Red Hat Knowledgebase

The recommended "upgrade" path to Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a misnomer. We recommend that you back up any important data, perform a clean installation with the newer version, then restore your existing data.

To be technically accurate, there is an upgrade option to allow an upgrade without requiring a full reinstall. To get this functionality, insert the installation CD of the new version and enter linux upgrade at the boot prompt. This will walk you through the upgrade procedure, which very closely resembles a normal installation.

Warning: The upgrade option is unsupported by Red Hat Technical Support and is known to cause erratic system behavior in some cases. It is only provided as an emergency, temporary option. If you experience problems with your upgraded system and you are seeking assistance from Red Hat Support, you will be instructed to perform a clean installation.

Note: There will be no Upgrade button during the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 installation, but upgraded systems are supported by the Red Hat Enterprise Linux family on x86 processors

Important: Red Hat recommends that you do a complete back-up of your system before you attempt the upgrade. The preferred method of upgrading is to back-up your system, perform a clean install of Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 3, and migrate your data. Red Hat has only tested installation without any modifications to configuration files and the tested systems were absent of any third party (non-Red Hat) applications.