How to check the date and time of install

[tech291083]

I am running Fedora 16 32+ bit distro, is there any way I can know I installed it to my hard drive? I mean the date and time of install? Thanks.

[jpollard]

Not sure this would be right, but the release file (/etc/fedora-release) should be very close. As far as I know, nothing updates this file unless you upgrade to another release, in which case the date should be the new install date.

[DBelton]

well, there are various log files it creates when you do the install, and the timestamp on those files is when they were created.

look at the timestamp on these files:

/var/log/anaconda/*

/root/install.log
/root/install.log.syslog
/root/anaconda-ks.cfg

Edit:
There was an update to the /etc/fedora-release file about a month ago, so that's not a good indicator. On my system here, I installed on Feb 9, but the timestamp on the fedora-release file is May 4.

[jpollard]

I thought that update was for Fedora 17... Mine for F16 is Oct 25 2011 when (as I recall) I did the install.

Yet the log file for the /var/log/anaconda files are all Nov 9, 2011, which is around the time I completed tested F16 in a VM, but did not install it for use.

So it may depend on HOW you install.

BTW, within the anaconda.syslog file there is a date entry recorded during the kernel boot (the line starts "RTC time:") which at least is not dependent on the filesystem dates which can be altered by backup/restore.

[tech291083]

[root@localhost james]# rpm -qi fedora-release
Name        : fedora-release
Version     : 16
Release     : 1
Architecture: noarch
Install Date: Mon 12 Mar 2012 02:59:01 AM IST
Group       : System Environment/Base
Size        : 27184
License     : GPLv2
Signature   : RSA/SHA256, Tue 25 Oct 2011 06:36:36 PM IST, Key ID 067f00b6a82ba4b7
Source RPM  : fedora-release-16-1.src.rpm
Build Date  : Tue 25 Oct 2011 10:20:12 AM IST
Build Host  : x86-05.phx2.fedoraproject.org
Relocations : (not relocatable)
Packager    : Fedora Project
Vendor      : Fedora Project
URL         : http://fedoraproject.org
Summary     : Fedora release files
Description :
Fedora release files such as yum configs and various /etc/ files that
define the release.

Install Date: Mon 12 Mar 2012 02:59:01 AM IST

Have I got it what I wanted here? Not sure, thanks.

[DBelton]

Yes, it probably does depend on how you install. A LiveCD copies the filesystem over, so file timestamps would probably be useless (except for a few files it would have to create)

The RTC time you mentioned in /var/log/anaconda/anaconda.syslog or the timestamps in the /var/log/anaconda/anaconda.yum.log files would probably be the most accurate way to determine install time.

Edit:

Yes, that date you got is probably when you did the install since fedora-release hasn't been updated in F16, so the install date for that package would be when you did your initial install. However, you may not be able to always use that (as we have shown above) as that package can and will be updated (it just doesn't happen often)

[tech291083]

Originally Posted by DBelton

Yes, that date you got is probably when you did the install since fedora-release hasn't been updated in F16, so the install date for that package would be when you did your initial install. However, you may not be able to always use that (as we have shown above) as that package can and will be updated (it just doesn't happen often)

This is a really interesting point. I never had an inkling that this date could not be the exact install date. But there must be some other way to know as to when the installation of Fedora was actually done, particularly on a clean hard drive. Thanks

[nonamedotc]

I have doubts about that date. This is what I get

Install Date: Mon 28 May 2012 04:16:56 PM CDT

I actually did the day before (about at least 1 day earlier). I did the installation on a Sunday! I do not know why the time stamp has changed though (I mean, did not notice if there was an update).

[DBelton]

Originally Posted by nonamedotc

I have doubts about that date. This is what I get



I actually did the day before (about at least 1 day earlier). I did the installation on a Sunday! I do not know why the time stamp has changed though (I mean, did not notice if there was an update).

Are you running F17? If so, then there was an update to the fedora-release package in May. The updated package probably wasn't on the install media you used, and you updated when you did your first update after install.


tech291083:

There is a way, look in the messages above.

Quick way is to look in the /var/log/anaconda/anaconda.yum.log file and it will give you the date/time that yum ran during the anaconda installation.

[tech291083]

Ok friends,

This is what I have tried in a terminal as root after reading your replies.

[root@localhost james]#  ls /var/log/anaconda/
anaconda.ifcfg.log  anaconda.program.log  anaconda.syslog  anaconda.yum.log
anaconda.log        anaconda.storage.log  anaconda.xlog
[root@localhost james]# 
[root@localhost james]# cat /var/log/anaconda/anaconda.ifcfg.log |grep -i rtc
[root@localhost james]# 
[root@localhost james]# cat /var/log/anaconda/anaconda.program.log |grep -i rtc
[root@localhost james]# 
[root@localhost james]# cat /var/log/anaconda/anaconda.syslog |grep -i rtc
21:24:37,549 INFO kernel:[    0.089258] RTC time: 21:24:33, date: 03/11/12
21:24:37,558 INFO kernel:[    1.235674] rtc_cmos 00:04: RTC can wake from S4
21:24:37,558 INFO kernel:[    1.235767] rtc_cmos 00:04: rtc core: registered rtc_cmos as rtc0
21:24:37,558 INFO kernel:[    1.235788] rtc0: alarms up to one month, 242 bytes nvram, hpet irqs
21:24:37,558 INFO kernel:[    1.236698] Using IPI No-Shortcut mode
21:24:37,558 INFO kernel:[    1.242659] rtc_cmos 00:04: setting system clock to 2012-03-11 21:24:34 UTC (1331501074)
[root@localhost james]# 
[root@localhost james]# cat /var/log/anaconda/anaconda.yum.log |grep -i rtc
[root@localhost james]# 
[root@localhost james]# cat /var/log/anaconda/anaconda.log |grep -i rtc
[root@localhost james]# 
[root@localhost james]# cat /var/log/anaconda/anaconda.storage.log |grep -i rtc 
[root@localhost james]# 
[root@localhost james]# cat /var/log/anaconda/anaconda.xlog |grep -i rtc
[root@localhost james]#

Thanks.

---------- Post added at 08:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:30 AM ----------

Originally Posted by DBelton

Quick way is to look in the /var/log/anaconda/anaconda.yum.log file and it will give you the date/time that yum ran during the anaconda installation.

Ok, I did the following,

[root@localhost bhavin]# cat /var/log/anaconda/anaconda.yum.log


[2012-03-12 02:56:07,496] DEBUG   : Quick matched festival-speechtools-libs-1.2.96-18.fc16.i686 to require for libestbase.so.1.2.96.1
[2012-03-12 02:56:07,498] DEBUG   : TSINFO: Marking festival-lib-1.96-18.fc16.i686 as install for festival-1.96-18.fc16.i686
[2012-03-12 02:56:07,502] DEBUG   : TSINFO: Marking libquadmath-4.6.2-1.fc16.i686 as install for fftw-libs-3.3-3.fc16.i686
[2012-03-12 02:56:07,503] DEBUG   : Quick matched libquadmath-4.6.2-1.fc16.i686 to require for libquadmath.so.0
[2012-03-12 02:56:07,546] DEBUG   : TSINFO: Marking cryptopp-5.6.1-5.fc16.i686 as install for pycryptopp-0.5.29-1.fc15.i686
[2012-03-12 02:56:07,552] DEBUG   : TSINFO: Marking yajl-1.0.12-1.fc16.i686 as install for raptor2-2.0.4-2.fc16.i686
[2012-03-12 02:56:07,562] DEBUG   : TSINFO: Marking verne-backgrounds-single-15.92.1-1.fc16.noarch as install for verne-backgrounds-gnome-15.92.1-1.fc16.noarch
[2012-03-12 02:56:07,743] DEBUG   : Depsolve time: 5.247
[2012-03-12 03:12:56,429] DEBUG   : VerifyTransaction time: 1.636

As you know the text/contents are too long to be displayed in a terminal, so I have copies only the last few lines. So should I take 2012-03-12 as the date of install? Thanks.

How do I scroll up and down a terminal window where there is too much text?
Thanks.