On 08/11/2013 09:12 AM, David Baron wrote:
Results like not worth the effort, though it can be done now as a
crossgrade much more easily. I had tried the dbootstrap method. Almost
got there but ... had to restore.
The main question is whether 32 bit packages will be gradually phased
out. One can already find missing pieces. If this be the case, then some
regular, orderly upgrade path for everyone will be needed. But then
again, strength of Debian was that it ran on the older clunkers as well.
Need to know some objective conclusions here.
I did such an upgrade in PCLinuxOS--just like the man said, to get that
warm, fuzzy feeling. (I actually have both 32-bit and 64-bit on the
machine. Here's what I did:
In PCLOS, it is common to have a separate / and /home partition. So
I let /home be common to both systems. This works quite well--all your
data is kept, your mail archives are still there, etc. When I installed
the 64-bit version, I just told the program not to format /home. On
bootup, I got the familiar desktop (KDE, in my case) and icons for
_most_ of my apps. (I keep icons of commonly used apps on the desktop,
ala Windows 98.) Some icons turned into gear wheels, indicating that
such an app was not going to work in 64-bit-land. Some of these
have 64-bit versions out there, and can be installed from Source-Forge
or from the vendor. Some don't. What I miss most is Adobe Reader. No
matter what the die-hards of FOSS say, there is no real substitute for
Adobe Reader, and if you think there is, sooner or later, you'll get
bitten by something that won't read, or a form you can't fill out, or
something. If there are any "missing pieces," I'd have to say that
they're in the 64-bit apps presently available, not the other way
round.
So now I have 32-bit and 64-bit on the one machine. What am I using?
I'm writing this from the 32-bit install. I don't see any difference
in performance. Maybe if I played shoot-em-up games, I might, but I'm
not a gamer, in the usual sense. I play Solitaire every so often, that's
about it.
So, I will have to agree with the consensus: just keep your 32-bit
system, at least until there is some _real_ reason to "upgrade."
--doug