An Old-timer Needs to Install CentOS 7

[kenmorgan]

But Trevor, "Long Mode" did not appear in the two "flag" lists. Or is "lm" in the grep command mean "Long Mode" implying something in the two "flags"? Is one "flag" list able to run under a 32-bit system and the other "flag" list is able to run under a 64-bit system?

[TrevorH]

Sure it did, right between rdtscp and constant_tsc in the grep output. One line per core, each line will be identical.

[jlehtone]

grep has option --color. In 7 the default environment sets:

Code: Select all

alias grep='grep --color=auto'

I did copy that config to my CentOS 6 systems; graphical cues can be nice.

$ grep -m 1 --color=auto " lm " /proc/cpuinfo
flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts aperfmperf eagerfpu pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm xsave lahf_lm dtherm pti retpoline tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority


The pattern " lm " makes grep match four consecutive characters: space, 'l', 'm', space.
Pattern "\<lm\>" would match word "lm". Almost the same thing, except ...
the "flexpriority" is the last word on that flags line. There is no space after it.
Therefore, "priority " will not match, but "priority\>" does.

[kenmorgan]

Thanks everyone!

I'll start with my earlier post on "2020/11/11 21:17:26":

(1) My "rediscovery" was that my computer had the Intel E5400 CPU, which was 64-bit hardware, not 32-bit.

(2) However, my operating system was CentOS 6, 32-bit, not 64-bit.

I read all of your posts very carefully, and I think I came to a tentative conclusion. I will, of course, be open to all your responses. Here is what led me to my "tentative conclusion."

First, I have very little of the technical knowledge I used to have when I put together this computer ten years ago. Here are some of the lines that some of you wrote that I now really don't understand. I am definitely not criticizing any of you who have taken all this time to help me. It is now just mostly over my head.

(a) "...or you can tell it to mount it on /home during the install (just make sure you don't format it!). That handles moving data that's in your home directory and will also pull across most application settings as well since they tend to be stored there, per user."

(b) "You will need to reinstall all your apps. You may also need reconfigure them if they do not keep per user settings under /home."

(c) "There is one problem that you do need to be aware of and that is that CentOS 6 was the last version to use the Grub Legacy boot loader, newer versions use grub2 instead. They are incompatible so if you install CentOS 7 or 8 on the same disk that CentOS 6 is on now, it will wipe out your ability to boot CentOS 6.What I have done in the past to manage this is I've bought a new disk...and then flipped the order in which the computer BIOS tries to boot from them."

(d) "You might also choose to install an SSD and speed up the entire machine that way."

(e) "Centos 8 kicks butt, but it doesn't have maxima, hence I'm livnig in centos7 while I try to get maxima on to a VM on which I've installed centos 8."

Second, reading through what it would take to change from CentOS-6 32-bit to CentOS-7 64-bit pointed out a number of difficulties for me. The various "difficulties" are what is stored in the same disk. Here are a number of examples of what is in my one disk.

(a) gedit. There are many items I created using gedit and then stored them in various places. Some, of course, are stored in /home/kmorgan and /home/kmorgan/Documents, as well as many other various directories. Also, all the files that comprise all 12 of my Web sites are kept in the directory /var/www/html. More of this in (b).

(b) Many, many items (for example .html, .pdf, .jpg, etc.) are kept in the directory /var/www/html. In this directory are 12 directories that have all the contents of my 12 Web sites. The magnum opus of these 12 is /var/www/html/BibleWebSite. That directory has 3,392 items, including everything in the local Web site: http://localhost/BibleWebSite/, which, of course, is brought up in Firefox. The same goes for the other 11, but those Web sites are smaller. These 12 Web sites, of course, are uploaded using a Terminal to the server (a VPS) that I "own" (pay for!).

(c) As I pointed out in (b), I can run my Web sites locally in Firefox on my computer. This is possible because ten years ago I installed "Apache HTTP Server Version 2.2." This, of course, is what allows me to run my Web sites locally on my computer.

(d) File Browser is also very handy. It enables me, as you know, to locate any directory or file of any kind (.odt, .pdf, .html, .jpg, etc., etc.).

(e) Firefox and Thunderbird. Specifically, my Thunderbird is VERY large:

a number of "Inbox"s
the same number in "Sent"
a number of "Archives"
a number of "Local Folders"

Several "Inbox"s still have over a hundred emails received. I shudder to think how all this would remain when going to CentOS 7.

(f) I use yum to bring in the latest versions of what I have in my computer. It so happens that right now there are a number of items I need to receive. I'll copy the list and display it here. Also note that CentOS is not the only source that I use:

[kmorgan@localhost1 ~]$ su
Password:
[root@localhost1 kmorgan]# yum check-update
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, refresh-packagekit, security
Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile
epel/metalink | 18 kB 00:00
* base: centos-distro.cavecreek.net
* elrepo: elrepo.org
* epel: mirror.cs.pitt.edu
* extras: mirrors.cmich.edu
* updates: mirrors.maine.edu
adobe-linux-i386 | 2.9 kB 00:00
base | 3.7 kB 00:00
elrepo | 2.9 kB 00:00
http://mirrors.cmich.edu/centos/6.10/ex ... repomd.xml: [Errno 12] Timeout on http://mirrors.cmich.edu/centos/6.10/ex ... repomd.xml: (28, 'Operation too slow. Less than 1 bytes/sec transfered the last 30 seconds')
Trying other mirror.
extras | 3.3 kB 00:00
linuxtech-release | 2.6 kB 00:00
updates | 3.4 kB 00:00

bind-libs.i686 32:9.8.2-0.68.rc1.el6_10.8 updates
bind-utils.i686 32:9.8.2-0.68.rc1.el6_10.8 updates
firefox.i686 78.4.0-2.el6.centos updates
flash-plugin.i386 32.0.0.453-release adobe-linux-i386
java-1.8.0-openjdk.i686 1:1.8.0.272.b10-0.el6_10 updates
java-1.8.0-openjdk-headless.i686 1:1.8.0.272.b10-0.el6_10 updates
kernel.i686 2.6.32-754.35.1.el6 updates
kernel-firmware.noarch 2.6.32-754.35.1.el6 updates
kernel-headers.i686 2.6.32-754.35.1.el6 updates
libX11.i686 1.6.4-4.el6_10 updates
libX11-common.noarch 1.6.4-4.el6_10 updates
tzdata.noarch 2020d-1.el6 updates
tzdata-java.noarch 2020d-1.el6 updates
xorg-x11-server-Xorg.i686 1.17.4-18.el6.centos updates
xorg-x11-server-common.i686 1.17.4-18.el6.centos updates
[root@localhost1 kmorgan]#

(g) There is another possible problem, maybe a big one. The entire disk is not devoted to CentOS. An "80 GB Filesystem" is used for Microsoft: an OEM Windows 7 Professional, 32-bit. I am not a Mircosoft enthusiast, but over the years I would OCCASIONALLY look at one of my Web sites online on Windows to make sure it is the same as the Web site on Firefox on CentOS. I just restart the computer and try the Web site on Windows. Now then: it seems to me that putting CentOS 7 on the Linux part of my disk, leaving the Windows part alone, would be very difficult.

Well, that is everything I wanted to mention. I am wondering whether all this in some way would survive my attempt to change from CentOS 6 to CentOS 7--just the CentOS part of the disk--without damaging or losing anything I currently have and must keep.

Therefore, I am seriously doubtful, as an "Old Timer," whether I should even try to change to CentOS 7 with any of the methods you have mentioned. This is not to argue against you. I appreciate everything all of you suggested. Rather, it is due to my being unable to perform these methods. It has been too many years.

Okay, now that I've written everything above, perhaps putting some of you to sleep , I can ask you what you think of my new idea. Here it is:

Would there be any problems in keeping the computer with CentOS 6?

Again, your help would be greatly appreciated.

Ken

[TrevorH]

Would there be any problems in keeping the computer with CentOS 6?

Yes, big problems. It goes out of support at the end of this month and there will be no more updates to it, security or otherwise. That means it will get gradually less and less secure until it is compromisable and then someone will break in and deface or steal your data, or worse.

[_peter]

Hi Kenn,

As i work with older colleagues than myself, i cannot resist helping out beside all the other good advice given previously.
You have done the homework on your hardware, it most likely can be re-used.

Would you consider buying a new 3.5'' drive ? server grade one above usd150, seagate exos, hgst ultrastar, else.
Onto which you can install centos8 with at least 3 physical partitions (swap, root, home) and work on it until you have everything setup to your liking.

With time and patience there are few reasons to not be able to have a workstation running 12 websites and the apps, such as gedit, you use daily.
I would not touch the current drive at all, cloning maybe an idea but know what you are doing before starting anything.

[desertcat]

......

Therefore, I am seriously doubtful, as an "Old Timer," whether I should even try to change to CentOS 7 with any of the methods you have mentioned. This is not to argue against you. I appreciate everything all of you suggested. Rather, it is due to my being unable to perform these methods. It has been too many years.

Okay, now that I've written everything above, perhaps putting some of you to sleep , I can ask you what you think of my new idea. Here it is:

Would there be any problems in keeping the computer with CentOS 6?

Again, your help would be greatly appreciated.

Ken

Welcome Back Old Timer!! Yeah, but it is just like learning to ride a bike -- you NEVER FORGET!! You're just like a bike that has not been used in awhile that has gotten rusty. Knock some of the rust off and a good oiIing and your back on the road!!

I too am -- unfortunately -- an "Old Timer" and live on SS, and before that SSDI, that said my Ph.D. is in Watershed Mgt., and Microbiology and Immunology, and one of my "Hobbies" in tracking Newly Emerging Infectious Diseases, and YES, I have been following the current Coronavirus that causes CoViD19 since there was a rumor of a newly emerging disease in China in mid-late Novmber of last year. I despise Windows but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet, but in that case I run Windows as a Virtual Machine.

Most of my network is comprised of "Hand-me-Down" computers, that have been torn down, cleaned, re-built, and repurposed as Linux Machines. Like you I too have at least one machine dated 2010: an Ex HP Workstation that I found by the the dumpster, which I "rescued" that was really and most sincerely DEAD, but with magic it is now back up and running. I use this a a test bed just in case some update or what ever blows up -- better to have it happen there than on my workstation.

My current Workstation was built from the ground up, with its 6 core /12 thread AMD FX 6300 CPU and -- after several updates -- has 32 GB of DDR3 RAM is now 6 years old and while I can maybe get another year or two on it, I decided to start building my next workstation which is being built via the "Piecemeal Build" approach, that has now been underway for about 10 months, but was waiting to see when the NEW AMD Ryzen 9 based on Zen3 would come out, and if there would be a NEW motherboard upgrade. I am building it around the NEW Rysen 9 5900X (12 core /24 thread) and the ASUS Prime X570 Pro motherboard, and 1 TB of Corsair MP600 NVMe PCIe Gen 4 SSD. It will be running CentOS 8.x

I agree with everyone who said, "get a New Machine". You are long overdue for and upgrade. Whatever you do DON'T BUY a computer. You'll pay through the nose for sub-standard parts and is frightfully under powered... plus it will come with Windows 10 on it, which is like a CURSE you can't get rid of. Not all people can afford to build a new machine right NOW -- I'm one of them -- but IF I see a SALE going on for a part that I know I'll need -- cases, PSU, Drives ( HDD Spinning Rust, SSD, etc. ) I POUNCE on them!! I leave things like memory, motherboard, and CPU to the very last so I have the latest with the intent of trying to "future proof" the build. Far better to build it from the ground up, and you'll save a ton of $$$ in the process.

That said IF you REALLY can't afford to even to start thinking of a NEW machine I also agree with TrevorH: Buy a NEW DRIVE. A word of CAUTION: With a machine that OLD it may have a limit of the size and amount of storage -- you might be limited to HDD Spinning Rust, and a maximum of 500 GB total storage. Check the specs out for your machine.

If you decide to bite the bullet and BUILD a new machine unless you have lots of money -- I don't -- the best CPU's to buy right now are AMD Ryzen CPU's Intel CPU's cost way more. You'll pay a fraction of what you would pay an Intel CPU for the exact same core and thread count. A mid-level motherboard will cost between $150-$250. For memory just make sure you buy DDR4 (DDR5 is still about 1.5 years away). A good practical case is the Corsair Carbide 200R that has 3 5.25 bays into which you can put things such as DVD's, Blue ray etc., etc.. It cost me about $60. If you plan to buy the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X CPU you'll hear that it needs to be "Water Cooled" It does NOT!! A good air CPU cooler such as the Noctua NH-U12A (dual fans) or 12S will do the job. If you plan to "Future Proof" a build ( a build that will last 6-10 years before it needs to be replaced) can can do a build for about $1,500; about $1,000 for 1 generation back, and about $500-$600 for 2 geneartions back but the length of time before it is out of date, well it is pretty much already is out of date but will last a LOT longer and built with QUALITY PARTS, not low end junk like pre-built computers from big name computer builders that charge you an arm and a leg for, and are vastly under powered.

As a general rule of thumb NewEgg has good prices on computer components, but *sometimes* Amazon has some excellent prices as well. Just for FUN I went over to NewEgg and went searching for a 500 GB HDD (Expecting that it will be similar to the Trashcan Monster) here is what I found:

Seagate BarraCuda 7200.12 ST3500413AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive

$25.00 (6 Offers)

If you decide to buy a new drive put CentOS 7.9 on it. Unlike those who sing praises of CentOS 8.2, I have found it to still be buggy, and on a computer that is 10 years old, any bugs will become quite apparent. I do know that on my 10 year old jaguar -- ie the "Trashcan Monster" -- CentOS 7.9 runs smoothly, and has been rolled over at least 3 times which means I probably means I installed CentOS 7.5. If your computer is ten years old I am guessing it has a DVD player. Personally I'd buy some double layered DVD's and burn the .iso to the DVD, rather than a thumb drive, and install it directly as the DVD is probably in the BIOS Boot Order.

One point that TrevorH pointed out is there is vast difference between GRUB and GRUB2. GRUB2 can be a hair pulling experience and more than one person has been heard cussing about it, but once you become familiar with it, it will become second nature to you. That should not be something that should deter you. You might want to do a YouTube search first to become familiarize yourself in advance with it. One other thing you might want to consider doing is to "consider" partitioning the hard drive via MANUAL partitioning rather than allowing the computer to AUTOMATICALLY partition the drive for you, which usually uses LVM (Logical Volume Management). I always custom partition each drive I install. I set each partition to use the ext4 file system, which is easy to use in case the machine crashes. IF, as my machine did had a maximum storage capacity of 500GiB, buy yourself a Seagate, Tosheba, or Western Digital 500 GiB (or the maximum storage capacity for that computer), then do a Manual CUSTOM Install. The drawback to this approach is you need to set the size of each partition to be more than you *think* you can ever fill -- trust me you will be WRONG. I usually allocate 150 GiB of my 500 GB drive to /home, then 2 GiB for /boot, about 30 GB for /, about 30 GB for /usr, about 15 GB each for /tmp, and /var. You may or may not want to create a partition called /backup: This is not so much for disk backup, as much as it is a place you can cram stuff into to free up disk space if one of your partitions starts getting full -- call it an "over flow catchment area". Usually GRUB2 in Custom Install will tell you how much remaining disk space you have left.

Once you have carved the disk up to the way you like then format the partitions. From that point on select the programs you want. DO NOT select MINIMAL INSTALL unless you like working from from the CLI, pick one of the others that includes a GUI (GNOME, or KDE). Once you have checked all the boxes of programs you want to install, if you want, select a NAME for the computer (or you'll be stuck with localuser), and if you want to automatically enable internet services. Then once you have finished, commit to do the install. With a 10 year old computer it may take about an hour to do the install. It has been a while since I last did a full install, but once it have finished the install I think it may ask you to agree with the lic. agreement, say yes and be on your merry way.

One last thing in case TrevorH -- or someone else -- did not mention it, is that CentOS 6 is at or within a month or two of EOL. Yes you can stay on it but may be a security hazard. Just saying. CentOS 7.9 should work on that 10 year old computer if it has a could of GiB of RAM -- 8 would be ideal minimum but it will be run on 4 GiB but it will be S-L-O-W. I agree with everyone who said, "get a New Machine".


Best Fishes Old Timer,
D'Cat

[kenmorgan]

I really appreciate the help that all of you have give. Unfortunately, other things unrelated to computers have been taking up my time, and I have not come to any conclusion of what I should do.

However, something new has just come up on both of our computers: a box pops up somewhat frequently all day. Here's what it says:

"Problem connecting to a software source

"There was a (possibly temporary) problem connected to the software source. Please check the detailed error for further details.

"More details

"Cannot find a valid baseurl for repo: base"

I don't know what it means.

(1) Could it have something to do with the "end of CentOS 6" in December?

(2) What would "baseurl" and "repo:base" mean?

(3) You've been saying I need to switch to CentOS 7 or 8. Will this popup continue as long as I have CentOS 6, or can it be fixed in some way right now?

[pjsr2]

This is because CentOS-6 is end of live now and the repos have been moved to Vault.

The notification you get comes from gpk-update-icon. gpk=Gnome Package Kit. You can change the preferences to never check for updates. You can change it from the desktop menu: System → Preferences → Software Updates.
https://jsmith.fedorapeople.org/drafts/ ... 03s06.html

[TrevorH]

And since there will be no more updates from now on, there's little point in checking for them.

Though if you run thunderbird and/or firefox you might want to point the updates repo at vault just to pick up 2 final-day updates that were released by Red Hat and rebuilt by CentOS and pushed directly to vault.centos.org after the CentOS 6 repos were archived.