Questions about yum updates

[PatrickDickey]

Hello there,

I've installed Fedora/Amahi, and have already configured most of the things that I want. And I've already started copying my files over. One of the apps that I installed is Webmin, and it shows 597 updates available for my system (most likely all Fedora updates). So, I have a few questions.

1. The wiki/installation instructions don't really tell you when it's safe to start updating Fedora. So, at what point is it safe (eg. after the initial installation and setup is completed, after the hard drives are added, after you've moved your files, never, whenever you feel "froggy")?
2. Are there any updates that should be avoided (due to them causing problems with Amahi or other apps)?
3. Is it safe to turn the background updates on at all?
4. Is there a place where we can find out whether an update (in the future) will cause problems, or do we have to just try it (or check the forums to find out that someone else broke their machine trying it)?
5. Is it safe to do the updates through webmin, or should I use either yum or the software updater that's built into Fedora?

As an aside, if I have to reinstall because of a failed update, would the entries in my current /etc/fstab still be the same (assuming that I just reinstall without changing anything in the setup)? I've backed it up, just in case I messed something up completely. So I want to know mainly if the UUID entries will be the same (realizing that the paths may not be).

Thanks, and have a great day:)
Patrick.

[bigfoot65]

1. The wiki/installation instructions don't really tell you when it's safe to start updating Fedora. So, at what point is it safe (eg. after the initial installation and setup is completed, after the hard drives are added, after you've moved your files, never, whenever you feel "froggy")?

Updates should be safe. I have done them all along and never had any issues.

2. Are there any updates that should be avoided (due to them causing problems with Amahi or other apps)?

Not that I am aware.

3. Is it safe to turn the background updates on at all?

Up to you. I have updates installed automatically each night via a cron job set up using Webmin.

4. Is there a place where we can find out whether an update (in the future) will cause problems, or do we have to just try it (or check the forums to find out that someone else broke their machine trying it)?

Nothing that I am aware exists. Its pretty much trial and error. If one does break something, you can typically revert back to the previous version of the package.

5. Is it safe to do the updates through webmin, or should I use either yum or the software updater that's built into Fedora?

I have done it that way, but seems to take longer. It's easier for a mass update to do it via command line.

As an aside, if I have to reinstall because of a failed update, would the entries in my current /etc/fstab still be the same (assuming that I just reinstall without changing anything in the setup)? I've backed it up, just in case I messed something up completely. So I want to know mainly if the UUID entries will be the same (realizing that the paths may not be).

Not necessarily. Best thing to do is backup your HDA drive using something like Clonezilla. Then if there are problems, you can restore.

Hope this helps.