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Old 04-17-2018, 05:30 PM   #1
rob.rice
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Registered: Apr 2004
Distribution: slack what ever
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some quesions about switching to current


how stable is it ?
the last time I tried current I had to reinstall 13.37
will the stuff I installed from slackbuilds have to be rebuilt for current?
what is the easiest to do it ?
should I install it to another partition ?
do I have to reinstall the nvidia driver as part of the update ?
(linux kernel 4.4.118 I would call it an upgrade if it was slackware => 14.3)
 
Old 04-17-2018, 05:31 PM   #2
Alien Bob
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Registered: Sep 2005
Location: Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Distribution: Slackware
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Don't. Just... don't.
 
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Old 04-17-2018, 06:11 PM   #3
bassmadrigal
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Registered: Nov 2003
Location: West Jordan, UT, USA
Distribution: Slackware
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rob.rice View Post
how stable is it ?
It is usually stable until it isn't. There can be some extremely problematic upgrades that can require a lot of changes on your system to get things functioning again.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rob.rice View Post
the last time I tried current I had to reinstall 13.37
Depending on your knowledge to fix a broken system, you may need to reinstall again when an upgrade causes problems. There's always ways to prevent requiring a reinstall, but whether you have the knowledge and/or patience for it is up to you... It is also common for systems to break if people forget to install any software that might've been added to current.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rob.rice View Post
will the stuff I installed from slackbuilds have to be rebuilt for current?
Most likely, yes. And with some updates, you may need to rebuild some or all of them again.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rob.rice View Post
what is the easiest to do it ?
Install Slackware or rebuilding stuff from SBo for current? If it is the first, you can either use slackpkg or install from scratch using Alien's current ISO. If it is the latter, get a list of your packages and use whatever SBo tool you use to rebuild everything once current is installed.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rob.rice View Post
should I install it to another partition ?
Again, this depends on your planned usage. Are you willing to keep both partitions up-to-date? Is usage of your computer absolutely necessary that if current breaks your system that you need to have an alternative available until you get current working again?

Quote:
Originally Posted by rob.rice View Post
do I have to reinstall the nvidia driver as part of the update ?
Yes, this needs to be done with every kernel upgrade. However, current sometimes has new enough kernels that the nvidia driver doesn't have support for them. Sometimes this can be resolved with patches found on the internet and other times you'll need to wait until a patch (or updated driver) is made available.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rob.rice View Post
(linux kernel 4.4.118 I would call it an upgrade if it was slackware => 14.3)
4.4.118 is the latest version for 14.2. But current is following the 4.14 kernel right now and it is at 4.14.34.

TL;DNR - current can be stable, but it should be expected to break things at any time (and it does... just a few weeks back an icu4c upgrade knocked out some 3rd-party packages. If you can't manage the breakage, you shouldn't use current and should just stick with 14.2. If you're questioning how stable it is and whether you should run it, you should probably just follow Alien's advice to just not do it. While I consider myself knowledgeable enough to fix most issues that may arise from current, I don't want to take the time to fix those. I'd rather just have a stable system and stick with the latest stable.
 
5 members found this post helpful.
Old 04-17-2018, 07:08 PM   #4
BW-userx
LQ Guru
 
Registered: Sep 2013
Location: Somewhere in my head.
Distribution: Slackware (15 current), Slack15, Ubuntu studio, MX Linux, FreeBSD 13.1, WIn10
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Whence you go current you cannot revert back, you have to do a clean install. FYI
 
1 members found this post helpful.
Old 04-17-2018, 10:57 PM   #5
Gordie
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Registered: Aug 2007
Location: Nolalu, Ontario, Canada
Distribution: Slackware64-Current
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My go-to computer (laptop) runs Slackware64 14.2 and I am happy with it. I do not want to mess with it. I keep a backup of /home that allows me to do a clean install and re config in one evening.

I also have an old desktop computer that I play with. No tears are shed when things go south. This is the one I just brought up to Slackware64-Current.

The aforementioned backup of /home from my laptop was used to install and configure on the desktop. All my settings are there and everything looks and acts like the laptop, same DE, same wallpaper, same everything.

I use sboui and now have found that it flagged a lot of stock Slackware-Current programs as being up-gradable. Have just finished making additions to the blacklist to remove all those entries and keep me from getting in trouble.
I just took all my SBo programs and dragged them to a directory on the hard drive. Some had to be discarded because they would conflict with the Slackware install. Actually only worked out to be 4 files.
Open a terminal in that directory
Code:
installpkg *
and go make coffee.
When finished everything looks like it works. Whatever doesn't work will have to be dealt with as I identify them.

For now I find it stable but I am under no allusions. I the past I only had my main computer to mess with and BAM it was a mess. This time it is my play computer and it doesn't matter what happens
 
Old 04-18-2018, 08:20 AM   #6
BW-userx
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Registered: Sep 2013
Location: Somewhere in my head.
Distribution: Slackware (15 current), Slack15, Ubuntu studio, MX Linux, FreeBSD 13.1, WIn10
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Sounds like you’ve got it under control from here.
 
Old 04-18-2018, 10:09 AM   #7
hitest
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Registered: Mar 2004
Location: Canada
Distribution: Void, Debian, Slackware
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bassmadrigal View Post
If you're questioning how stable it is and whether you should run it, you should probably just follow Alien's advice to just not do it. While I consider myself knowledgeable enough to fix most issues that may arise from current, I don't want to take the time to fix those. I'd rather just have a stable system and stick with the latest stable.
Agreed.
 
2 members found this post helpful.
  


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