rpi-update command

[pablo808]

Hello,

I have some questions regarding the command rpi-update. My understanding is that it updates the firmware of the RPi.

I have a couple of RPi's and for the first 2, I used the provided RPi pre-installed SD cards which contain Raspbian OS. I ran apt-get upgrade, apt-get update and all is good. I then ran rpi-update but got a 'command not found'.

For a 3 RPi downloaded the 2013-09-25-wheezy-raspbian image and write it to an SD card, ran apt-get upgrade, apt-get update and was able to run rpi-update which completed sucessfully.

-What is the different between the pre-install Raspbian OS and the downloadable image?
-Is the rpi-update command 'new' which is why it was included in the latest image?
-How can I run rpi-update on my 2 RPi which current dont have it current installed?

Thanks.

[texy]

Hi,
earlier releases of raspbian didn't have rpi-update installed by default, later releases did.
If you have a system that does not have rpi-update installed just use the following to install it :

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get install rpi-update

Hope this helps,
Texy

[ShiftPlusOne]

Don't do it.

rpi-update was a quick hack made back in the day before the kernel and firmware was not properly packaged. apt-get upgrade is enough in 99% of the cases.

[pablo808]

Thanks for all the responses.

I'm confused, so should I or shouldn't I use rpi-update?

If I shouldn't, why is this command included on the later images?

I guess what I am looking for is an 'authorative' answer...

[pmc]

As a newbee you haven't read into what was stated above.

You can use either rpi-update, or apt-get upgrade.

Use apt-get update first, followed by apt-get upgrade.

apt-get has other parameters including remove. See the manual for the command parameters etc.

[pablo808]

Thank you for that input.

Do does apt-get upgrade upgrade the firmware?

From this post, it looks like there are different: http://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/qu ... f-raspbian

OK I think I found an answer. Only run rpi-update if you need the latest bleeding edit updates.

[ShiftPlusOne]

Only run rpi-update if you need the latest bleeding edit updates.

That's pretty much it. I would change that to "Only run rpi-update if you know you need a specific build of the firmware or if you were asked to do so by Dom."


Yes, apt-get upgrade WILL update your firmware to the latest stable version, and that MAY conflict with rpi-update. If you see something on the internet that says otherwise, it's probably outdated information.

[pablo808]

Thats clear now.

Thanks.

[rasppyuser]

Hi, I have been using rpi-update for some months, but I want to move to the more stable package images (using apt-get).

I have found this comment that lists some packages affected by rpi-update and propose a command to override rpi-update updates with apt-get ones: https://github.com/raspberrypi/linux/is ... t-46278157

Is the comment right, or are there more packages affected, or do I need to do more things to go back to apt-get version?

Thanks!

[AndrewS]

Hi, I have been using rpi-update for some months, but I want to move to the more stable package images (using apt-get).

I have found this comment that lists some packages affected by rpi-update and propose a command to override rpi-update updates with apt-get ones: https://github.com/raspberrypi/linux/is ... t-46278157

Is the comment right, or are there more packages affected, or do I need to do more things to go back to apt-get version?

Thanks!

Yup, that's right, @asb is the maintainer of the Raspberry Pi build of Raspbian