# Upgrading to latest release



## tanked (Jun 15, 2009)

Hello folks, I'm thinking of upgrading my FreeBSD 7-RELEASE to 7.2-RELEASE; I know how to do most of it i.e. buildworld/kernel cycle however I get stuck when it comes to mergemaster; I don't know how to safely merge files I have made changes to with the upgraded files to be installed. When I choose the merge option in mergemaster I simply don't understand what I'm supposed to do next.

I really need to finally learn how to do this as complete reinstalls for upgrades are getting tiresome and I need to get this right as this particular box is my firewall, DHCP, DNS server etc.

Thanks for any help.


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## SirDice (Jun 15, 2009)

tanked said:
			
		

> When I choose the merge option in mergemaster I simply don't understand what I'm supposed to do next.


On the left hand side will be the line(s) from your file, the right hand side will contain the 'new' lines. Press L if you want to keep your lines, press R if you want the 'new' lines. Once the file is done you can review the complete merged file before committing to it. Or, if you made a mistake, redo the entire merge.


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## DutchDaemon (Jun 15, 2009)

When actually merging files (i.e.: if you chose option 'm') you have to press 'l' or 'r' to pick the line(s) on the left or the right, respectively. Once you've done it, you can review the result and/or install it.


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## DutchDaemon (Jun 15, 2009)

(disclaimer: there's no guarantee that the Dutch are always fast and in agreement)


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## SirDice (Jun 15, 2009)

We usually are though :e


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## DutchDaemon (Jun 15, 2009)

I just took a few extra minutes to state that I disagree.


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## tanked (Jun 16, 2009)

Thanks everyone, the upgrade went smoothly; the only thing I came accross was with named displaying the "working directory is not writable" message, however after looking at http://forums.freebsd.org/showthread.php?t=1920 it appears I can ignore this message.


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