32bit vs 64bit
This is sort of an odd question, but my desktop is a core2duo machine, which means it is capable of 32 or 64 bit operation. The last time I rebuilt the machine in 2007, there were still a number of deficiencies in 64bit Linux. However, some time in the intervening time, my clock started running fast, gaining, say, 15 minutes per hour, even though ntp was running. I was advised to install the amd64 kernel. Thus I wound up with a franken-machine with a 64bit kernel and 32bit userland. One of the problems with this configuration is that apps which use the kernel and userland versions get confused. For instance, I can install the amd64 version of VirtualBox, but it will not start because it gives me "wrong architecture"...
Well, now 64bit is as stable as 32bit, and I want to upgrade my machine to 64bit userland. Is there a reliable way to upgrade existing packages? Or is a complete rebuild ("nuke and pave") the best way? I know I could probably wget every package on my system with a wget script and do a "dpkg -i *" but that seems frought with danger. On the other hand, doing a "nuke and pave" means I would be without the machine for the duration of the build, plus the post-install configuration means I have to labor to get things back to the way I like them.
Is there some middle ground?
thanks,
--b
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