version numbers and other Qs about the gui update tool

[Paul Howarth]

Joel wrote:
> Just did an update via the gui notification tool.
> 
> The update tool now tells me I'm running kernel-2.6.10-1.9_FC2 and the
> latest is -2.6.10-1.771_FC2 . So, I can assume .771 is greater than .9
> in the version numbering, right?

Right.

> I did kernel and userland at the same time. I'm thinking that's a no-no,
> but I'm not sure which should go first, kernel or userland. Does it
> matter when doing a binary update?

In general it's best to do userland first so that any required updates 
are done that a new kernel might need but it doesn't really matter 
because you only start using a new kernel after a reboot.

> It'd been a while, so it slammed /var. df showed 99% until I
> did yum clean all from the command line. Now it's down to 57% (over 1GB),
> and the root partition's /lib has leftovers from about seven updates, so
> I'm going to have to read the FAQ about how to clean out old kernels and
> their libraries and other leftovers from updates. 
> 
> Can anybody point me to the FAQ on these questions?

See which kernels you have installed:
$ rpm -q kernel kernel-smp

See which kernel you're running:
$ uname -r

Then use "rpm -e" to remove all the kernels that are installed which are 
not the latest update and that you are not currently running. For example:
# rpm -e kernel-2.6.10-1.9_FC2

You might want to leave a single "old" kernel installed as a backup 
though in case you have problems at a later date.

Paul.