Re: [opensuse] Installing 11.1 to Unused Partition From Running System?
On Tuesday 06 January 2009 14:15, Greg Freemyer wrote:
On Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 2:06 PM, Randall R Schulz <rschulz@sonic.net> wrote:
Hi,
I was wondering if it's feasible (if at all possible) to perform an openSUSE 11.1 installation to an unused partition on my existing 10.0 system while it (the 10.0 system) is running?
I've never tried, but if you're willing to experiment:
Get a VM running based on that empty partition. (Don't use a paravirtualized VM.)
Ha! I should have thought of that. Why not paravirtualized? Which is VMware?
Boot the install DVD in that VM. Install.
Edit your /etc/fstab in the VM to be correct for a native boot, if you want to use the same /home directory and swap partition, fix those up as well.
I usually choose to mount volumes by label, thought I'm thinking of switching to by-ID.
Edit the grub menu on your 10.0 system to have an entry for the new partition.
Reboot.
Good Luck Greg
Thanks for the idea. Randall Schulz -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 5:37 PM, Randall R Schulz <rschulz@sonic.net> wrote:
On Tuesday 06 January 2009 14:15, Greg Freemyer wrote:
On Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 2:06 PM, Randall R Schulz <rschulz@sonic.net> wrote:
Hi,
I was wondering if it's feasible (if at all possible) to perform an openSUSE 11.1 installation to an unused partition on my existing 10.0 system while it (the 10.0 system) is running?
I've never tried, but if you're willing to experiment:
Get a VM running based on that empty partition. (Don't use a paravirtualized VM.)
Ha! I should have thought of that. Why not paravirtualized? Which is VMware?
I'm pretty sure VMware is NOT paravirtualized. But now that I think about it, paravirtualized might work too. The issue is drivers for your hardware. In a normal SUSE install, the kernel has all the drivers available as modules and does hardware autodetect each time you boot to figure out what hardware you have. So when you switch your platform from VM to real hardware the standard autodetect logic should work for you and cause the right drivers to kick in. Xen is paravirtualized, so if the SUSE Xen kernel knows that it is only going to run in a Paravirtualized VM, then it might only have the Paravirtualized VM drivers available to it and not do hardware autodetect. Thus when you reboot, you would not have any real hardware drivers to work with. :( I don't know anything beyond that, so I guess I'm just saying to be leery of using an install that would use the Xen kernel because it may or may not have real hardware drivers in it. Greg -- Greg Freemyer Litigation Triage Solutions Specialist http://www.linkedin.com/in/gregfreemyer First 99 Days Litigation White Paper - http://www.norcrossgroup.com/forms/whitepapers/99%20Days%20whitepaper.pdf The Norcross Group The Intersection of Evidence & Technology http://www.norcrossgroup.com -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Tuesday 06 January 2009 15:59, Greg Freemyer wrote:
On Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 5:37 PM, Randall R Schulz wrote:
On Tuesday 06 January 2009 14:15, Greg Freemyer wrote:
...
Get a VM running based on that empty partition. (Don't use a paravirtualized VM.)
Ha! I should have thought of that. Why not paravirtualized? Which is VMware?
I'm pretty sure VMware is NOT paravirtualized.
That's what I thought.
But now that I think about it, paravirtualized might work too.
The issue is drivers for your hardware.
...
Xen is paravirtualized, so if the SUSE Xen kernel knows that it is only going to run in a Paravirtualized VM, then it might only have the Paravirtualized VM drivers available to it and not do hardware autodetect. Thus when you reboot, you would not have any real hardware drivers to work with. :(
I tend to scrutinize my installations in great detail, so I'm unlikely to allow a Xen kernel to get installed inadvertently. And since I've never used Xen (directly—we used it from afar at Amazon) and would do this with VMware Workstation, I don't think this pitfall will arise. Nonetheless, I'll be circumspect.
I don't know anything beyond that, so I guess I'm just saying to be leery of using an install that would use the Xen kernel because it may or may not have real hardware drivers in it.
OK. Thanks. I'm going to seriously consider this. Running SuSE Linux 10.0 as my primary system is getting less and less tenable, but I'm so loathe to tip over the apple cart that is this crusty system with a new install, I want to do it as incrementally and non-irreversibly as possible. Thanks again for the idea of installing under a virtual machine.
Greg
Randall Schulz -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
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