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Upgrade Mageia7 to Mageia8

Back in the early days of Linux, the changes to the operating system were so dramatic that even when updating withing the same distro, in-place point release updates were problematic enough and it was always recommended that a major version release be done from scratch. There were just too many major changes to the underlying subsystems and package naming conventions. Doing an in-place update was just asking for trouble.

Modern distros have matured quite a bit even though there are occasionally some major subsystem changes being made. Yet it's never been easier to do an in-place major version upgrade.

For upgrades from Mageia7 to Mageia8, just skip to the bottom, but it is essentially the same steps.

I just did the upgrade on several Mageia6 systems and the results were consistent and satisfactory, not to mention simple.

Step 0.

Always backup critical information. Have a Mageia7 recovery disc on hand. You can download the ISO image from here.

Read the Release Notes, the Documentation and the Errata for Mageia 7. Other than updated applications, the biggest changes are support for UEFI and the move to GRUB2. If you are upgrading from a GRUB/Mageia5, you will keep GRUB.

You can always download an ISO image to do the upgrade rather than do an in-place installation if your Internet connection is slow. Simply choose the Upgrade option rather than the Install option.DO NOT attempt an upgrade from the Live ISO image as it will overwrite your existing system.

Upgrade the MGA Applet

Step 1. Open a terminal window.


$ sudo mgaapplet-upgrade-helper --new_distro_version=7


And you're done. This essentially does all the following individual commands.

Upgrade Using URPMI

Step 1. Fully update the packages you now have installed.


 $ sudo urpmi --auto-update --auto -v

Step 2. Remove all the existing Mageia6 repositories.


$ sudo urpmi.removemedia -av

Step 3. Add the Mageia 7 repositories. (All on one line.)

$ sudo urpmi.addmedia --distrib --mirrorlist 'http://mirrors.mageia.org/api/mageia.7.x86_64.list'


Note: for 32-bit systems, substitute i586 for x86_64.

Step 4. Update the packages.

$ sudo urpmi --replacefiles --auto-update --auto -v


Step 5. Reboot. You'll be using a new kernel, new glibc and so on.


$ sudo shutdown -r now

Step 6. Run the package update command from Step 4 again. It should return with no packages needing updating.


Upgrade Using DNF


Step 1. Update your current installation

$ sudo dnf upgrade

Step 2. Install the dnf system-upgrade plugin

$ sudo dnf install 'dnf-command(system-upgrade)'


Step 3. Run the system-upgrade download phase.

$ sudo dnf system-upgrade --releasever 7 download --allowerasing


Step 4. Start the upgrade.

$sudo dnf system-upgrade reboot


All Done.  But . . . . Do Some Checking.

$ cat /etc/redhat-release

$ cat /etc/issue

Those commands should return the information that you are running Mageia release 7 (Official) and Kernel 5.1.14-desktop-1.mga7 .


I did have an issue on one machine and running

$ sudo urpmi mageia-release-common 

fixed it.

You can also manually edit those version files in /etc to change the version number.


UPDATE TO MAGEIA 8

Here are the official instructions to upgrade from Mageia 7 to Mageia 8. It worked just fine for me.


Become root in a terminal

[user@computer ~]$/bin/su -
password:

[root@computer ~]# _

Warning
From this point all the commands are executed as root
As recommended previously, be sure your system is updated
# urpmi --auto-update --auto --force
Disable dnf makecache (this step can be skipped when dnf is not installed)
# systemctl stop dnf-makecache.service
# systemctl stop dnf-makecache.timer && systemctl daemon-reload
Remove all of the existing media sources on your system by executing this command:
# urpmi.removemedia -a
Add the Mageia 8 online sources, either:
Using the MIRRORLIST method (which will select a mirror automatically based on your geographical location):
# urpmi.addmedia --distrib --mirrorlist 'http://mirrors.mageia.org/api/mageia.8.$ARCH.list'
(urpmi knows what to substitute for $ARCH)
Using a specific media mirror:
# urpmi.addmedia --distrib <mirror_url>
You can get the mirror_url using the Mageia mirrors web application.
Finally start upgrading:
# urpmi --auto-update --auto --force
It's best to run the above command twice because in the first run some packages may be downloaded but not installed.


"60% of the Time, It Works Every Time" -- Anchorman
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