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Updating SuSE Linux 10.0 to 10.1

After installing SuSE Linux 10.0 freshly on my new Siemens Fujitsu Scaleo T A64X2 3800+ PC there was no way to set up the Netgear WG111V2 USB stick even though I have tried desperatly! So I have started another trial with SuSE Linux 10.1 which finally made things work out right. But it was a long way to success.

Update Installation

I have downloaded the ISO DVD image for the x86 version of SuSE 10.1 and burnt a DVD. Mind that I did not chose the x64 version because I am aware of problems with ndiswrapper which I am using to make the USB stick work!

Then I have booted up the previous 10.0 installation and started YAST2->Software->System-Update to update all installed packages to 10.1. IIRC I had to add the DVD as an installation medium with YAST2->Software->InstallationsquelleWechseln (change installation media) first. A few conflicts were shown which I ignored. The update went fine and I finally booted to a 10.1 system. To my big relief there was no problem at all to make the USB stick work with ndiswrapper (sometimes it is makes sense to update).

DHCP client issue

I have configured the USB stick to get IP address and name server from DHCP server. Even though the IP address was retrieved, no name server was set by DHCP. The problem was obviously raised by the onboard ethernet card which is not connected but still configured to utilize DHCP client. The concurrent access to /etc/resolv.conf raises the problem. As a solution I have deactivated the ethernet card by YAST2->Netzwerkgeräte->Netzwerkkarte Geräteaktivierung=Niemals (network devices->network card Startup=never). Now the name server is correctly set by DHCP.

Online Update issue

With the internet access working I have tried to online update next which did not work at first. To make online updates work you have to register at Novell. Registering happens with YAST2->Software->OnlineUpdateConfiguration. My attempts all failed with an error window popping up telling "No products to register". So the online update would not work. For my system the directory /var/lib/zypp/db/products was empty and obviously this happens when upgrading from 10.0 in the described way. To solve this issue I have booted from the SuSE 10.1 DVD and started an update installation by the following procedure: Choose Installation, choose language, accept the license, check the Aktualisierung (Update) radio button at the Systemanalyse dialog, select the root partition in the dialog to follow and start update. After this procedure I have found a /var/lib/zypp/db/products/adc7e58a345d7a5981066bb467dd14fd file and luckily the online update issue is gone now! When registering you will receive an update server which should be used as a source for online update.

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