updateing package selection needs your attention. I needed to actually downgrade firefox to get the install to work without any grief.)
6) Wait patiently while your packages are updated. Close yast. Reboot and enjoy.
It works as advertised.
OH BTW I didn't need the mini iso at all! But I did download it.. and even tried to install from it.. but no atheros drivers were available (MadWifi/ath_pci whatever you want to call it.. but I didn't try that hard because I hade a better idea. Which I just shared with you and it works perfectly!!).
Sorry for the long winded ness of this message but I hope somebody finds it usefull!
Share the Lizzard Love..
But still not bad if you are cash strapped.
