# Using portupgrade



## edwinoakes (Feb 18, 2013)

I recently installed FreeBSD 8.3. I installed several ports and packages, after using portsnap to update the ports directory.  When installing some ports, I ran into version problems.

I ran [cmd=]pkg_version -v [/cmd] and realized that many of the packages installed with the Installation DVD, or even on-line, were out of date with the some of the current ports.

I then studied the the handbook information, the man page, the FreeBSD forum, and other web sources for information on using portupgrade. 

I read somewhere that portupgrade would use the options used to install the package being upgraded. I guess that is true, but many of the package upgrades brought up configuration dialogs. Apparently many of the installed packages did not have that information. *I missed the --config when reading the man page!*


I ran [cmd=]portupgrade -aPR[/cmd]

After 36 hours of sitting, off and on, at my terminal, hitting tab/return, it finished.  It appears to have been successful!

The handbook and the man page need to be modified, so it hard to miss that when the --all option is selected, you better have the --config, --force-config or  --batch options set. Better yet portupgrade could be modified so that if the â€“all option is set one of the options, --config, --force-config, or --batch, must also be set. I can't see why anyone would run [cmd=]portupgrade â€“all[/cmd] without them, except as the same mistake I made.

I am not new to FreeBSD, I have been using it since at least version 4.7. I usually install a new version, add the packages and ports I use, then I pretty much just use it for several years. I am doing more digging into the system now.


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## jb_fvwm2 (Feb 18, 2013)

Someday I may return to using portupgrade  rather than just pkgdb -F... you may find the following quicker if you get used to it or a variant of it.

```
portmaster -d -B -P -i -g devel/boost-libs devel/icu multimedia/libxine lang/gcc46
```
I've posted awk... portmaster  probably in a thread that one may find with a search. If not found, I'll repost it if asked.


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