How to update OpenMandriva Lx 3

Note: As it is recommended to install x86_64 (64 bit) system, the how-to is intended and written accordingly.

First be sure to have the correct repositories (repos) set and enabled.
After installing the OpenMandriva ISO, by default you have what is called “mirror list”. This has a list of mirrors with OpenMandriva repositories and uses an algorithm to select the closest or fastest mirror. These are fine or you may wish to set your own mirror but that is topic for another how-to.

Next it is recommended to disable the i586 repos, and only enable them if you need to install some application requiring i586 libraries (in fact just a few such as wine or steam) or if you need to install an application that is 32 bit only.

To disable i586 repositories open Konsole (or any other terminal you may prefer) and type:

$ su
Password:
# drakrpm-edit-media

and unselect the i586 repos.
As you can see it will be easy to revert if you ever need to enable them again.

Note: typing ‘ su ’ allows you to become root or administrator after you enter the admin password.
The # in Konsole indicates that you are root. When you become root you have control of your entire operating system so you do want to be careful and responsible so you don’t break things.

If you installed the Plasma5 desktop you do have the option of updating with the GUI called Discover. However it is recommended to update from Konsole, as you will have more control and awareness on what is going on.

To update from Konsole is super easy:

# urpmi --auto-update

will update your enabled repos and select the newer packages for updating automatically.

A neat trick that is especially helpful if internet goes down during the update process is to use the option --test.
This will first download all packages selected for update and then check dependencies and if all is well it will issue the line “Installation is possible”.
Then you would remove the --test option to install the downloaded packages.

Finally, another very useful command is # urpmi --clean -av, which should be run for safety every time you update the system, to be sure that there is nothing in urpmi cache leftover or broken from previous updates.

This all goes like:
# urpmi --clean -av
# urpmi --auto-update --test

then:
# urpmi --auto-update

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For more information about urpmi:

$ urpmi --help
$ man urpmi

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Credits for writing of present how-to: Ben79 , rugyada.