Re: update messages
> >
> > One other thing that I am unsure about is that aptitude reports a number
> > of packages being 'held back'. I havn't intentionally asked for this,
> > could it have occured automatically or have I unintentionally done
> > something when initially learning to use aptitude?
>
> Hugo is right, just fully backup the partition, if it will make you
> feel better. The 'held-back' refers to packages which have newer
> versions available but can't be installed because some dependency is
> not available. 'Dist-upgrade' is what you need to resolve some of
> these. You will at some point just have to "do it" and be prepared for
> the results. Personally, I've done many very large upgrades in sid
> with generally no problems. ymmv.
Thanks - in that case I will give it a go. Just wanted to be sure
everything looked normal before letting it run.
I have had problems in the past after upgrades on gentoo which has led
me to be reticent about updating software in advance of actually needing
some new feature...
> Finally, if you aren't prepared to
> maintain the system properly to avoid these issues, maybe you shouldn't
> be running a more volatile set of packages like testing and focus on
> stable instead. no offense intended if so perceived.
Point taken, and it was my intention to stick to stable for my first
Debian install, but I was forced into Etch because the Toshiba Lifebook
included hardware that needed drivers not included in stable. In fact
even Etch hasn't managed to get everything working - but at least it
allowed me to get most of what was working under a Ubuntu live CD
also working in Debian. (I can survive with microphone and modem
problems, but not a non-working X server..)
Can you elaborate on what you consider to be necessary to 'maintain
the system properly'? I recall reading somewhere that it was considered
anti-social to update with excessive frequency, but I don't recall
seeing any warning that using unstable involved a commitment to a
minimum upgrade frequency.
Regards,
DigbyT
--
Digby R. S. Tarvin digbyt(at)digbyt.com
http://www.digbyt.com
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