Can RISCOS 5.24 be UPGRADED to 5.28?

OK, I posed this question in the wrong part of the forum, mercy for the ignorant? Perhaps the answer is here!
5.28 looks great. Got it up and running on my Pi3B+, however, I have a question. How can I UPGRADE from 5.24 to 5.28 WITHOUT having to reconfigure everything? It would be a shame to lose my settings, preferences, bookmarks, everything. I have ePic, NutPi, the official book but, cannot find what must be a simple solution. I can usually solve my own problems but, finding help with RISCOS poses some real challenges when trying to ask a pointed question. If there is someone that can point me to a reference that addresses “upgrading the kernel”, I would be much obliged.

RISC OS Upgrade

The HardDisc4 image for 5.28 includes an updater script that brings the new bits of Boot in without having to manually mess with its contents. It seemed to work correctly on my machine, at least. The other stuff like the new Apps directory still needs to be updated manually, but that’s more or less a drag-and-drop operation.

Edit: Just saw that that’s mentioned on the linked page; I needed to read past the ‘5.19 or earlier’ bit at the top :)

Edit: Just saw that that’s mentioned on the linked page; I needed to read past the ‘5.19 or earlier’ bit at the top :)

Perhaps it would be better to swap the sections round so that the “5.20 or later” section comes first? This surely being more likely to be applicable.

Perhaps it would be better to swap the sections round so that the “5.20 or later” section comes first? This surely being more likely to be applicable.

Seems sensible. Add in a link at the top (just above the 5.20 or later) that points to the 5.19 or earlier – also tagged “legacy” and you’ve covered everything, perhaps.

Much obliged Stewart. I did see this prior to posting, I downloaded, tried to follow the steps, got lost in the jargon and gave up. I have ePic, NutPi, the official book but, cannot find what must be a simple solution. I’ll wait on the upgrade! Thanks for your help!

I’ve put a revised RISC OS Upgrade wiki page online. As requested it lists the procedure for upgrading from RISC OS 5.24 near the top of the page, with instructions for upgrading from older releases below that point.

You’re a star.

What have I done? I again downloaded HardDisc4, double clicked InSituBootUpdate but now, I get pages of errors and stack trace output only to end with the single statement: there was a mistake. Prior to this attempt I performed an update all using the package manager then slid the iBoot folder into the Boot Merge slot where I witnessed a progress indication complete with no detrimate to the running system. After a reboot, the version remains at 5.24. I have already downloaded the full 5.28 image and am wondering if it contains the missing bits I need to complete this update or, do I need the specific ROM update mentioned?
I’m impressed with any system that can withstand my clumsy tinkering while trying to interpret steps that must be clear to someone. Perhaps a re-read of the shiny book will reveal something I’ve missed about RISCOS being easily understood.

I’m a bit puzzled why you were getting errors, but it could be because you were trying to update !Boot twice. There is a lingering possibility that you may have trouble with the network stack as a result, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

do I need the specific ROM update mentioned?

You want the “RPi ROM Stable” download from this page – the filename is “BCM2835.5.28.zip”

The procedure is:

• Hold down the Shift key and double-click on !Boot to open a directory viewer. This should show the actual contents of !Boot (if you get a Configuration window, you weren’t holding down Shift).
• Double-click on the file named Loader. This will open another directory viewer, containing the existing ROM (riscos/img) and firmware (bootcode/bin, fixup/dat and start/elf).
• Open the BCM2835/5/28 archive and copy its contents (riscos/img, bootcode/bin etc.) to the !Boot.Loader directory viewer.
• Close all directory viewers, wait 15 seconds and then reboot.

Thanks Stuart, these instructions are becoming clearer or I’m getting smarter. I vote for the former.
I’m running 5.28 now. I followed your instructions to a T but, when I rebooted the desktop failed to load and I was dropped into StarComms). The failed boot reported Error: SWI &42701 Not Known (Error number &1e6). I had to assume it had something to do a failure to load the CMOS file so I did a little tinkering to no avail before loading the fresh 5.28 image.
Realizing I’ve ostensibly lost the code I’ve written, the docs I gleened from the web and, of course, all of the preferences, setup and choices I was trying to preserve, I’m accepting defeat!
I have a backup of the data so all may not be lost. I don’t yet understand what I’m looking at when viewing the contents of the SD card. I am having fun with RISCOS despite my hardship and I’m thankful for the friendly help I’ve received here on the forum.

SWI &42701 Not Known

SWI &42701 is Squash_Decompress, the Squash module will be unplugged, a real show stopper.

*unplug will confirm.

*RMReinit Squash will get it back and the ROM should fully start up.

The procedure is:

Hold down the Shift key and double-click on !Boot to open a directory viewer. This should show the actual contents of !Boot (if you get a Configuration window, you weren’t holding down Shift).

Or:
ctrl-F12
*unplug
*RMInsert < name of any module that is listed as unplugged> ¹
*filer_run $.!boot.loader ²

¹ That makes sure that if the ROM has a re-arranged module list, which I think is the case on this upgrade, you don’t end up with a critical module unplugged.

² No accidental missing shift press possibility.

Edit: Apparently David Pitt types faster than me. Maybe he isn’t watching Uni Challenge at the same time :)

OK! Another successful upgrade from 5.24 to 5.28! It’s good to know that RISCOS is rugged enough to take a licking and keep on ticking. It’s been trials and tribulations but I’m a better user today than yesterday. I really would have been stuck with failure were it not for the support I found here. The Pizza and Beer is on Me! Anyone have a napkin?

Successful upgrade from 5.24 to 5.28 here!

Armv7 Pi2