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When you don't update often....

Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 5:12 pm
by rickc
Our W8 family PC is now very slow. It's hardly used so I may as well install MX17 and see if the machine can become enjoyable ....

Question is....if it remains little used.....will the system get ruined if an update is not done for weeks and weeks?

In other words, to keep the system running OK, how often must I do the updates?

Thanks

Re: When you don't update often....

Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 5:15 pm
by dolphin_oracle
which it? windows 8 or mx17?

Re: When you don't update often....

Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 5:50 pm
by entropyfoe
It can sit for weeks or months if you don't use the machine.
Just run the updates when you run the machine.

It will run fine, but if you want less bugs, and more security, run the updates when you log in.
I use synaptic. And when you run the updates, just watch that no packages are being uninstalled. If you watch that, your system will be safe.

Even if there are dozens of updates, synaptic will figure it out.

Re: When you don't update often....

Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 6:36 pm
by Stevo
entropyfoe wrote:It can sit for weeks or months if you don't use the machine.
Just run the updates when you run the machine.

It will run fine, but if you want less bugs, and more security, run the updates when you log in.
I use synaptic. And when you run the updates, just watch that no packages are being uninstalled. If you watch that, your system will be safe.

Even if there are dozens of updates, synaptic will figure it out.
Just to be pedantic, some updates will remove packages in the normal course of an upgrade. Just watch out for mass removals. This should not happen unless you have been messing around with the repositories. We don't install any metapackages in a way that removing one metapackage will wipe out your whole desktop, which can happen with straight Debian.

Re: When you don't update often....

Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 6:39 pm
by Paul..
I have a kitchen laptop (Lenovo refurbished) that is running MX Linux and I don't update very often...no problems.

Re: When you don't update often....

Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 8:09 pm
by richb
Be aware that MX upgrades are not like Windows upgrades. I take all upgrades as they are available. I do now have a fast 100 Mb/s connection and a typical upgrade takes between 20 seconds and 3 minutes. And typically no rebooting necessary for an upgrade. The longest are kernel upgrades that need to regenerate an initrd and rebuild modules but they also do not take very long. Of course for the kernel to load you do need to reboot but the upgrade is finished, not multiple reboots as in Windows.

Re: When you don't update often....

Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 9:14 pm
by TJ Hoye
@ those-of-you-with-high-post-counts

My experience starting with MX-17 beta3 as a LiveUSB doing virtually every dist-upgrade as it
shows up in the green box has been 100 percent successful. I had expected this might not
always be trouble-free but am quite pleased that it has been.

Given your much longer experience with this, can you say that I should relax my uncertainty
and continue more confidently with each and every opportunity to dist-upgrade and no longer
expect some calamity or other might occur with the next dist-update offered?

TIA

Re: When you don't update often....

Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 9:20 pm
by richb
In my experience yes. As long as you stick with the default repositories, avoid PPA's and do not enable other repositories without asking first. Also examine if upgrades say they will remove packages. In most cases they can be removed but if inexperienced wise to ask the "experts" first.

Re: When you don't update often....

Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 10:01 pm
by entropyfoe
Yes, that was my experience,, and the reason for my comment.

The only time I ever get unpleasantly surprised is when packages are removed. As long as packages are added, I have never in hundreds of updates had any problem.

Yes Stevo, sometimes packages are removed, but as mentioned, at that point a lesser experienced person should pause and investigate or bail out and ask experts. Sometimes there is some explanation.

And the big mistake is to enable other repositories, then mass removal can be catastrophic.

Re: When you don't update often....

Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 11:04 pm
by Stevo
You'll never get the horrendous Windows upgrade experience you'll get if you try to upgrade some install that hasn't had them for a couple years, either. No multiple reboots and endless waits while some little spinner whirls around and you're locked out of your machine. I have Win 10 on my laptop still, but I haven't booted it since December, so probably have lots of Meltdown crap from MS awaiting.