Tech Tip: Upgrade to Mandrake Linux 9.2 with urpmi

In October of 2003, MandrakeSoft released Mandrake Linux 9.2. This latest release is perhaps the most mature release to date, with a focus on stability, features, and an easier user experience.

Mandrake Linux 9.2 includes the recently released GNOME 2.4 desktop, a stylish and professional-looking desktop manager for Linux. It also includes the stable 2.4.22 Linux kernel with enhancements for a number of hardware devices, as well as the latest 2.6 Linux kernel for testing purposes.

The installer hasn't changed much from the last version, except for the obligatory cosmetic fixes and support for autodetecting more hardware devices.

MandrakeSoft has also made the urpmi tool more robust. In fact, those currently running Mandrake Linux 9.1 can perform a "live upgrade" of their systems by using urpmi. Instead of downloading an ISO, you can find a mirror that contains the 9.2 tree or point to the "cooker" repository to upgrade.

For example, to upgrade to "cooker" (the development version, which is currently frozen and is identical to the 9.2 release tree), you would use the following:

This set of commands creates the "cooker" medium for urpmi. (Replace [ftp] with the URL and path of your closest Mandrake mirror.) It then upgrades the urpmi tool itself along with all of its dependencies.