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Install Updates or Not...


kfoss
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Hi,

 

I've been running Mandriva for years and up until recently I've been avoiding doing updates to the currently install OS. Normally I wait until a new version comes out, wait a few more months and then do a complete upgrade.

 

However, since installing 2010.1 I've been listening to the "alerter" and installing the updates. Why...mainly because it's annoying to keep getting messages that I have updates available. Now I've been noticing that when updates occur, that sometimes there are unforeseen complications. In early September after an update that affected KMail, I have no longer been able to send messages. This is a known problem within Kmail, but has yet to be fixed through another update. Similarly last night I let the system update the glibc packages. After reboot, I had to restart the system four (4) times and finally let it sit for 30 minutes before I could get to a login.

 

Are the updates really worth it? It's not like I can look through a list of updates to see if they fix problems I'm experiencing.

 

Comments...discussion?

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Are the updates really worth it?

 

Well if you decide not to install updates then you could be missing out on some security related fixes and that could be important.

 

On the other hand, I see your point. Any update has the potential to break something. Which repositories do you have enabled? Some of them are by their nature riskier than others.

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Sure you can have an occasional problem with an update but keep in mind that when a problem is discovered with an update, it is usually found, reported and fixed very quickly by sending out a newer update as quickly as possible.

By avoiding further updates you are effectively "cutting off your nose to spite your face". :)

Updating from cooker is always a risk (I am not implying that you do so), that is why I only do security and bug fix updates which I do daily. When a problem has occurred it has always been quickly fixed.

 

Cheers. John

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I always apply updates to my system. The biggest thing you need to look out for are changes to config files. This can be a problem on servers if you have something installed and tweaked the config only to find after an update the config reverted.

 

Normally though this doesn't happen unless you accept it. On most if not all rpm distros, the config files are always created as .rpmnew so that you can review and accept if you need to. On Debian based distros it will ask you if you want to accept the new config file, stay with the old one, compare, etc, etc.

 

Sometimes packages can cause problems. There is the old saying "If it 'aint broke, don't fix it". Sometimes this is good, but then other times you can be leaving your system open to security risks, especially where internet access to that particular system is concerned. Updates are meant to be there for a reason, but then there is also the chance that they can make things worse. You just hope that if an update was released that broke something, that it will be fixed just as quick. One thing you could do is always open a bug report for the problem you are now experiencing to help get it fixed.

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My experience with 2010.1 was a rather mixed one. After I installed it, the system worked well, but when I installed the updates, the system instantly got completely broken (maybe because of "not properly made fixes" and/or updates because of the recent turmoil at Mandriva. Who knows...). That is why I reverted to 2010.0, applied the patches and just wait for the next stable release of Mageia or CentOS.

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All,

 

Thanks for the responses. Just knowing I'm not the only one that has issues with updates eases the pain a bit :)

 

I will continue to update my system as recommended and hopefully I won't run into any new issues.

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