Very Computer

by **ANT..** » Sun, 22 Sep 2002 05:17:43

Hi. I am thinking about upgrading my computer systems that have Linux.
I have never upgraded the motherboard, CPU, and RAM with Linux installed.
I'd love to avoid reinstalling if it is possible. Here's what I have now:

1. Pentium II 300 Mhz system with 384 MB of SDRAM and Red Hat Linux 7.1
(custom Kernel 2.4.9 by my friend).
2. Pentium III 600 Mhz system with 512 MB of SDRAM and Red Hat Linux 7.2.
Default Kernel 2.4.7?

I am planning to stick P3 CPU into P2 OR moving the motherboard and CPU
to P2 box.

P3 box gets either an Intel Pentium 4 CPU OR AMD Athlon CPU. Either will
require new RAM and motherboard obviously. All the remaining hardware will
stay the same including the HDDs. Nothing will be changed. Also, I will
be planning to upgrade GeForce2 Pro to a GeForce3/4 for Linux native
games (e.g., Q3A and RTCW).

Is there anything I need to know? Like having Linux rescan for new
hardware setup? I know in Windows XP, I can force a rescan in repair mode
or something. Or do I need to do a clean install for Linux OSes? You can
see the detailed computer configuration on
http://alpha.zimage.com/~ant/antfarm/about/computers.txt (please ignore the
laptop one).

Thank you in advance. :)
--
"To conquer the world, we must be as meticulus and calculating as a
colony of ants on the march." --Julius Caesar
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by **Rodger** » Sun, 22 Sep 2002 07:00:12

I am preparing an upgrade as well, swappin out an older m/b, Celeron
CPU, and old PC66 memory.

The kernel (2.4.18) i have recompiled and saved as a "test" kernel, to
account for the new CPU (a VIA C3, but possibly later a PIII). This way
i am able to boot either kernel based on whatever CPU is swapped in.

The new m/b is made by Soyo, same as old one but with newer chipset and
faster h/d interfaces.

Since the same drives and cards -network, video, and sound cards (all
PCI) - are being transfered, should be no issues there. If you are
using any old ISA cards, now may be a good time to ditch them for newer
PCI cards.

I suggest keeping your same video cards at first to avoid any X
display issues, and change them over to newer later once the primary
upgrades are settled in.

~Rodger

> Hi. I am thinking about upgrading my computer systems that have Linux.
> I have never upgraded the motherboard, CPU, and RAM with Linux installed.
> I'd love to avoid reinstalling if it is possible. Here's what I have now:

> 1. Pentium II 300 Mhz system with 384 MB of SDRAM and Red Hat Linux 7.1
> (custom Kernel 2.4.9 by my friend).
> 2. Pentium III 600 Mhz system with 512 MB of SDRAM and Red Hat Linux 7.2.
> Default Kernel 2.4.7?

> I am planning to stick P3 CPU into P2 OR moving the motherboard and CPU
> to P2 box.

> P3 box gets either an Intel Pentium 4 CPU OR AMD Athlon CPU. Either will
> require new RAM and motherboard obviously. All the remaining hardware will
> stay the same including the HDDs. Nothing will be changed. Also, I will
> be planning to upgrade GeForce2 Pro to a GeForce3/4 for Linux native
> games (e.g., Q3A and RTCW).

> Is there anything I need to know? Like having Linux rescan for new
> hardware setup? I know in Windows XP, I can force a rescan in repair mode
> or something. Or do I need to do a clean install for Linux OSes? You can
> see the detailed computer configuration on
> http://alpha.zimage.com/~ant/antfarm/about/computers.txt (please ignore the
> laptop one).

> Thank you in advance. :)

by **ANT..** » Sun, 22 Sep 2002 08:02:12

> I am preparing an upgrade as well, swappin out an older m/b, Celeron
> CPU, and old PC66 memory.
> The kernel (2.4.18) i have recompiled and saved as a "test" kernel, to
> account for the new CPU (a VIA C3, but possibly later a PIII). This way
> i am able to boot either kernel based on whatever CPU is swapped in.

Ah, I forgot to mention that I still have the default Kernel installed on
the 7.1 machine.

Quote:> The new m/b is made by Soyo, same as old one but with newer chipset and
> faster h/d interfaces.
> Since the same drives and cards -network, video, and sound cards (all
> PCI) - are being transfered, should be no issues there. If you are
> using any old ISA cards, now may be a good time to ditch them for newer
> PCI cards.

I am keeping the old ISA SB16 card in the 7.1 OS. I don't actually use it,
but hey leave it. It's a cool card.

Quote:> I suggest keeping your same video cards at first to avoid any X
> display issues, and change them over to newer later once the primary
> upgrades are settled in.

Shouldn't this not matter since I am getting the same NVIDIA chipset?
I am going from GeForce2 Pro to GeForce4 (not sure which model). Also,
NVIDIA driver are the same for all NVIDIA GeForce cards.

Quote:>> Hi. I am thinking about upgrading my computer systems that have Linux.
>> I have never upgraded the motherboard, CPU, and RAM with Linux installed.
>> I'd love to avoid reinstalling if it is possible. Here's what I have now:

>> 1. Pentium II 300 Mhz system with 384 MB of SDRAM and Red Hat Linux 7.1
>> (custom Kernel 2.4.9 by my friend).
>> 2. Pentium III 600 Mhz system with 512 MB of SDRAM and Red Hat Linux 7.2.
>> Default Kernel 2.4.7?

>> I am planning to stick P3 CPU into P2 OR moving the motherboard and CPU
>> to P2 box.

>> P3 box gets either an Intel Pentium 4 CPU OR AMD Athlon CPU. Either will
>> require new RAM and motherboard obviously. All the remaining hardware will
>> stay the same including the HDDs. Nothing will be changed. Also, I will
>> be planning to upgrade GeForce2 Pro to a GeForce3/4 for Linux native
>> games (e.g., Q3A and RTCW).

>> Is there anything I need to know? Like having Linux rescan for new
>> hardware setup? I know in Windows XP, I can force a rescan in repair mode
>> or something. Or do I need to do a clean install for Linux OSes? You can
>> see the detailed computer configuration on
>> http://alpha.zimage.com/~ant/antfarm/about/computers.txt (please ignore the
>> laptop one).

>> Thank you in advance. :)

--
"To conquer the world, we must be as meticulus and calculating as a
colony of ants on the march." --Julius Caesar
--
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by **Stefan Patri** » Sun, 22 Sep 2002 11:51:49

Quote:> Hi. I am thinking about upgrading my computer systems that have Linux.
> I have never upgraded the motherboard, CPU, and RAM with Linux
> installed. I'd love to avoid reinstalling if it is possible. Here's
> what I have now:

> 1. Pentium II 300 Mhz system with 384 MB of SDRAM and Red Hat Linux
> 7.1
> (custom Kernel 2.4.9 by my friend).
> 2. Pentium III 600 Mhz system with 512 MB of SDRAM and Red Hat Linux
> 7.2.
> Default Kernel 2.4.7?

> I am planning to stick P3 CPU into P2 OR moving the motherboard and
> CPU to P2 box.

> P3 box gets either an Intel Pentium 4 CPU OR AMD Athlon CPU. Either
> will require new RAM and motherboard obviously. All the remaining
> hardware will stay the same including the HDDs. Nothing will be
> changed. Also, I will be planning to upgrade GeForce2 Pro to a
> GeForce3/4 for Linux native games (e.g., Q3A and RTCW).

> Is there anything I need to know? Like having Linux rescan for new
> hardware setup? I know in Windows XP, I can force a rescan in repair
> mode or something. Or do I need to do a clean install for Linux OSes?

I just finish upgrading from a 300MHz AMD K6-2 to a 900 MHz Duron into
a new case. (The old case wasn't designed to take the new motherboard
and I wanted a bigger PS.) Except for the new CPU and MB, all the old
drives, cards and RAM were swapped over. I turned it on and it booted
just fine.

I suggest that you backup all important files. Then just set
everything up the way you want it, turned the damn box on, and see if
it works. Don't try to solve problems that you don't have, yet.

--
Stefan Patric

by **ANT..** » Sun, 22 Sep 2002 13:17:07

>> Hi. I am thinking about upgrading my computer systems that have Linux.
>> I have never upgraded the motherboard, CPU, and RAM with Linux
>> installed. I'd love to avoid reinstalling if it is possible. Here's
>> what I have now:

>> 1. Pentium II 300 Mhz system with 384 MB of SDRAM and Red Hat Linux
>> 7.1
>> (custom Kernel 2.4.9 by my friend).
>> 2. Pentium III 600 Mhz system with 512 MB of SDRAM and Red Hat Linux
>> 7.2.
>> Default Kernel 2.4.7?

>> I am planning to stick P3 CPU into P2 OR moving the motherboard and
>> CPU to P2 box.

>> P3 box gets either an Intel Pentium 4 CPU OR AMD Athlon CPU. Either
>> will require new RAM and motherboard obviously. All the remaining
>> hardware will stay the same including the HDDs. Nothing will be
>> changed. Also, I will be planning to upgrade GeForce2 Pro to a
>> GeForce3/4 for Linux native games (e.g., Q3A and RTCW).

>> Is there anything I need to know? Like having Linux rescan for new
>> hardware setup? I know in Windows XP, I can force a rescan in repair
>> mode or something. Or do I need to do a clean install for Linux OSes?
> I just finish upgrading from a 300MHz AMD K6-2 to a 900 MHz Duron into
> a new case. (The old case wasn't designed to take the new motherboard
> and I wanted a bigger PS.) Except for the new CPU and MB, all the old
> drives, cards and RAM were swapped over. I turned it on and it booted
> just fine.
> I suggest that you backup all important files. Then just set
> everything up the way you want it, turned the damn box on, and see if
> it works. Don't try to solve problems that you don't have, yet.

Did you have to reconfigure anything like lm_sensors?

--
"To conquer the world, we must be as meticulus and calculating as a
colony of ants on the march." --Julius Caesar
--
If you are replying to Ant's news post by e-mail, then please kindly
remove ANT in the e-mail addresses listed below. Note the CaSe!
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\ _ /
( )

by **Bryce Kenned** » Sun, 22 Sep 2002 14:05:59

I just did about the same upgrade going from k63-450 to newer athlon and
board and memory and yes it booted up just fine caught all the new
hardware and was great. I would however as already stated by others
change the video card until after you get it to boot up as it will or
could make more work for you. I was worried about the install on mine
anyway even though it seemed fine and did a fresh install later anyway
and used my backup to save my data.I just wanted to know if it was
possible since I had tried this in windows many times in the past with
very mixed results.

> Hi. I am thinking about upgrading my computer systems that have Linux. I
> have never upgraded the motherboard, CPU, and RAM with Linux installed.
> I'd love to avoid reinstalling if it is possible. Here's what I have
> now:

> 1. Pentium II 300 Mhz system with 384 MB of SDRAM and Red Hat Linux 7.1
> (custom Kernel 2.4.9 by my friend).
> 2. Pentium III 600 Mhz system with 512 MB of SDRAM and Red Hat Linux
> 7.2.
> Default Kernel 2.4.7?

> I am planning to stick P3 CPU into P2 OR moving the motherboard and CPU
> to P2 box.

> P3 box gets either an Intel Pentium 4 CPU OR AMD Athlon CPU. Either will
> require new RAM and motherboard obviously. All the remaining hardware
> will stay the same including the HDDs. Nothing will be changed. Also, I
> will be planning to upgrade GeForce2 Pro to a GeForce3/4 for Linux
> native games (e.g., Q3A and RTCW).

> Is there anything I need to know? Like having Linux rescan for new
> hardware setup? I know in Windows XP, I can force a rescan in repair
> mode or something. Or do I need to do a clean install for Linux OSes?
> You can see the detailed computer configuration on
> http://alpha.zimage.com/~ant/antfarm/about/computers.txt (please ignore
> the laptop one).

> Thank you in advance. :)

--
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Hash: SHA1

Bryce Kennedy
Former Microsoft POW
Freed By Linux
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by **Stefan Patri** » Sun, 22 Sep 2002 23:38:46

> [snip]

>> I just finish upgrading from a 300MHz AMD K6-2 to a 900 MHz Duron
>> into
>> a new case. (The old case wasn't designed to take the new
>> motherboard and I wanted a bigger PS.) Except for the new CPU and MB,
>> all the old
>> drives, cards and RAM were swapped over. I turned it on and it
>> booted just fine.

>> I suggest that you backup all important files. Then just set
>> everything up the way you want it, turned the damn box on, and see if
>> it works. Don't try to solve problems that you don't have, yet.

> Did you have to reconfigure anything like lm_sensors?

I didn't have to reconfigure anything. Frankly, I was surprised. I
thought I would have to do some tweeking, at least, but everything
worked.

lm_sensors? Are your referring to lm_utils, that is used to monitor
CPU temp, fan speeds, etc? I don't have that package installed.

--
Stefan Patric

by **ANT..** » Mon, 23 Sep 2002 05:34:04

>> [snip]

>>> I just finish upgrading from a 300MHz AMD K6-2 to a 900 MHz Duron
>>> into
>>> a new case. (The old case wasn't designed to take the new
>>> motherboard and I wanted a bigger PS.) Except for the new CPU and MB,
>>> all the old
>>> drives, cards and RAM were swapped over. I turned it on and it
>>> booted just fine.

>>> I suggest that you backup all important files. Then just set
>>> everything up the way you want it, turned the damn box on, and see if
>>> it works. Don't try to solve problems that you don't have, yet.

>> Did you have to reconfigure anything like lm_sensors?
> I didn't have to reconfigure anything. Frankly, I was surprised. I
> thought I would have to do some tweeking, at least, but everything
> worked.
> lm_sensors? Are your referring to lm_utils, that is used to monitor
> CPU temp, fan speeds, etc? I don't have that package installed.

Yes. I assume those need to be reconfigured.
--
"To conquer the world, we must be as meticulus and calculating as a
colony of ants on the march." --Julius Caesar
--
If you are replying to Ant's news post by e-mail, then please kindly
remove ANT in the e-mail addresses listed below. Note the CaSe!
----------------------------------------------------------------------

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\ _ /
( )

by **ANT..** » Mon, 23 Sep 2002 06:32:47

> Hi. I am thinking about upgrading my computer systems that have Linux.
> I have never upgraded the motherboard, CPU, and RAM with Linux installed.
> I'd love to avoid reinstalling if it is possible. Here's what I have now:
> 1. Pentium II 300 Mhz system with 384 MB of SDRAM and Red Hat Linux 7.1
> (custom Kernel 2.4.9 by my friend).
> 2. Pentium III 600 Mhz system with 512 MB of SDRAM and Red Hat Linux 7.2.
> Default Kernel 2.4.7?
> I am planning to stick P3 CPU into P2 OR moving the motherboard and CPU
> to P2 box.
> P3 box gets either an Intel Pentium 4 CPU OR AMD Athlon CPU. Either will
> require new RAM and motherboard obviously. All the remaining hardware will
> stay the same including the HDDs. Nothing will be changed. Also, I will
> be planning to upgrade GeForce2 Pro to a GeForce3/4 for Linux native
> games (e.g., Q3A and RTCW).
> Is there anything I need to know? Like having Linux rescan for new
> hardware setup? I know in Windows XP, I can force a rescan in repair mode
> or something. Or do I need to do a clean install for Linux OSes? You can
> see the detailed computer configuration on
> http://alpha.zimage.com/~ant/antfarm/about/computers.txt (please ignore the
> laptop one).
> Thank you in advance. :)

I have another question. With all the programs I compiled from scratch, do
I have to recompile if I get an Athlon from using a P3? Or does Athlon CPUs
have backward compatiblity?
--
"To conquer the world, we must be as meticulus and calculating as a
colony of ants on the march." --Julius Caesar
--
If you are replying to Ant's news post by e-mail, then please kindly
remove ANT in the e-mail addresses listed below. Note the CaSe!
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| |o o| | ICQ UIN: 2223658
\ _ /
( )

by **AthlonRo** » Mon, 23 Sep 2002 07:19:03

> I have another question. With all the programs I compiled from scratch, do
> I have to recompile if I get an Athlon from using a P3? Or does Athlon CPUs
> have backward compatiblity?

Did you compile them with march=pentium3? If you did, they will likely
not run for you on the Athlon. If you did march=i686, you're ok. If
you didn't define an march CFLAG or CXXFLAG or whatever, then you're
probably ok as it should default to i386, in which case you're also ok.

mcpu flags will let it run on anything, not just what the mcpu is set
at.

march will let it run on only what the march flag is set at and
compatable chips; i386-i686 will work on all modern x86 chips, pentium3
works on P3s and probably P4s, athlon works on Athlons and Durons. Etc.

Have fun. :-)

Rob

by **ANT..** » Mon, 23 Sep 2002 14:29:06

>> I have another question. With all the programs I compiled from scratch, do
>> I have to recompile if I get an Athlon from using a P3? Or does Athlon CPUs
>> have backward compatiblity?
> Did you compile them with march=pentium3? If you did, they will likely
> not run for you on the Athlon. If you did march=i686, you're ok. If
> you didn't define an march CFLAG or CXXFLAG or whatever, then you're
> probably ok as it should default to i386, in which case you're also ok.

Nope, I never used that. I just did: ./configure; make; make install (as
root). I believe all the stuff I compiled were i686. :)

Quote:> mcpu flags will let it run on anything, not just what the mcpu is set
> at.
> march will let it run on only what the march flag is set at and
> compatable chips; i386-i686 will work on all modern x86 chips, pentium3
> works on P3s and probably P4s, athlon works on Athlons and Durons. Etc.

--
"To conquer the world, we must be as meticulus and calculating as a
colony of ants on the march." --Julius Caesar
--
If you are replying to Ant's news post by e-mail, then please kindly
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by **AthlonRo** » Mon, 23 Sep 2002 15:27:18

> Nope, I never used that. I just did: ./configure; make; make install (as
> root). I believe all the stuff I compiled were i686. :)

If you just did a ./configure ; make ; make install then you probably
didn't build optimized applications.

It doesn't default to i686, even if you have an i686 compatable
processor. You must set CFLAGS for that to happen. There is always a
chance your distro sets CFLAGS by default, though (which isn't a good
thing, really)... try echo $CFLAGS to see if any are set. If not, then
you built i386 packages un-optimized.

I assume you did the ./configure and make as a normal user, right? If
not, you should. :-)

Rob

by **ANT..** » Mon, 23 Sep 2002 19:01:46

>> Nope, I never used that. I just did: ./configure; make; make install (as
>> root). I believe all the stuff I compiled were i686. :)
> If you just did a ./configure ; make ; make install then you probably
> didn't build optimized applications.
> It doesn't default to i686, even if you have an i686 compatable
> processor. You must set CFLAGS for that to happen. There is always a
> chance your distro sets CFLAGS by default, though (which isn't a good
> thing, really)... try echo $CFLAGS to see if any are set. If not, then
> you built i386 packages un-optimized.
> I assume you did the ./configure and make as a normal user, right? If
> not, you should. :-)

I only did it when it was required. Obviously, make install required root.
:)
--
"May 10,000 ants never invade your underwear drawer." --unknown
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by **Stefan Patri** » Tue, 24 Sep 2002 06:16:19

Quote:>>> Did you have to reconfigure anything like lm_sensors?

>> I didn't have to reconfigure anything. Frankly, I was surprised. I
>> thought I would have to do some tweeking, at least, but everything
>> worked.

>> lm_sensors? Are your referring to lm_utils, that is used to monitor
>> CPU temp, fan speeds, etc? I don't have that package installed.

> Yes. I assume those need to be reconfigured.

Don't know. My old motherboard didn't have the capability of using the
lm_utils features. I'm sure the new one does, but it is a feature for
which I have no need.

Why don't you just do the upgrade and see? Worse that can happen is
lm-utils won't work. But my guess is that it will. Linux is very
autonomic when it comes to recognizing and reconfiguring for new
hardware.

--
Stefan Patric

by **B. Joshua Rose** » Wed, 25 Sep 2002 13:17:39

> Hi. I am thinking about upgrading my computer systems that have Linux. I
> have never upgraded the motherboard, CPU, and RAM with Linux installed.
> I'd love to avoid reinstalling if it is possible. Here's what I have
> now:

> 1. Pentium II 300 Mhz system with 384 MB of SDRAM and Red Hat Linux 7.1
> (custom Kernel 2.4.9 by my friend).
> 2. Pentium III 600 Mhz system with 512 MB of SDRAM and Red Hat Linux
> 7.2.
> Default Kernel 2.4.7?

> I am planning to stick P3 CPU into P2 OR moving the motherboard and CPU
> to P2 box.

> P3 box gets either an Intel Pentium 4 CPU OR AMD Athlon CPU. Either will
> require new RAM and motherboard obviously. All the remaining hardware
> will stay the same including the HDDs. Nothing will be changed. Also, I
> will be planning to upgrade GeForce2 Pro to a GeForce3/4 for Linux
> native games (e.g., Q3A and RTCW).

> Is there anything I need to know? Like having Linux rescan for new
> hardware setup? I know in Windows XP, I can force a rescan in repair
> mode or something. Or do I need to do a clean install for Linux OSes?
> You can see the detailed computer configuration on
> http://alpha.zimage.com/~ant/antfarm/about/computers.txt (please ignore
> the laptop one).

> Thank you in advance. :)

You would be better off if you just built a new box and added it to your
network rather than upgrading your existing systems. Your 600Mhz system
is plenty fast for most Linux applications and even your 300 Mhz box can
make a fine router. You can't move the SDRAM from your old systems to a
new system because an Athlon requires DDR and a P4 requires RAM Bus. Also
P4s have special power supply requirements so you won't be able to put a
P4 into an old box anyway. An Athlon motherboard is compatible with your
old boxes but why not just spend $60 on a new minitower. I bet you want a
new 80 or 120G drive too, they can be had for as little as $125 bucks. I
also bet that you want a nifty new graphics card so you'll have to shell
out for that anyway. The bottom line is that a whole new system won't
cost all that much more than upgrading your existing systems.

Very Computer

Upgrading motherboard, CPU, and RAM...

Upgrading motherboard, CPU, and RAM...

Upgrading motherboard, CPU, and RAM...

Upgrading motherboard, CPU, and RAM...

Upgrading motherboard, CPU, and RAM...

Upgrading motherboard, CPU, and RAM...

Upgrading motherboard, CPU, and RAM...

Upgrading motherboard, CPU, and RAM...

Upgrading motherboard, CPU, and RAM...

Upgrading motherboard, CPU, and RAM...

Upgrading motherboard, CPU, and RAM...

Upgrading motherboard, CPU, and RAM...

Upgrading motherboard, CPU, and RAM...

Upgrading motherboard, CPU, and RAM...

Upgrading motherboard, CPU, and RAM...

Upgrading motherboard, CPU, and RAM...