multiple versions, one partition

[thefamousnomo]

hello people

have a great v2.0 installation running on an old evo400c, really very happy with it. thanks for all the great work! this distro is a pleasure!

anyway, im a bit behind and would like to try out v2.10 before i fully migrate to the newer version.

my question is can i download the new iso, mount it, copy the kernel and / or ramdisk image to a subdir in /boot, make an entry in grub and boot into either without messing with my v2.0 install?

please note that the evon400c has no optical drive...

thanks

[gerald_clark]

You can specify a different tce directory for each version.

[maro]

IIRC there have been a fair few changes between TC 2.0 and TC 2.10.

Depending on your choice of persistence I guess the set of files the old version would use under /opt and /home could quite easily be altered by the new version. Or the new version would be rather "confused" with the settings specified for the old version. Another point that comes to mind is the default location for extensions (tce vs. tce/optional) or the type of extensions (no more .tce, no more .tczl, .tczm, .tcml, ...).

If you would only use the "basis" (i.e. kernel and initrd) then your suggested approach sounds about right, but I doubt that would be your situation. So I guess having carefully backed up the files to somewhere else (e.g. a USB drive) that make up your current setup (e.g. mydata.tgz, and/or opt & home, plus your extensions) you could give it a try. At least with boot codes 'base norestore' you should be fine, because then you'd run without loading extensions or restoring files from backup.

Robert does a fine job in announcing the changes in the release notes, but you would have to work your way through all ten of them to find out what is different. Be aware that some of the changes of earlier releases have been altered again with subsequent releases.

So if I would be you I'd initially move aside my "own settings" (e.g. in /opt and home) and extensions and start fresh. I'd then download again all extensions and check what of the old personal settings (e.g. in /opt and /home) might now be required to complete the upgrade from TC 2.0 to TC 2.10.

Well, that's just my 2c...

[Guy]

I like to have 3 partitions for Tiny Core. Plus swap.

If you have 2 or 3 partitions, you can install the new version without affecting the old version.

I don't know how large your hard drive is, or if you can set up multiple partitions, so updating is easy in the future.