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New user updating Pi firmware
#1
Morning all 
Had my Pi 4 and been using Moode for about 10 days. Already had some great help re upsampling question, Sox, etx.
Although a PC user for years, I have zero previous experience of Linux so faced very daunting prospect of updating Pi firmware due to information about lower power reqs/reduced heat, etc.
went on line and found instructions. Hope someone would kindly confirm I’ve done this right, I opened SSH terminal and typed;
Sudo apt update 
Then
Sudo apt full-upgrade
All seemed to go well until about 80% when I saw a couple of warnings/options on the screen. Sadly, I did not make a copy of what I was being asked but the gist of it was “there is already a local version of this part of the package - what do you want to do?”. 4 options and I opted for the second in each case which was along the lines of “leave the existing local version in place - I.e. do not overwrite with newer version”.
Now if I had my time over again, I would have stopped panicking and written down the information before proceeding. sadly I didn’t do this.
Is it likely that anyone could offer up their experience and tell me what’s happened and whether I need to go through the update/upgrade process again (in fact, is this even possible?) For those with previous experience, I’m assuming that my description of what I did will make some sense. Apologies if it doesn’t.
as an aside, could anyone also advise whether there is a need to update the SSH user name and password and if so, how do I do this? Apologies if this comes across as a basic question but every day I am coming across new things with the Pi and Moode. In general, I am very good at changing passwords etc and have done so with the AP password.
Thanks so much for any help.
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#2
You can always run the same update/upgrade commands again without fear, but I'm not sure if the same warnings will pop up or your previous selections will be remembered and used. I don't worry about changing the SSH username and password, instead just turning off the SSH server from System Configuration when I'm done with the command line.
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#3
@Leviathan

Typically that type of message pops up during an upgrade when a package includes a configuration file which can be modified by the user. The safe answer is almost always keep the existing version. IIRC there was no need to do this upgrade just to update your RPi4B firmware. I believe the kernel files in the most recent releases of moOde are up to date in this regard (But, hey, I've been known to be wrong before so check.)

The ssh login credentials are the same as the user account credentials if you haven't done something baroque already (which would imply a level of linux knowledge you profess not to have).

See any online Linux-beginner blogs telling how to change the password for an existing user. 

Changing the user name in the sense you seem to imply (e.g., "pi" -> "something") is doable but not for beginners (it's hard in Windows too). 

It's modestly easy as user "pi" 1) to create a new user with a suitable password, 2) to give that user ssh privileges AND to add that user to the list of sudoers, and 3) to deny ssh privileges for user "pi". Better do it right and in the right order or you might end up being locked out. I don't see the point of doing it. It's the password and not the username which gives a modicum of protection.

Regards,
Kent


PS - As a general rule, reading various articles about RPi behavior and then applying their prescribed nostrums to moOde is neither necessary nor a good idea. It reminds me of my crazy uncle who was constantly ordering magic parts and solutions from J.C. Whitney's auto parts catalogs to to get mythical gas mileage or unlimited engine life out of his Chevy. My favorite was the Magna-Power Neutralizer which was supposed to sweep metal particles from the oil sump and hence prevent ring and bearing wear. (I think that was its name; it was a long time ago.)
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#4
For an inexperienced Linux user the old adage of 'If it aint broke don't fix it' applies.
In this case the usual suspect will be php and leaving the existing local version in place is the correct thing to do.
I cannot remember what the other one would have been. I only did this yesterday myself. The grey matter is disintegrating already! My moOde is still working so you should still be OK.
I do recommend changing the default pi password. Your search engine is your friend as they say. Just make sure that you remember it.
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#5
(07-26-2020, 01:52 PM)TheOldPresbyope Wrote: @Leviathan

Typically that type of message pops up during an upgrade when a package includes a configuration file which can be modified by the user. The safe answer is almost always keep the existing version. IIRC there was no need to do this upgrade just to update your RPi4B firmware. I believe the kernel files in the most recent releases of moOde are up to date in this regard (But, hey, I've been known to be wrong before so check.)

The ssh login credentials are the same as the user account credentials if you haven't done something baroque already (which would imply a level of linux knowledge you profess not to have).

See any online Linux-beginner blogs telling how to change the password for an existing user. 

Changing the user name in the sense you seem to imply (e.g., "pi" -> "something") is doable but not for beginners (it's hard in Windows too). 

It's modestly easy as user "pi" 1) to create a new user with a suitable password, 2) to give that user ssh privileges AND to add that user to the list of sudoers, and 3) to deny ssh privileges for user "pi". Better do it right and in the right order or you might end up being locked out. I don't see the point of doing it. It's the password and not the username which gives a modicum of protection.

Regards,
Kent

Thanks for the comprehensive reply.
The sole reason for upgrading the firmware was because of the apparent reduction in power draw/heat output on the Pi4. Given that my recent purchase of an Allo BOSS DAC doesn’t sit nicely with fixing a heatsink on the CPU (a capacitor? on the underside of the HAT is in the way), I thought it best I tried to reduce heat build up as far as possible to prevent throttling back of the processor.
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#6
(07-26-2020, 08:59 PM)TheMetalHead Wrote: For an inexperienced Linux user the old adage of 'If it aint broke don't fix it' applies.
In this case the usual suspect will be php and leaving the existing local version in place is the correct thing to do.
I cannot remember what the other one would have been. I only did this yesterday myself. The grey matter is disintegrating already! My moOde is still working so you should still be OK.
I do recommend changing the default pi password. Your search engine is your friend as they say. Just make sure that you remember it.

Thanks for the reply. Although I couldn’t initially recall what the conflict was, your mention of php has triggered the memory!. However, I am a bit embarrassed to admit I don’t Know exactly what php is!
Re the password, I will definitely be changing this when I’ve sorted out how.
Thanks again.
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#7
Stock moOde 6.7.1 already contains latest eeprom firmware for the 4B.

Code:
pi@rp2:~ $ sudo rpi-eeprom-update
BCM2711 detected
Dedicated VL805 EEPROM detected
BOOTLOADER: up-to-date
CURRENT: Thu 16 Apr 17:11:26 UTC 2020 (1587057086)
LATEST: Thu 16 Apr 17:11:26 UTC 2020 (1587057086)
FW DIR: /lib/firmware/raspberrypi/bootloader/critical
VL805: up-to-date
CURRENT: 000137ad
LATEST: 000137ad
Enjoy the Music!
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