g...@rcdrun.com writes: > Hello, > > I have read this: > >> I am saying you can "upgrade" your computer from, say, Guix on Debian to >> GuixSD by doing ... >> >> mount /dev/sdX /mnt >> guix system init /mnt/etc/config.scm /mnt >> >> ... where /dev/sdX is a new system disk. With more complicated maneuvers >> you can no doubt convert an existing system disk. > > So, would it be possible to upgrade Debian to Guix without > completely new install from USB/CD? > > Louis
Hi Louis. Yes. I confirmed that this works today. Background: 6 weeks ago I installed GuixSD on one of my headless servers using the USB key. A few weeks ago I installed Guix on another one that is running Debian 8. Today I performed a successful "Guix/Debian --> GuixSD Upgrade". Experience: I found the Guix Binary install much easier than the USB key GuixSD install. I also found today's "GuixSD Upgrade" much easier than the USB install, primarily because I was working in a fully functional machine rather than a crippled install image. I don't know if the binary install plus upgrade is quicker than an USB install. But if you already have Guix installed on your machine, this will definately be easier than the USB install. Safety: Use a spare disk. This way you can always keep running Guix/Debian if anything goes wrong.. But, you must be sure not to get your physical disks mixed up because, if you do, you can BLOW YOUR GUIX/DEBIAN SYSTEM AWAY. As always, you should have a backup before you start something like this. Disclaimer: This approach is not in the doc. I don't know how receptive the Guix team is to this approach or to questions or bug reports that it may generate. My notes on what worked for me today are attached below. Good luck! - George ** Guix/Debian --> GuixSD Upgrade #+BEGIN_EXAMPLE ## starting with Guix installed and working on Debian 8 ## note: operations below are performed as root ## note: this example installs GuixSD on a spare disk ## take stock of disks lsblk ## pick a disk to receive guixSD. ## In this example we use /dev/sdc ## unmount /dev/sdc if necessary ## wipe possible raid reminants wipefs -af /dev/sdc ## wipe the MBR, if any dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdc bs=512 count=1 ## create 1 256GB partition on the disk sfdisk -u S /dev/sdc << EOF 2048,500116144,L EOF ## double check our work parted /dev/sdc print ## or sfdisk -l -u S /dev/sdc ## make a root file system mkfs.ext4 -L my-root /dev/sdc1 ## mount the root file system mkdir /mnt/guix-root mount -L my-root /mnt/guix-root ## edit bare-bones.scm ## - change occurences of "sdX" to "sdc" ## - change the ssh port from "2222" to "22" ## - hostname ## - timezone ## - locale ## - make alice a sudo ## update guix version guix pull ## install guixSD onto /dev/sdc guix system init bare-bones.scm /mnt/guix-root ## copy bare-bones.scm to the new drive cp bare-bones.scm /mnt/guix-root/etc/ ## shutdown shutdown now ## pull out the old disks or change to the new boot disk in the bios ## restart ## at the console ## - random typing on the keyboard to make the system happy ## log in to root passwd root passwd alice ## ssh from another system ssh alice@komputilo ## enjoy #+END_EXAMPLE