updating a program or KDE

[nwas]

I know that KDE 3.5.3 is out. I currently have 3.5.2 running on dapper. How can I upgrade to 3.5.3 without losing any of my files? Is this possible?

Also, Say AmaroK has a never version released. How can I upgrade?



This might sound n00bish, but unlike windows i am totally lost on how to install a newer update. Do i do it though adept or do i gotto the program website and download and install it there. Do i need to uninstall the program before I install the new one?

Sorry for these questions but i haven't seemed to find answered in here
thanks for helping me

[Fenyx]

Re: updating a program or KDE

You don't need to uninstall anything, and your files won't be touched. Upgrading will only upgrade programs or libraries that need to be upgrade.

First, open up Konsole, go to your Home folder/directory and enter this:

wget [url]http://people.ubuntu.com/~jriddell/kubuntu-packages-jriddell-key.gpg[/url]

Once it finishes downloading, enter this:

sudo apt-key add kubuntu-packages-jriddell-key.gpg

Next, you have to add the necessary repositories so that you can upgrade. Open up Adept. Go to the Adept menu and click on Manage Repositories. At the bottom, there's an input box where you will put the new repositories.

For KDE 3.5.3, add this (don't forget to click on Add):
deb http://kubuntu.org/packages/kde-353 dapper main

For amaroK 1.4, add this (don't forget to click on Add):
deb http://kubuntu.org/packages/amarok-14 dapper main

Note: to upgrade to amaroK 1.4, you might need to enable the universe repositories

Click on Apply at the bottom, then Close. Then on the toolbar, click on Fetch Updates. This will refresh the repositories and check for the upgraded versions. Once it finishes, the status bar at the bottom will display how many packages are upgradeable.

Again on the Adept menu, choose Safe Upgrade this time. This will mark the things that you need to upgrade. On the toolbar, click Preview Changes, to see what will be installed/upgraded, and (this is important) to check if anything will be removed. If you are satisfied, click on Apply Changes. It will begin downloading the upgrades and installing them.

For reference, here are the Kubuntu Announcements for KDE 3.5.3 and amaroK 1.4

http://kubuntu.org/announcements/kde-353.php
http://kubuntu.org/announcements/amarok-1.4.php

[nwas]

Re: updating a program or KDE

For amaroK 1.4, add this (don't forget to click on Add):
deb http://kubuntu.org/packages/amarok-14 dapper main


ok i kind of get it. So your saying if there is a newer update for a program you have to find the repositories.

so say for example amaroK 1.5 came out...you add this?
deb http://kubuntu.org/packages/amarok-15 dapper main
and delete the other reference to the old respository.
deb http://kubuntu.org/packages/amarok-14 dapper main

like this?

[Fenyx]

Re: updating a program or KDE

Well, not always. In most cases, upgrades are packaged into the official Ubuntu repositories. In which case, you don't need to add any repository. Just Fetch Updates.

However, there are special cases where upgrades are not or cannot immediately be added to the offical repositories so Kubuntu developers package them and create separate repositories, like in the case of KDE 3.5.3 and amaroK 1.4, which came out after the time when no more new features/upgrades would be accepted before Dapper was released. And repositories like this are not always named the same way or in the same pattern.

Btw, there will be no amaroK 1.5. The next version will be amaroK 2.0 in time for KDE 4. There might be some small upgrades for bug fixes and stuff, but it will be named amaroK 1.4.1, 1.4.2 etc.

[nko]

Re: updating a program or KDE

To reiterate, most software updates will happen through Adept, which is comparable to Windows Update... if Windows Update was also your source for all new software. I believe that Adept in Dapper even fetches updates automatically and offers a notification when those updates need to be installed, but maybe someone else can shed more light on this.

It's worth noting that there's no technical reason why you can't install software from downloads you find on the program's homepage. If you do this, there's a good chance it will dink with Adept's understanding of what's installed, but an experienced person can help you install software which isn't available through Adept. Doing this is one of those "minute to learn, lifetime to master" deals. Fortunately, the vast majority of software is available via Adept.

[gregbzh]

Re: updating a program or KDE

Thanks alot jucato for the well explained, step-by-step instructions. Worked well. Cheers.