How Often Should You Update Your Computer?

[@manny_7901]

I really like how you aren't saying your way is the right way, that it's subjective and not science based. Great videos. Glad to be subscribed.

[@SwiatLinuksa]

I always update Manjaro few days after released update and read forum post about it ;) No problems do far. When i use Arch f few years ago i updated it once per week.. problems still exist so bybye Arch and this was best decision in my 3years Linux journey ;)

[@ddman7867]

YES definitely a tutorial on snapshotting in btrfs, i've never wrapped my head around it myself successfully. Also if you can explain the difference between snapshotting with btrfs and RSYNC that would be good too please :)

[@BLRMalcolm]

And recovering one snapshot in the video. That would be amazing. I tried so many times to set up a recovery tool that I gave up trying.

[@AndrewErwin73]

+1 for not waiting (Arch)...if you don't update for a month, you will get many errors when you finally do! But, then again, if you are not wanting to update constantly, why do you use Arch, btw? haha I have a module in my Polybar that runs checkupdates every 5 minutes and if wc -l > 0 then yay runs silently (and logs what it does so that I can go back and look at what was updated if something goes wrong)...and of course timeshift runs before silent yay runs (that is what I call the script). Thanks for the content, Matt. Good stuff.

[@professormoriarty703]

Great video. Appreciate your honesty, understanding of products, different use cases and user uses and levels of experience. Your delivery in the videos I have watched from you haven’t alienated anyone and definitely help make Linux seem usable from many different viewpoints

[@carlmiller1669]

Good show! You asked for feedback, and I'd like to know more about btrfs and (perhaps in a separate video) how to use and manage snapshots. Of course I could dig in the docs, but I do like the way you present material to get the gist of the basics.

[@warthunder1969]

I've always treated updates like I did running Windows 7, I install updates once a month (or every 2 weeks) and leave it at that. Keep my files backed up and we're all good. I've had arch nuke itself a few times but that's arch. I know a friend of mine who's had the same installed cloned between multiple laptops for years. In fact he told me he'd struggle to reinstall arch it has been so long since he has done it (he always does the rsync + chroot and reinstall grub). For me I recently moved to Fedora as its modern, updates fairly regularly and still seems stable. its a nice middle ground between rolling release and point release (in your terms a "stable distro"). Linux Mint is also one of those Ubuntu-based rock solid experiences that I've never had updates break my system, only myself and tinkering.

[@ValorCatStudiosinc]

Great answer! I really appreciate how you are an arch user who admits arch is for people who love to learn the very latest (perfect for linux news KZbinr). Whereas I run a 3D animation studio, and arch is a really unstable fit for that, btw!

[@CjqNslXUcM]

I use arch and I update before installing any new package, which tends to happen every few days. Arch generally announces when an update requires manual intervention on their website.

[@fullscale4me]

MX Linux has its MX Updater [homegrown] configured to start at login (like Winblows) and is set to full upgrade by default but can be set to basic upgrade (security/critical only). Can be set to apply updates on its own on every cycle too.

[@peppe540]

Once a week is fine for me, even with Arch. Exception to the rule: security browser updates but they are mentioned all over the web when fixing a zero-day exploit. Then I'll run an intermediate one (even when the chance that I am targeted is of course minimal) for peace of mind. FOMO had me updating daily first, but what am I actually missing out on? ;-)

[@chalplec4241]

I haven't updated my laptop in over a month. Arch updated fine. Slowly, but fine. Ton of updates.

[@KristophM]

You always have great tips, Matt. Love your channel!

[@patrickmclaughlin6013]

yes, butterFS followed by an exhaustive explanation of LVM

[@needlesandsonics5819]

Lol, that’s nearly the answer to everything Linux…. “Well, it depends….” Haha I like your content, keep it up. Subbed. Edit: I update every morning (Arcolinux) if there is one available but not before a Timeshift point

[@MarkusHobelsberger]

I usually go for about once every 1-2 weeks on my Debian/Ubuntu based systems which is the sweet spot for me. It's good to know, that updating is really important on rolling releases (I actually thought this was rather a thing of the past), so that rules them out for every computer which isn't used at least weekly. My HTPC for example I sometimes don't use for over a month.

[@JayRCela]

I have managed to update from an Xbuntu fork called VoyagerOS 16.04 to 18.04 to 20.04 successfully, it's not to difficult if you disable any extra PPA's you have in your Software & UpDates > Other Software, then follow the proper procedure, afterward's you can enable the PPA's one at a time and make appropriate changes. thanks for the video :_)

[@barashasenov7806]

I think there are interesting topics, like you've said. * Btrfs is quite interesting for me. Although I know it on a surface, it would be interesting to watch your perspective or explanation as well. * Installing vanilla Arch Linux * Installing KDE Plasma after Arch installation (Like part: 2 for the previous bullet point) * Dual boot Windows + Arch Linux (Don't swear at me :/ Windows is still a better option for gaming)

[@bradolson8242]

I've been running Linux mint since 2016 and I've never had a problem with doing updares as the packages show up in the update manager. That usually means daily during the week and I've found that I can set the update to install and just continue with my normal work flow. There are exeptions like web browsers etc. but I do them asap. When it comes to the major updates, like from 20.2 to 20.3 then I will wait for a couple of days.

[@MENTOKz]

Hey Matt I say this alot but i like garuda linux myself. It has most things i want like btrfs, alacritty,and sane defaults for keybindings would highly recommend.

[@thingsiplay]

Update when available. Use daily checkupdates if something is new and if so, then update it. Often Desktop Environments will check automatically and ask you to update if something new is available.

[@gl0sek]

Well to be honest it shouldn't be about some strict number of days. You should read release notes and forum posts to look if that update breaks anthing. I know that's like reading a License agreement but that's what you should do before update...

[@Shadoww-lv5bj]

IDK I sometimes wait 2 months to update my pure Arch systems. Sometimes longer. I do try to update monthly. Working like that for a year + now. XFCE. Will update everything. If there are issues review the arch Linux web page. I do not recommend this for the non computer savy however. Manjaro broke more for me.

[@bertnijhof5413]

On my desktop: Ubuntu checks for updates each day, security update are installed automatically every day, other updates are displayed weekly.

[@tachmonite37]

Please make a brtfs tutorial. It's hard to find good videos on btrfs especially for Arch based distros. Or maybe I just like how you cover Linux topics.

[@mikeerdely7248]

I have a widget in my bar that checks every 15 minutes if there are new packages (base + AUR). If there are updates and I'm using my computer at the moment, I run paru. So I probably update 2-3 times a day. :)

[@code8986]

I second DDman7's comment below and would appreciate any coverage of BTRFS, including managing snapshots, both manually (i.e. using the raw commands) and with a tool like Snapper. (Timeshift is nice, but it's too limited for many uses.) Besides snapshots, I'd really like to learn how to set up BTRFS sub-volumes, both before/during installation and after the fact -- I've struggled doing it either way.

[@chillnacho]

I'd like to see a video on Btrfs. Thanks! :)

[@wisnoskij]

The Linus Cast: "Why do they call them stable distros, they are not more stable than arch?" Also TLC:

[@MarkusHobelsberger]

Funny thing about "stability" on a sidenote, I tried to install LMDE last week on my Linux Mint machine, because I wanted to have it really, really stable (it's an office machine for productive tasks) and the release just crashes and reboots randomly. No fix in sight at the moment, guess I'll wait for the regular LM21 then and give it another try before going into deeper troubleshooting...

[@gregcampwriter]

I'm using Cinnamon Mint. I download the updates as they arrive, then reboot whenever I get around to it.

[@wisnoskij]

Most people will use one of the newb freindly distros with a gui update method, and have giant alert/warning icons appear on the desktop every time there is an update. As the user of Fedora Workstation, I seem to get updates every few days, and install right away just to get rid of the "updates ready" icon. But the strange thing about this, dnf does not even update all my updates, some of them can only be installed using the included gui package manager, which is not how I expected it to work. It s a little annoying, but I suspect it has to do with switching desktop environments

[@dermond]

I had OpenSUSE tumbleweed on my netbook because it supports 32 bits processor. It's is a good distro but every week or even just 3 days thousands of packages needed to be updated. At the end I just installed LMDE 5 again, good ol Debian

[@Fruchtpfote]

Daily a 'yay' keeps the doctor away. With timeshift-snapper snapshots are automatically created.

[@laurencioblock]

Update every time I use my MX-21 Xfce and my personal work older notebook with Debian 11 and Xfce. Every 3 days.

[@willful759]

I have a sort of rule of thumb where if I have to instal ~50> updates I update before going to sleep, that way I don't have to restart just because of the update, but because I have haskell dependencies I pretty much update every day lmao

[@wisnoskij]

So can arch users not ever go on vacation then?

[@MarkusHobelsberger]

No probs, just reinstall your OS then, it's so out of date, that's faster :)

[@code8986]

I update Arch weekly and it's been fine so far.

[@itsfish8672]

NVM=nice vid Matt

[@MattMcCullough]

Linux Mint fan and user here

[@Dj-Solarjazz]

Rolling Linux distros aren't unstable, but you're walking on thin ice.Too much update stress for me personally.and risky for everyday use as a work computer.

[@warthunder1969]

That's a good way to put it. Something that runs on the bleeding edge is more risky than a point release, but not necessarily unstable. I do consider having to intervene alot or break for system updates "unstable".

[@slifek85]

Pleas do an BTRFS video. :)

[@Sqwert-g6h]

I update everyday on arch out of habit lol

[@ashishpatel350]

you should update your computer as soon as updates are available. as those updates are not just bug fixes but security fixes. rebooting one a day or once every few days.

[@peterjantzer4767]

Timeshift + updating = security.

[@BrucesWorldofStuff]

I just update everything on Friday. Arch Mint MX all on Friday... Lol You don't have any issues as a real until the Samba Dev's decided to breaks your network on the latest 4.16 SmbClient update... Thanks Samba Team! At least you can downgrade you packages in Arch... :-) So pick what works for you is what Matt is trying to say... LOL Thanks Matt! LLAP

[@merulox]

I update my arcolinux machine every time I use pacman (many times a day)

[@DevAngelo]

I - Syu almost daily lol

[@zeocamo]

they are static ... alot of the time they are not stable, for me 25 years of linux and Manjaro is the distro that is must stable of all i try so STATIC

[@slothguy_]

I update every 30 minutes lol

[@ramjustram]

Please btrfs