Re: Some questions on updating.

[Garance A Drosihn <drosih@xxxxxxx>]

At 10:13 AM -0700 8/7/04, Chris Pressey wrote:
>  > Build and install the kernel, before installing world, i.e.:
> >  make buildworld
> >  make buildkernel
> >  make installkernel
> >  make installworld
> >
> >  as described in the handbook:
> >
> >  http://www.forknibbler.com/handbook/updating-makeworld.html
>
> Why is this order recommended?  I've always built and installed
> world first so that the kernel would be rebuilt with the new tools.

Well, it is possible the new userland will not work on your older
kernel, because it requires something that is only in the new kernel.
This is not a big risk if you are rebuilding your system every week,
but the risk becomes larger with the longer it has been since the
last time you updated your system.

Speaking from my own experience with FreeBSD, you want to build,
install, and REBOOT into the new kernel before doing an installworld.
It is prudent to do this just to make the latest kernel does in fact
work on your machine.  This is especially important if you are
tracking a "current" branch.

Over the last four years, I have had at least a half-dozen times where
some new kernel completely dies on my hardware.  If I had installed a
new userland before I found that out, I would have been in a world of
hurt trying to get back to a working system.  I used to be more cavalier
about following the recommended steps, and more than once I have ended
up with a system where the only way to get out some mess I was to
reinstall the entire system from scratch.

--
Garance Alistair Drosehn            =   gad@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Senior Systems Programmer           or  gad@xxxxxxxxxxx
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute    or  drosih@xxxxxxx