Best way to upgrade - Opinions?

[jjordan]

I don't want to start a war here, just looking for opinions.

I've been running RH7.3 for a couple of years now and have downloaded and compiled at least 50 programs that I use often.

I want to update my system to either Mandrake10, RedHat 9, or *maybe* Fedora.

I have only a 800Mhz P4, but I have a lot of very expensive storage in it. The hardware works fine for me. I may bite the bullet and upgrade that next year.

Two questions:

1. Which distro would you recommned?

Priorities in this order:

a. simpliest to maintain and update (best admin tools)
b. simpliest to install
c. stable
d. up to date.

Queston 2:
What is the best way to upgrade my system. I'm dreading having to find, download, compile all those programs again. It's going to take weeks! Is there an easier way?

Thanks, and no battle over which is the better Distro!
jeff

[je_fro]

If you dread re-installing all those packages, why not go for Debian or Gentoo...they take the pain out of installing programs.

[JohnT]

If RH is running fine for you why do you want to change? Are most of your applications compiled with the original stock compiler? What kernel version do you have? Slackware had been my choice, using "swaret" to keep it updated has been painless.

[jjordan]

JohnT & je-fro

As you probably know from another thread, there are a couple of reasons that I would like to either update or change distros.

I feel that I have a lot of 'junk' lying around from upgrading and not removing old stuff. Not knowing how to keep my system clean, I thought it might be better to just start fresh.

I also find that more and more programs that I download dont' compile properly because of outdated 'stuff' on my system.

I would also like to take advantage of the latest featuress that go along with newer software.

Just one example; I wanted to upgrade my Gnome. Well, after several days and finding out the one package required another package, etc., etc. I gave up. Just too much trouble. This is happening more often now.

Trying to upgrade my kernel from 2.4.24 to 2.6 left me scratching my head. It became so complicated, requiring too many dependencies that I gave up. I've compiled over 20 kernels in my short life with Linux without a problem.

I want to be able to *use* Linux, not have to become a guru, althought there is nothing wrong with learning a lot as you go. Linux is stable and has a lot of good programs, which is the reason I switched. I really don't want to have to get under the hood and tear the engine down to replace the cam shaft in order to drive it.

So, I just felt it was time for a change. If people tell me that I'm nuts, I may forgo it.

However, je_fro brought up going with either Debian or Gentoo. I researched both of these because I too was thinking about them, only to find that most reviews don't coincide with my priorities that I listed in my original post. At least that is what the reviewer said.

I know that Debian has apt-get, which I've used in my current RH7.3 system and I love it. So, if it works under other systems besides Debian, then what does Debian have that Mandrake10 or RH9 or Fedora doesn't? In other words, would either Debian, Gentoo or Slackware make it any easier to reinstall all the programs that I will be using than RH9, Mandrake10 or Fedora? That's the real quesiton.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by jjordan
In other words, would either Debian, Gentoo or Slackware make it any easier to reinstall all the programs that I will be using than RH9, Mandrake10 or Fedora? That's the real quesiton.[/B]

Impossible to answer... as we aren't cognizant of what programs you run?:confused:

Just go with what you feel comfortable with.......I personally wouldn't go with RH9, Mandrake10 or Fedora because I prefer more control over my system.

[je_fro]

Installing any program you want is totally painless in gentoo, but people (namely the ones unwilling to sit and read the documentation) say it's hard to install. Same with Debian, though it's packages are often quite old. Slack is probably the easiest to install, but there is no dependency resolution. I don't know what programs you want, but Deb and Gentoo probably have them. Go out and read the docs now and pick one. Or install both...whatever...

[soda_popstar]

Fedora's quite sexy. ;) But I prefer Gentoo.

[EnigmaOne]

Originally posted by jjordan
I also find that more and more programs that I download dont' compile properly because of outdated 'stuff' on my system.

I would also like to take advantage of the latest featuress that go along with newer software.
I still several systems that run RH7.3, and keep them updated from source releases. Seems the easiest way to deal with things to me.

Consider doing a fresh install of 7.3, update from your local rpm repository, and apply all new updates from source?

[JohnT]

Originally posted by je_fro
Slack is probably the easiest to install, but there is no dependency resolution.
Small observation......swaret=dependency resolution
:p

[jjordan]

EnigmaOne,

I'm assuming that when you say 'frest install' that you mean to wipe my disk and reload RH7.3.

As long as I'm doing a fresh install why wouldn't I go with an updated package, then start from there?

Am I missing something in your post that you're trying to tell me?

JohnT, you seemed stoked on swaret. Hepe me out here. I researched swaret, apt-get and emerge. All three seem to me to do the same thing. Since I'm not a Linux guru, maybe you could explain the differences and benefit to a user of one over the other. e.g. easier to use, more programs, faster, etc.

Thanks

[JohnT]

Originally posted by jjordan
EnigmaOne,

I'm assuming that when you say 'frest install' that you mean to wipe my disk and reload RH7.3.

As long as I'm doing a fresh install why wouldn't I go with an updated package, then start from there?

Am I missing something in your post that you're trying to tell me?

JohnT, you seemed stoked on swaret. Hepe me out here. I researched swaret, apt-get and emerge. All three seem to me to do the same thing. Since I'm not a Linux guru, maybe you could explain the differences and benefit to a user of one over the other. e.g. easier to use, more programs, faster, etc.

Thanks

I wouldn't know the first thing about apt-get or emerge and don't pretend to.....though I am sure they are everything their users claim them to be.Have tried Debian and Gentoo...just didn't fit my style.Swaret is commandline driven. Package bases are maintained on several mirrors with sevral different versions available at one time. At the present it is 9.0, 9.1 and current (the latest). Slack also has its own package manager "pkgtool" which has become a swiss-army package manager...you not only can install or uninstall but look up what files are contained in a package. Do searches for packages and files within those packages...run Slack installation setup scripts...blah, blah,blah:D

[EnigmaOne]

Well, I actually like 7.3 and had boxen that I didn't want to switch up-release. I simply had too much customization in those units to make the shift worth my while.
Other machines have been moved up to FC1, and I use yum to keep those current; but I don't care for the Gnome-factor with FC.

I simply found that, since I kept all rpm and source updates on a server (through 04 January), I could go ahead and re-load 7.3, update from my local up2date spool directory and use source tarballs for further updating/patching--if the need exists.
IMHO, with first-releases of goodies being (for the most part) source-only; it's simply easier to get what I want, when I want it, by dealing with the source code in the simple
"./configure"
"make"
"make install"
fashion.

So far, I've kept those systems current without any hassle to speak of. You might discover that it works admirably for you too.

[je_fro]

Originally posted by JohnT
Small observation......swaret=dependency resolution
:p

Yeah, you're right! For all 8 programs!

Heh...how many packages are in swaret now?

[JohnT]

Originally posted by je_fro
Yeah, you're right! For all 8 programs!

Heh...how many packages are in swaret now? I can see its been sometime since you used Slack. Why even in the 3.0 version they had 9. Aside from that..swaret is only a tool for accessing distrobution sites and mirrors not a package base.

[je_fro]

:D :D :D

[MMYoung]

Yeah, if it's on linuxpackages.net you have access to it with swaret. Swaret will also resolve dependencies after the install. I've only run into a couple of issues using swaret, but for the most part it's pretty painless *especially* since I've gotten ADSL :D!

I've also used apt-get with MEPIS (a Debian based distro) and have had a couple of problems with it as well. I guess what I'm saying are that NONE are perfect but they are darned near it!

My $.02,
MMYoung

[XiaoKJ]

To tailor specially for u, I think Fedora would be a nice choice as

1) u r using RH7.3 and they are from the same company. This means most of the stuff u will not need to learn again.

2) FC is upgradeable while RH9 isnt.

But if dependencies give u a headache, go Gentoo.
Its emerge system does it all, so u don't have to manually edit all the dependencies, like RH. Also, Gentoo is meant for all linux users for it is extremely customisable. Thus, it should fit your needs no matter what.

I think that all systems are for me, just that I need to keep it updated all the time. For RH or FC, I think u can alias dist-update or something to update, so it will upgrade everytime u boot. It will be nice to do updating little by little, not all at one go.