This type of installation is known as a migration, and not an upgrade. ArcaOS 5.0.x cannot be installed in this way.
The recommended way of installing ArcaOS to ultimately replace an existing eCS or Warp 4 installation is to install it to a new partition and then reinstall applications and move data as necessary, building an entirely new working environment.
A migration feature is planned for the ArcaOS 5.1 release cycle.
For more information concerning updates, upgrades, and migrations, see this wiki page.
Congratulations!
Now that you have completed your installation or update of the OS, you should review this section of the Post-Install Tips & Hints wiki page. If updating, you should also review this wiki page.
Requesting a fresh ISO will provide the same code as originally delivered for the same ArcaOS version (major version . minor version . release, e.g., 5.0.8) as when that version was originally released.
Example:
Assume you requested your ArcaOS 5.0.8 ISO on July 1, 2023 and installed it the same day. Two months later, your ISO was no longer available, but you needed to reinstall the operating system, so you log into your customer portal, access your ArcaOS Download Center, and request a fresh ISO by clicking the Download ISO button. This “new” ISO will be functionally equivalent to the original 5.0.8 ISO you previously downloaded, even though several updates may have been released since your initial download.
After the reinstall, you should follow the normal post-install update procedures outlined in the wiki.
No.
ArcaOS requires an x86 CPU, or one which provides x86 services (such as x86-64 CPUs). These include processors from Intel and AMD. More specifically, ArcaOS requires an Intel Pentium Pro or higher or AMD K6 or higher CPU. (Vortex86 processors are not compatible.)
The Raspberry Pi utilizes and ARM processor, which is not compatible with ArcaOS.
For a full list of hardware requirements, see this page.
Per Reporting Problems – Best Practices, tickets should only be opened against current software. This includes ArcaOS itself. Once a new release of ArcaOS has been made generally available (GA), the previous version is retired from support.
The Version dropdown in the problem report page will only reflect supported versions of software. If you are using an older ArcaOS release, if possible, update to the latest and see if your problem has already been addressed. If not, proceed with opening a ticket for the issue against the current release.
We realize that this is not always practical, and we do make exceptions to this rule. If you cannot for some reason update to the latest release, please select the closest available version from the dropdown and add a comment in the Additional Information section as to which version you are using and why you have not updated to the latest shipping release.
The short answer is that nothing is wrong. Some systems, when configured to boot from USB devices first will always reboot to the ArcaOS installation USB stickt, and not the hard disk, even when the hard disk has been selected from that menu. The good news is that the workaround is easy: simply remove the USB stick, allow the system to start booting from the hard disk, and reinsert the stick.
Alternatively, if your system provides a key to press to access a temporary boot device menu, press that, select the hard disk, and allow the system to boot normally.
More information is available on this wiki page.
If you renew on or up to six months after the expiration date, this is considered the renewal grace period, and the normal renewal price applies, but will only extend your subscription for the time remaining in the current one-year period.
Example:
- Your subscription expires December 31.
- You renew May 15 of the following year, four and a half months late, for the normal renewal price.
- Your subscription expires December 31 of that year.
If you renew after the grace period, the late renewal price applies and this will reinstate your subscription for a full year, changing the expiration date of your subscription.
Example:
- Your subscription expires December 31.
- You renew July 15 of the following year, six and a half months late, for the late renewal price.
- Your subscription expires July 15 of the following year.
Subscription renewals are discounted by 10% for a renewal order placed any time before expiration. Whether you purchase a renewal the same day as you purchase your ArcaOS license (but in a subsequent order), or the last day before it expires, we consider this an early renewal. Early renewals provide the best value.
Subscription renewals are discounted by 10% for a renewal order placed any time before expiration. Whether you purchase a renewal the same day as you purchase your ArcaOS license (but in a subsequent order), or the last day before it expires, we consider this an early renewal.
If you renew on or up to six months after the expiration date, this is considered the renewal grace period, and the normal renewal price applies, but will only extend your subscription for the time remaining in the current one-year period.
Example:
- Your subscription expires December 31.
- You renew May 15 of the following year, four and a half months late, for the normal renewal price.
- Your subscription expires December 31 of that year.
If you renew after the grace period, the late renewal price applies and this will reinstate your subscription for a full year, changing the expiration date of your subscription.
Example:
- Your subscription expires December 31.
- You renew July 15 of the following year, six and a half months late, for the late renewal price.
- Your subscription expires July 15 of the following year.
You may reinstate any ArcaOS Support & Maintenance subscription, no matter how long ago it expired, on the order details page for your original ArcaOS order from your customer portal. To access the order details page:
- Visit your customer portal on the main Arca Noae website. If not logged in, you may do so when accessing the above link.
- From the navigation links on the left, select ArcaOS Download Center to view the list of your ArcaOS licenses and associated downloads.
- Locate the ArcaOS license for the subscription you would like to renew, and click the Renew button. This will add the renewal to your shopping cart.
If your subscription expired less than six months earlier, the standard renewal fee will apply, and will extend your subscription for the remainder of the one year term. If more than six months, a higher reinstatement fee will apply, but this is still less than the purchase of a new ArcaOS license, and will provide one full year of support and maintenance from the date of renewal.
Normally, the INI File eXaminer (IFX) runs silently during the boot process to scan and create unattended backups of the two critical desktop INI files, OS2.INI and OS2SYS.INI. If errors are detected, it will prompt to either continue to the desktop or to restore one of its backups. However, there may be situations where even valid INI files should be “rolled back” to a previous point. To do this:
During the boot process, before the IFX banner is displayed in the boot messages, press and hold a <Shift> key. Timing is critical: too soon, and something else running during the boot process may interpret the key; too late, and the key may be missed. On very fast systems, it may be easier to step through the boot process first, by pressing <Alt>-<F4> at the boot blob (the while block which appears next to “OS/2” at the very beginning of the boot cycle). This will pause at each device driver load and system RUN or CALL statement (though not when loading base device drivers very early in the boot process).
Note that IFX runs independently of the traditional Workplace Shell archiving option, which may be configured on the Archives tab of the desktop Properties notebook. The archives created with that system may be recovered form the Recovery Choices screen, accessible by pressing <Alt>-<F1> at the boot blob.