In article <Pine.SOL.4.10.10107112200290.9086-100000@cse> you wrote:
> Can I just back up my /etc, untar the .tgz files, and restore /etc as
> necessary?  How much has changed in the binaries like base.tgz?

Well, a lot.

For upgrading 1.5 -> 1.5.1, I recomment the following steps:
 * reboot w/. new kernel (see below)
 * extract whatever set you want, EXCEPT etc. Extract to / to
   replace the old binaries.
 * extract etc.tgz somewhere else, e.g. /tmp/etc or so, then copy
   over any new files to /etc. The other way of moving /etc away
   (e.g. to /etc.old), then extracting the 1.5.1 etc.tgz in / and
   finally bringing over any changes you made to /etc.old (like
   rc.conf :) works fine, too.

Of course a backup of the system and esp. /etc is recommended before
starting to upgrade the machine!


> Would I be able to get away with just untarring the new kernel and 
> rebooting?

Sure, that's always a good first start - run the new kernel before you
overwrite your old binaries with new ones that want the new kernel's
features. Given that 1.5.1 is "only" a patch release to 1.5, and that
there's the rule that patch releases *should* not change kernel interfaces,
it's still a good first step. :)


 - Hubert

-- 
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* Basics -> http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2001/05/24/ipv6_tutorial.html
* Setup  -> http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2001/06/01/ipv6_tutorial.html 
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