The proverbial upgrade question

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#1

Operating system:
OS version:

Running CentOS Linux 7.9.2009
WebMin 1.970
VirtualMin 6.09

Hi all, very new to all this and had my host install WebMin and it is running fine. I wanted to install VirtualMin to allow me to fast select PHP versions in assisting me to develop my website. Fast forward I had someone do the install but it sort of went south as it never appeared in the WebMin dashboard. At some point I updated WebMin and poof VirtualMin was there. Now, the problem is I have an out dated version and there are no links in the left hand menu for updating. To make matters worse I have no idea how the individual did the initial install but I can assume from reading it was not from the install.sh file.

I tried a YUM update as well and VirtualMin is not listed… So, I guess the $64,000 question is since I have yet to use/configure VirtualMin can I just re-install using the install.sh file or is that going to cause problems?

Hopefully this is not overly difficult to correct…

TIA

#2

If you don’t know how it was installed originally, I highly recommend you start with a freshly installed operating system (i.e., blow this one away or shut it down and get a new VM or whatever), and then run the Virtualmin install script on it. It is not hard to install Virtualmin. It is very very easy. Anyone who can use ssh to login to their server can install Virtualmin.

Figuring out how to fix a system that was installed improperly (i.e. not using the install script) is much much harder than doing a fresh install.

A properly installed system will automatically show you available updates when they are available.

Edit: And, to be clear, you cannot run the install script on anything other than a freshly installed OS and expect things to work flawlessly. So, if you want a known-good install of Virtualmin that will Just Work for the most common use cases without much effort, start fresh.

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#3

This is a private dedicated production server that hosts 1 website. The only reason Virtualmin was installed was for its continued development to support newer PHP variants. Thus starting all over again with a fresh install is not in the cards and Virtualmin can site idle for eternity if that is the case. If I can not re-run the install script and over write it, then is there no way to just uninstall it? While installed it has never been setup/configured.

Thank you for the reply :slight_smile:

#4

Of course you can uninstall it. If it was installed from a package, you can uninstall the package (wbm-virtual-server), if not, you can uninstall or hide the module in Webmin.

The module itself is not going to do any harm, even if out of date. Though since you don’t know anything about the install, it’s impossible to know if there are scheduled jobs or other things related to Virtualmin running. Virtualmin has a gazillion ancillary services setup to run when it’s installed the usual way, so you may have all of that, or not. I have no way of knowing, since you don’t know and I have even less insight into your system than you. :wink:

#5

In WebMin > System > Software Packages
I can search for and find VirtualMin
and if I click on it there is an uninstall option but now I am hesitant about possibly corrupting the server or worse. Might need to just find someone who is much more familiar with this as it seems to be intertwined in to the OS. Just wishing I was more comfortable with Linux as if this was a Windows system, I would have zero issues.

Thank you again for taking the time to reply…

#6

The whole operation can be done in a couple hours tops. You only have one site. Back it up, wipe it out, do a fresh install, restore the site.

I had to do it once as well. Trust me, it goes by faster than you think.

Go here and follow the directions: Downloading and Installing Virtualmin | Virtualmin

#7

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