Contents

        * 1 Introduction
        * 2 Available installation media
        * 3 The Mageia online repositories
        * 4 Major new features
             + 4.1 Installation
                  o 4.1.1 Stage 1
                  o 4.1.2 Stage 2
                  o 4.1.3 Debugging
                  o 4.1.4 Rescue
             + 4.2 Package management
                  o 4.2.1 API change
                  o 4.2.2 Security
                  o 4.2.3 Graphical package manager
             + 4.3 Tools
             + 4.4 Base system
                  o 4.4.1 Others
             + 4.5 Packaging
                  o 4.5.1 Package compression
                  o 4.5.2 Easier debugging
                  o 4.5.3 RPM groups
                  o 4.5.4 Mass rebuild
             + 4.6 Graphical environments
                  o 4.6.1 KDE
                  o 4.6.2 GNOME
                  o 4.6.3 LXDE
                  o 4.6.4 XFCE
                  o 4.6.5 Enlightenment
                  o 4.6.6 RazorQt
                  o 4.6.7 Qt
             + 4.7 Office apps
             + 4.8 Games
             + 4.9 Education
             + 4.10 Computer Assisted Music
             + 4.11 Software Development
        * 5 Upgrading from Mageia 2
             + 5.1 Upgrading via the Internet
                  o 5.1.1 Upgrading online, using mgaonline (GUI)
                  o 5.1.2 Upgrading online, using urpmi (CLI)
             + 5.2 Using the Mageia 3 DVD to Upgrade
        * 6 Known issues
             + 6.1 Bug reporting

                                  Introduction

                          Available installation media

   Mageia has two distinct installation media types:
     * DVD ISO and Dual-arch CD ISO, which use the drakx traditional
       installer and
     * Live DVD/CD ISO, a live ISO which can be used to preview the
       distribution and also later be used to install Mageia on your hard
       drive.

   For more information have a look at the installation media page.

   You will always find the download info on the Mageia download page;
   direct (ftp and http) and BitTorrent downloads are available.

                         The Mageia online repositories

   The Mageia software sits in three different repositories/media,
   depending on the type of license applied to each package. Here's an
   overview of those repositories:
     * Core: The Core repository includes packages with free-open-source
       software, i.e. packages licensed under a free-open-source license,
       the set of the "Core" media along with "Core Release" and "Core
       Updates" are available by default.
     * Nonfree: The Nonfree repository includes packages that are
       free-of-charge, i.e. Mageia may redistribute them, but they contain
       closed-source software (hence the name - Nonfree). For example this
       repository includes nVidia and ATI graphics card proprietary
       drivers, firmware for various WiFi cards, etc.
       The Nonfree media set is added by default but not enabled by
       default.
     * Tainted: The Tainted repository includes packages released under a
       free license. The main criteria for placing packages in this
       repository is that they may infringe on patents and copyright laws
       in some countries, e.g. multimedia codecs needed to play various
       audio/video files; packages needed to play commercial video DVD,
       etc.
       The Tainted media set is added by default but not enabled by
       default, i.e. it's completely opt-in; so check your local laws
       before using packages from this repository.
       This repository is only added for the convenience of the users.
       This repository is to Mageia what PLF is to Mandriva users or RPM
       Fusion is to Fedora users.

                               Major new features

Installation

  Stage 1

     * The first stage of the installer automatically passes the correct
       URL to stage2 if it was provided.

          eg http://foobar.com/mirrors/mageia/3/ instead of
          http://foobar.com/mirrors/mageia/3/x86_64

     * The installer can now create and install to a btrfs file system,
       however to boot correctly a separate ~200MB ext2 partition with the
       mount point /boot must be created during the partitioning step.

     * It now uses kmod for loading modules

     * A bug was fixed in kmod which would cause the installer to load an
       incorrect driver for some hardware due to kmod not enforcing module
       ordering (mga#5833).

   List of all change since Mga2

  Stage 2

     * Hardware support
          + Tokenring is no longer supported.
          + support was added for ton of recent hardware
     * media
          + it's now possible to enable nonfree & tainted media during
            install. Proprietary drivers and/or non-free firmware can now
            be installed during installation. The user is be asked whether
            to keep non-free packages during installation via a simple
            checkbox. Moving the mouse above the media shows a description
            of what each contains.
          + nonfree media is pre-selected if we detect hardware will not
            work without non free firmwares
          + when adding update media at end of install, all media are now
            installed as updates might requires packages from the full
            sources (DVD is only a subset)
     * The installer can now write a debug file to a USB key formatted as
       NTFS instead of FAT (mga#5685).
     * The installer has been updated to include the latest
       kernel/rpm/perl/pango/x11-server.
     * Storage
          + whereas drakx integrates well in most virtualized OSes, it
            finally supports installing on XEN paravirtualized disks.
          + Resizing NTFS works again (it was broken by the switch from
            ntfsprogs to ntfs-3g)
          + The 'acl' option is only allowed for extX & reiserfs
          + The minimum size for auto spliting /home fs is now 12Gb
            instead of 8 if simple partioning, or 10Gb instead of 7 to
            10Gb if /usr is split (eg: servers)
          + It is now possible to choose btrfs in normal mode
     * GUI:
          + the GUI has been refreshed and now uses the Oxygen theme
          + the help has been vastly improved
          + text size of help and of updates installation is the same as
            the installer one
     * support for xguest was disabled
     * package groups
          + An "unselect all" button has been added when one chooses to
            pick package groups, allowing a faster minimal installation.
     * Grub2 can now be installed at the summary step, it can also be
       installed in a partition. However, please see the errata for
       information on how to multi-boot into the system. Integration in
       drakboot is only partial, if you feel that you need to customize
       the menu then please read /usr/share/doc/grub2/README.Mageia for
       the native grub2 techniques, or you could maybe try
       grub-customizer.
     * various improvements:
          + auto install: xdm install is now non interactive
          + fix installing minimum system prior to set up network media
          + installation errors are displayed only once at the end instead
            of stopping the install for each error with a popup.
     * ...

   List of all change since Mageia 2.

  Debugging

   It's now possible to rebuild stage 1 & stage 2 packages with a debug
   option in order to have better environments for debugging the
   installer.

  Rescue

     * Rescue will select the most recent version of Mageia when several
       Mageia instances have been installed. It now also offers to pick
       the one to rescue.
     * It will refuse to repair an incompatible installation (eg: 64 bit
       OS with a 32 bit rescue).
     * It detects software RAID setups better.
     * It is able to rescue systems with SMB mount points.
     * It includes a script to simplify the grabbing of journal logs for
       bug reports.
     * It drops unmaintained support for KA (clustering)

Package management

   RPM has been upgraded to 4.11.

   Urpmi has been refactored and cleaned. Various bugs have been fixed :
     * urpmi used to download noarch packages twice when using
       --download-all option on 64-bit machines because they are in both
       32 and 64-bit repositories (mga#4867)
     * urpmi no longer silently fails with exit status 0 when:
          + package installation fails due to either conflicts
          + unselecting package
          + failing to install some (but not all) packages
     * urpmi now looks again for missing requires of updates in the
       regular media instead of only looking in update media (mga#2317)
     * urpmf and urpmq now work as user with the --use-distrib option
       (mga#1225)
     * urpme will no longer offer to remove DKMS modules for current
       kernel (mga#5092)
     * gurpmi:
          + gurpmi will upgrade glib, gtk & perl-{Glib,Gtk2} bindings as
            priority upgrades prior to restart (mga#5066)
          + gurpmi now wraps some huge debug messages and uses a scrollbar
            in such cases (mga#5118)

   Various enhancements have been done:
     * urpmi has now basic support for --downgrade.
     * urpmi has now basic support for delta packages.
     * urpmi.addmedia now enable nonfree/tainted media if such packages
       were previously installed
     * (g)urpmi reports removed packages (eg: older versions when
       upgrading) (previously it looked stalled)
     * urpmi now detects I/O, unpacking & scriptlets errors
     * urpmq without parameter doesn't search any more fuzzy matching, you
       have to add explicitly the argument -y.
     * gurpmi:
          + improved layout
          + better information about disk usage
          + errors summary is displayed at the end instead of showing a
            popup for each one
          + errors don't popup in automatic mode

   List of all the change since Mageia 2.

  API change

   The --repackage option has been removed (it had not worked since
   rpm-4.6 was introduced in 2009). Repository metadata can now be
   compressed with XZ instead of gzip.

  Security

   Urpmi will now warn
     * when a medium has no signing key;
     * about unsigned packages from media without signing keys;
     * when signature checking is disabled per medium.

   The "download-all" option is supported in urpmi.cfg as opposed to being
   available only from the command line.

  Graphical package manager

   Rpmdrake wasn't properly highlighting latest changes in package
   changelogs when they used Epoch.

   Updates were sometimes wrongly deselected when clicking on "New
   dependencies".

   The --merge-all-rpmnew option is slightly faster. It also now consider
   all config files, including those outside /etc.

   Rpmdrake now display a global progress bar when updating/installing or
   removing packages instead of one progress bar per RPM transaction.

   List of all the change since Mageia 2.

Tools

   Quite a lot of bugs were squashed. Some notable features:
     * Installing kernels had been made safer.
     * Harddrake will install ethernet/wireless packages when a new device
       is detected, which helps quite a lot for Broadcom devices.
     * Mcc now finds NFS servers whereas it failed to do in some
       environments before.
     * Bubble notifications were disabled in net_applet due to a segfault
       in GNOME's libnotify (mga#9102).
     * Autologin is now supported with lxdm & slim too (#3715)

Base system

   kernel
     * Mageia 3 ships with kernel 3.8.13

   systemd
     * Mageia 3 comes with systemd 195

   GRUB
     * Mageia 3 still comes with GRUB as a default, however you can
       install GRUB2. integration is now available in installer and some
       drakxtools.

   File systems
     * OverlayFS is now available and used to build live CDs

   Perl
     * Perl has been upgraded to 5.16.3 and all perl packages have been
       rebuilt and/or updated

   Ruby
     * Ruby has been upgraded to 1.9.3, and most of the packages have been
       rebuilt.

   journalctl
     * Journalctl is now used as default. You can still install rsyslog if
       you want logs in tty12 or syslog/user/access/messages log. draklog
       has not been modified to deal with journalctl so you will need to
       have rsyslog installed to use it.
     * To complete

  Others

   /usr move
     * /usr move main goal is to provide an easy way to mount most of the
       installed operating system files read-only during normal usage.

   Also make it easy to take snapshots (when combined with btrfs or lvm)
   or share it over the network.

   Grub2
     * Grub2 is now available for the first time in Mageia and may be
       selected during installation or later using

          Mageia Control Center -> Boot. To test grub2 while still using
          grub legacy please see /usr/share/doc/grub2/README.Mageia

   Note: If grub2 is installed "to a partition" during installation please
   read the Mageia-3 errata for more help.

Packaging

  Package compression

   Packages are now compressed as XZ instead of LZMA

  Easier debugging

   By default, minimal debuginfo is installed in order to increase the
   quality of bug reports and allow easier support for profiling and
   userspace tracing. Developers will receive better bug reports by
   default, without users having to enable debug media and install big
   debug packages.

   It will also make system-wide profiling, userspace dynamic probes and
   casual debugging easier.

  RPM groups

   The Mageia package groups have been reorganized to improve clarity and
   for easier browsing in rpmdrake and during installation.

  Mass rebuild

   Mass rebuild has been completed. The 10,500 source packages were
   rebuilt in three days on four nodes. Thanks to our packager, we are
   close to having 100% rebuild success.

   This will improve the quality of Mageia 3 and also post-product support
   (bug or security updates), won't need to spend time fixing stuff that
   should already work.

Graphical environments

  KDE

   KDE 4.10.2.
     * Upstream configuration

          Starting with KDE SC 4.7 we're providing an additional package
          name, vanilla, in order for an end user to simply use upstream
          configuration for desktop and applications. You simply need to
          install the vanilla-kde4-config package via rpmdrake or via
          urpmi like this:

          urpmi vanilla-kde4-config

  GNOME

   GNOME environment is also provided. Currently 3.6.

  LXDE

   LXDE version 0.5.5 is available. LXDE is a desktop environment intended
   to be lightweight, fast, and energy-efficient.

  XFCE

   Xfce 4.10 with various (bug) fixes mainly from upstream.

   Available at install in the 'other desktop' checkbox with the classical
   iso.

  Enlightenment

   The e17 release of the Enlightenment desktop environment is available
   in the Core repositories.

  RazorQt

   Beta 3 comes with RazorQt v. 0.5.2: "Razor-qt is an advanced,
   easy-to-use, and fast desktop environment based on Qt technologies. It
   has been tailored for users who value simplicity, speed, and an
   intuitive interface. Unlike most desktop environments, Razor-qt also
   works fine with weak machines".

  Qt

     * Qt 4.8.4

     * Qt 5

     * QtCreator 2.6.1

Office apps

     * Libreoffice 4.0.3

Games

   Steam for linux is now available in the repositories.

Education

     * Ardesia
     * TkGate
     * GanttProject
     * Open-Sankoré
     * OpenStereo

Computer Assisted Music

   Audio and MIDI Connection Kit
     * JACK JACK 1.9.8 (jackit) and qjackctl its GUI (version 1.9.9 may be
       provided as update)
     * lv2 lv2 (version 1.2.0) a plugin standard for audio system (the
       1.4.0 version may be provided as update)

   Multitrack audio recorder
     * Ardour Ardour3 final release is now available (besides Ardour2)
       with lv2 interface

   Instruments
     * aeolus aeolus a church organ emulator
     * Bristol Bristol (a vintage synthesizers emulator) is available with
       Menu items for each synthesizer
     * Linuxsampler Linuxsampler 1.0 and Qsampler and gigedit (a sample
       editor) are available
     * Yoshimi a software synthesizer version 0.0.60 (version 1.0 may be
       provided as update)

   Sequencers
     * Rosegarden Rosegarden 12.04 (just released 13.04 version may be
       proposed as update)
     * Qtractor Qtractor 0.5.6 (just released version 0.5.8 may be
       proposed as update)

   Score editors
     * Lilypond Lilypond 2.16 (last stable edition)
     * Musescore Musescore version 1.2 A GUI for Lilypond (just published
       version 1.3 may be provided as update)
     * Rosegarden Rosegarden is a score editor too !
     * denemo denemo 0.9.6 (just released 1.0.0 version may be provided as
       update)

Software Development

     * MonoDevelop
     * Gambas3
     * LibYUI
     * fdb
     * OCaml is now in version 4.00.1, with more than 300 libraries
     * Harbour Version 3.0 with QtContribs and pre-built HbIDE.
     * GnuRadio Version 3.6.4.1

                            Upgrading from Mageia 2

   Upgrading from Mageia 2 is supported, and has been fine-tuned over the
   past few months, so it should work. But as always, it's very advisable
   to back up any important data before upgrading and make sure you have
   made all updates of Mageia 2 (such as rpm and urpmi). Upgrading from
   Mageia 1 or another distribution is not supported.

   There are several ways to upgrade from one of the previous Mageia
   releases:

   Warning: Upgrading an existing install using a LiveCD is NOT supported
   due to the livecd image being copied "as is" to the target system.

Upgrading via the Internet

   The Mageia update notification applet, Mageia Online, will notify you
   that a new Mageia release is available, and ask if you wish to upgrade.
   If you agree, the upgrade will be carried out from within your Mageia
   installation without any further steps being necessary.

   If you have disabled the applet or it is not automatically running for
   some reason, you can upgrade manually either using the GUI (mgaonline)
   or the CLI (urpmi). Both methods are outlined below.

   First make sure you have the latest updates for your currently running
   release prior to upgrading. Because of the complications of the
   usrmove, a newer version of mgaonline is required to see the new
   version and step you through the upgrade process. You must therefore
   update mgaonline. The new mgaonline package will itself install the
   mageia-prepare-upgrade package.

  Upgrading online, using mgaonline (GUI)

   As noted above you must have the updated mgaonline installed.

   The new mgaonline should inform you that a new release is available and
   will automatically tell you that preparation is required before
   continuing. It will then:
     * Install the package mageia-prepare-upgrade
     * Instruct you to reboot and select the "Mageia 3 Upgrade
       Preparation" entry in your bootloader (todo: should we use rebootin
       here?)

   If you don't see mgaonline notify you that there is an new release,
   check your option with mgaapplet-config

   Or

          su
          mgaapplet-upgrade-helper --new_distro_version=3

   It will notify you of the availability of the new Mageia 3
   distribution, configure Mageia media sources and start migration.
   Again, please ensure you have the updated mgaonline installed before
   undertaking this stage.

  Upgrading online, using urpmi (CLI)

     * Before making any changes to your configuration, ensure you have
       all packages up-to-date and then install the mageia-prepare-upgrade
       package.

     * Once installed, reboot your computer and select the "Mageia 3
       Upgrade Preparation" boot option.

     * After rebooting and confirming that the usrmove has completed
       successfully (check via ls -l / that /bin and /lib etc. are
       symlinks) you can continue.

     * Remove all of the existing media sources on your system by
       executing this command as root in terminal:

          su
          urpmi.removemedia -a

     * Add the Mageia online sources, either:
          + Using the MIRRORLIST method (which will select a mirror
            automatically based on your geographical location):

          su
          urpmi.addmedia --distrib --mirrorlist
          http://mirrors.mageia.org/api/mageia.3.$ARCH.list
          (Where $ARCH is either i586 or x86_64)

     *
          + Using a specific media mirror:

          su
          urpmi.addmedia --distrib <mirror_url>
          You can get the mirror_url using the Mageia mirrors web
          application

     * Finally start upgrading:

          su
          urpmi --replacefiles --auto-update --auto

     * It's best to run the above command twice as in the first run some
       packages maybe downloaded but not installed.

Using the Mageia 3 DVD to Upgrade

   You can use the Mageia 3 DVD to do clean installs but also to upgrade
   from previous releases.

   To upgrade:
     * Download the ISO from the Mageia download page and burn it on a
       DVD, or dump it on a USB stick, for more details have a look at
       Available installation media article
     * Boot the DVD and select "Install Mageia 3" from the GRUB (the
       bootloader) menu
     * Select the upgrade option.

   It is recommended that the online repositories be set up, if possible,
   during the upgrade as the DVD only includes a subset of the complete
   set of Mageia online repositories.

   On the first reboot use the command line 'urpmi --auto-update' to make
   sure all packages were updated.

                                  Known issues

   See Errata page

Bug reporting

   You can find our bugzilla here, but please read the Errata before
   reporting any bugs. If you don't already have a Mageia account, you can
   create one at https://identity.mageia.org/. If you don't know how the
   procedure works, please read how to report a bug first.