On Mon, Dec 22, 2003 at 10:01:44AM -0800, JS wrote:

> Thanks for the info!  However, I am not sure on the
> installation procedures of a snapshot.  Could you let
> me know how you install a snapshot (is it just like a
> normal NetBSD install)?

this is rather easy. the netbsd project has a
few machines we call "releng" which do daily
builds of current source, and it records what
happened for each platform.

first use a web browser to check releng.netbsd.org
and check what is the last succesful recorded
build for your platform. use the first link to
uccess Sat Dec 13 00:00:00 UTC 2003 tgm                                    
link is :
http://releng.netbsd.org/ab/B_HEAD/arch.html

then scroll down to the i386 line. from
there we can see that :

386 Current Build Prior Build Last Success
* Fail * Tue Dec 16 00:00:00 UTC 2003 tgm
Success Sat Dec 13 00:00:00 UTC 2003 tgm

so we got success on Dec 13. now you can use
a ftp client to check releng.netbsd.org
and find the folder where the install files
are found. the first thing to do is download
a kernel and boot it. then you can just use
tar to install the new snapshot (doing a
backup of /etc and /root can be helpful,
to save your config and some personal dot
config files in /root). there are better
ways to do that but i like it fast and hard,
so i just use tar from my root / to install
snapshots and "jump" from a snapshot to another
(this can be dangerous but doing a snapshot
jump as i call it can be fun)

> Also, what current snapshot is most stable?

right now i'm using a snapshot but i dont
recall when i did it exactly. i'm using
1.6ZG and it works just fine with everything.
i don't know which one is the current one.

what sometimes does break is pkgsrc when
you jump to a snapshot but that doesn't happen
that much. so removing all your pkgsrc installed
stuff is not always a good idea before a
jump but once you are running a snaphot it's
not a bad idea to check (and upgrade) your
pkgsrc for new stuff since some changes in
current might break some installed software.

download the file netbsd-GENERIC.gz from :

ftp://releng.netbsd.org/

folder :

/pub/NetBSD-daily/current/200312130000/i386/binary/kernel

now we install it on / :

gzip -d netbsd-GENERIC.gz
mv netbsd-GENERIC /netbsd.current

boot it. when you reboot, hit any key
when the netbsd loader appears and type
"boot netbsd.current". if everything seems
to be detected properly and is working,
you can push farther.

on the ftp of releng.netbsd.org move to the
following folder :

/pub/NetBSD-daily/current/200312130000/i386/binary/sets

grab the following files :

base.tgz
comp.tgz
etc.tgz
games.tgz
man.tgz
misc.tgz
text.tgz

and if you use x window, get those too :

xbase.tgz
xcomp.tgz
xcontrib.tgz
xfont.tgz
xmisc.tgz
xserver.tgz

move all those tgz files to / and
then it's just using tar zxpf
(use tar zxpfv if you want it verbose,
and see files name scrolling on screen)

i would suggest using gzip -t on each
of the downloaded files. make sure that
every .tgz file is ok before going
further. if you start installing to later
discover that a file had been damaged
during downloaded or is borked, you'll
end up with a mix of current and 1.6.1
and things could get pretty bad on
reboot. so once you downloaded the .tgz
files check each one using gzip -t ;
if the gzip checksum is ok, it's probable
that all will go ok.

for example :

tar zxpf base.tgz
tar zxpf comp.tgz
[..]

once this is done, you got to config your
/etc (that's why a backup can be useful)
and restore some dot config files in
your /home if you got any (your ~/*rc ones
for example)

this is a rather hardcore way of doing
it, i must admit.

the proper and nice way is to backup
your data, and install a snapshot as
you installed your 1.6.1

well. please backup your data before
doing it whatever the method you
choose. you'll be glad if shit happens * ;)

* if shit can happen, it will

-- 
Gilbert Fernandes