Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ncrlnk!ncrcae!hubcap!gatech!rutgers!ucsd!ames!amdahl!pacbell!sactoh0!tree!stever
From: stever@tree.UUCP (Steve Rudek)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.microport
Subject: Re: how to upgrade to 3.0?
Summary: Upgrading Sys V/AT to 2.3
Message-ID: <118@tree.UUCP>
Date: 7 Oct 88 01:26:11 GMT
References: <138500045@cdp>
Organization: TREE BBS (916)-349-0385 Sacramento, Ca
Lines: 46

In article <138500045@cdp>, msobell@cdp.UUCP writes:
> 
> Microport release 3.0, version 3.0e comes only with instructions on
> how to install the product on a clean disk.  When I called them to
> inquire about upgrading an existing system they basically told me I was
> on my own.  Anyone out there have a sure fire way of figuring out which
> files to upgrade and which to leave alone?  Is there an easy way to do

MICROPORT is pretty *feeble* in the support department, isn't it?  Definitely
a "B" grade company.  If I had it to do over again I'd spring the extra money
for Xenix. 
 
I had a similar experience when upgrading from 2.2 to 2.3.  Part of the
reason that microport didn't answer your simple question is that almost
nobody in their "technical support" or sales departments knows the answer.
The 2.3 manual pages are misleading and incorrect with regard to the
installation process; that doesn't help.

The 2.3 upgrade (runtime plus software development) is a COMPLETE replacement
(except for "sysviz") for 2.2.  Getting even that piece of information was
like pulling teeth . . . they passed me back and forth amongst 5 different
phone numbers in search of that piece of esoterica! 

I upgraded my 2.2 to 2.3 under less than optimum conditions; the serial
port driver had just "double panic"ed the system (for the nth time) and
destroyed large portions of 0s0.  Therefore, I didn't have the experience
of actually upgrading an in place system.  I reformatted, did a complete
reinstall and restored the remainder of my system from cpio backups.
The boot disk asks whether you want to do an upgrade.  I haven't tried
that option.  If you do follow the "upgrade" path, there are a few files
that you'll want to erase (cause they aren't needed in 2.3) but I can't
give you specific names.  I should think you could write a find script
to hunt them down based on date, though.

By the way, don't expect too much of 2.3.  Microport is one of those 
companies that doesn't believe in testing its code before releasing it.
There are LOTS of incredibly STUPID bugs which would have been caught 
with even minimal effort.  Example?  Vi, which worked pretty well in
2.2, has its "Pg Up" and "Pg Dn" keys REVERSED in 2.3!  The terminfo
entry for the console was ok in 2.2 but in 2.3 it does all sorts of
bizarre things and it vi commonly goes wacko.  

Does Microport ship a "fix" for these items or EVEN a bug report sheet?
(Let's answer this one in unison!)  Of course not!  Heck, that could
cost . . . what . . . $3 per customer?  These guys are real bozo's. 
I bet they couldn't even SPELL "good will".