CR-2026-03-12: Arch Linux System Upgrade

Change Summary

Field Value

Change ID

CR-2026-03-12-ARCH-UPGRADE

System

modestus-razer (Arch Linux)

Current State

Outdated packages (weeks since last update)

Target State

Fully updated system

Requestor

Evan Rosado

Scheduled

2026-03-12

Risk Level

Medium (kernel/driver changes possible)

Context

Personal infrastructure

Pre-Change Checklist

Item Command/Check Status

Check current kernel

uname -r

[ ]

Check disk space

df -h /

[ ]

Review Arch news

archlinux.org/news/

[ ]

Check orphaned packages

pacman -Qdt

[ ]

Snapshot if using btrfs

sudo btrfs subvolume snapshot / /.snapshots/pre-upgrade-$(date +%Y%m%d)

[ ] N/A if not btrfs

Implementation Plan

Phase 1: Pre-Upgrade Review

# Check Arch Linux news for manual interventions
# https://archlinux.org/news/

# Check current system state
uname -r
pacman -Q linux
df -h /

Phase 2: Refresh Keys (If Needed)

# If you see keyring errors, run:
sudo pacman -Sy archlinux-keyring

Phase 3: Full System Upgrade

# Sync and upgrade all packages
sudo pacman -Syu
Read the output carefully. Watch for:

  • .pacnew files (config changes)

  • Kernel upgrades (requires reboot)

  • Manual intervention warnings

  • Replaced packages

Phase 4: Handle .pacnew Files

# Find all .pacnew files
find /etc -name "*.pacnew" 2>/dev/null

# Compare and merge (example)
diff /etc/pacman.conf /etc/pacman.conf.pacnew
sudo nvim -d /etc/pacman.conf /etc/pacman.conf.pacnew

Phase 5: Clean Package Cache

# Remove old package versions (keep last 3)
sudo paccache -r

# Remove uninstalled packages from cache
sudo paccache -ruk0

# Check orphaned packages
pacman -Qdt

Phase 6: Reboot (If Kernel Updated)

# Check if kernel was updated
pacman -Q linux

# Compare with running kernel
uname -r

# If different, reboot required
sudo reboot

Post-Change Verification

Check Expected Result Status

System boots

Normal boot, no errors

[ ]

Desktop loads

Hyprland/display working

[ ]

Network works

ping -c 3 1.1.1.1

[ ]

Audio works

Test audio output

[ ]

GPU drivers

nvidia-smi or glxinfo

[ ]

No broken packages

pacman -Qk 2>&1 | grep -v "0 missing"

[ ]

Rollback Plan

If system fails to boot:

  1. Boot from Arch ISO

  2. Mount root partition

  3. arch-chroot /mnt

  4. Downgrade problematic package: pacman -U /var/cache/pacman/pkg/<package>.pkg.tar.zst

  5. Or restore btrfs snapshot if available

Risk Assessment

Risk Impact Mitigation Probability

Kernel panic

High - unbootable

Keep old kernel in bootloader

Low

GPU driver mismatch

Medium - no display

Boot to TTY, reinstall nvidia

Low

Config breakage

Low - service fails

Review .pacnew files

Medium

Package conflicts

Medium - blocked upgrade

Resolve manually per output

Low

Lessons Learned

To be completed after upgrade

Sign-Off

Role Name Date

Requestor

Evan Rosado

2026-03-12

Approver

Self-approved (personal)

2026-03-12

Implementer