etc-update questions.....

jtp755 · l33t Joined: 01 Sep 2003 Posts: 691 Location: USA

i am currently emerging xfree 4.3.99 but i ran emerge -u world before and then i ran etc-update. it messed up some config files(net.eth0, make.conf, fstab, etc) i dont know all of it it was like 21 or 27 of them. anyways i fixed the ones i mentioned and rebooted and everything looks good. but my question is....whats a safer way to do a etc-update? also should i run update-modules? or anything else that you can think of that i need to run or check. it would be much appreciated.

meowsqueak · Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2003 2:24 am Post subject:

etc-update is perfectly safe provided you manually merge those files you have changed BEFORE you hit the -3 or -5 option!

When you start up etc-update, you are presented with a list of all modified files in protected directories. Each has an index number. Enter that number and you'll be shown the differences between your existing file and the new update. Choose to overwrite the changes if you wish, or retain them, or merge the two files together if there's some stuff from one you wish to combine with the other. Then you can choose the 'replace with merged file' option.

If you just hit -3 or -5 without doing this, you will lose all your changes. Don't do it.

TGL · Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2003 7:49 am Post subject: Re: etc-update questions.....

jtp755 · l33t Joined: 01 Sep 2003 Posts: 691 Location: USA

ok xfree emerged like it should have. now it says that 16 config files in /etc need updating and 93 in /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xkb. what all should i do? should i go through and look at all 109 of the config files or what?

I edited the /etc/dispatch-conf.conf file to say yes to the last 2 ??s but should i also change the second one to make it use rcs(idk what that is) to archive the files in the directory specified above it?

meowsqueak · Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2003 10:05 am Post subject:

If you keep a log or a notebook of all the files in /etc that you have altered/changed/created and the reasons for making the changes, you'll have a much happier time

jtp755 · l33t Joined: 01 Sep 2003 Posts: 691 Location: USA

so you are saying that i should write down every file that i edit/change/create? and you do this right? adn you are sayin not to use dispatch-conf and use etc-update or which one should i use?

TGL · Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2003 11:25 am Post subject:

My advice is to use dispatch-conf instead of etc-update. I personnaly prefer it with the RCS backup repository, but if you don't know RCS/CVS, then I think it is safer for you to say "no" to this option. In that case, what you will have in your backup repository are some "path/to/file.revision", were "revision" is a number, so it is easy to recover an old version.

Oh, and a last note: you have to manually create the repository at the place you've configured in dispatch-conf.conf.

jtp755 · l33t Joined: 01 Sep 2003 Posts: 691 Location: USA

so i have to create what ever directory that is specified in dispatch-conf.conf. that sounds easy enough. i will give it a try when i get home tihs afternoon. thanks. i will post to let you knwo hwo it goes.

meowsqueak · Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2003 7:57 pm Post subject:

I was saying, use either, but it helps to know which files you've manually changed. You won't change many at all.

I keep a list, but it's in my head. I'm good at remembering collections of things, so I can easily scan down the etc-update list and pick out the ones I've altered. Some people aren't so good at this, hence my suggestion of a notebook.

Oh, and I *do* keep a logbook of all the weird and wonderful things I learn in Linux... it is invaluable.

jtp755 · l33t Joined: 01 Sep 2003 Posts: 691 Location: USA

i did the dispatch thing and it has screwed up alot. idk what all happened yeah all my files are backed up but can i just copy them backover or waht? when i boot theres a problem with the fonts and i still cant get x configed right. i so ready to start over agian.

jtp755 · l33t Joined: 01 Sep 2003 Posts: 691 Location: USA

maybe it would be best to start over and keep a log

jtp755 · l33t Joined: 01 Sep 2003 Posts: 691 Location: USA

ok i went wiht my last post. i have wiped everythign and i am going to start over again. this time i will keep a log. and i will use etc-update....dispatch-conf was confusing to me.i thought it would merge the new content into the original ones but i dont think that happened. but it dont matter its all gone. but i will post back when i have some more ??s or results

jtp755 · l33t Joined: 01 Sep 2003 Posts: 691 Location: USA

i have emerged xfree successfully and i also kept a log all the way through the install and i have wrote down all the things i have changed or updated with etc-update. i will post with later results