J_RaD - 2:02 pm on Oct 31, 2009 (gmt 0)

Why is it that I can reinstall a FREE Linux OS on a production server hosting many websites generating lots of income and feel confident that it will work.

we are talking about UPGRADES not reinstalls. sure you can install windows 7 over windows 7 all day long and feel fine about it. Before SFC that is actually what you normally did to repair OS file coruption due to virus or nasty 3rd party apps.

go upgrade to a different version of linux and tell me how that goes.