Hey guys,

I've done this twice now: install 3.1R0, upgrade to current sarge, put in the 2.6.12-k7 kernel, reboot again, have it all nice and hunky-dory. Then I try to dist upgrade to etch. All h3ll breaks loose...twice now it has locked up my machine after d/l the packages. First time, entire computer froze. Second time, Xscreensaver kicked on and wouldn't let me log in or kill it; I went into another console and killed it by cml. Then synaptic was hung on ssh installation. I killed the window manager, and it showed that the X configuration was messed up. So I rebooted; and then it popped up and said that I needed to fsck the system manually, that the datestamps were set for sometime in the future (yes, my timezones are correct all around). I do this, reboot, and it's the same thing.

I'm just wondering if etch is too volatile right now to be upgrading to? Can somebody who knows weigh in, or tell me what I need to do/avoid?

Thanks so much,
D

I had to much trouble with the dist upgrade from sarge to etch nothing seem to work right. So I downloaded the netinst disk and installed Etch from scratch. Been working great ever since.

Since yesterday there's been this funky problem that a lot of folks have had:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...d.php?t=399446

Dunno if that's at all connected though.

I'm running Testing, but did the dist-upgrade a couple of weeks ago right after installing from a few-months-old netinst CD.

HTH.

I had the pub key problem which is an easy fix and the problem others are having with fsck: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...d.php?t=399446

My problem isn't with any public keys (that I could tell); it 1. froze the computer (with the HD activity light on constantly) halfway through the dist-upgrade, hung on (I think) the ssh stuff; and 2. gave me the error saying that I needed to fsck the system and reboot because of date or time inconsistencies (which I don't have).

Is the dist-upgrade just not working correctly right now, or is there a "procedure" for upgrading (i.e., install these files first, reboot, then install these files, etc."? I'm getting really frustrated with my system right now...almost thinking of Ubuntu again...

Short answer...no. There is too much transition going on right now in the Testing branch to advise a dist-upgrade from Sarge. The best and most stable method is to simply install Etch via the Debian NetInstall ISO. You would most certainly be finished with that procedure long before you worked out the ongoing issues from a 3.1 to Testing upgrade.

Yes I can also recommend a clean install using the Etch NetInstall iso. I installed it 3 weeks ago, and it's running just great!

how about just using dist-upgrade to upgrade the system(as opposed to upgrade)? Is there something we should be looking for? How long is "major transition" going to take? I've got etch already, but is it going to be too unstable for some time?

Always a good idea to read the Debian Weekly News.
Progress in each branch is often reported there.