Dare I update Ubuntu via Update Manager..?

hannoja

Hi folks :hello:

I dual boot: Windows 7/Ubuntu. I've still got 9.10 'Karmic Koala', mainly because I'm a little 'scared' about the potential 'hassle' of upgrading. I'm very happy with the way my system runs now, and don't fancy breaking it :eek:

I've read of nightmares trying to upgrade via the Update Manager, but what I've read seems to be from people trying to upgrade when 10.04 ('Lucid Lynx') had only recently come out. Since it's been out for over 8 months, I'm thinking that perhaps it could be okay now..? (Plus, people post mostly with problems, not to say how smoothly it all went..)

Other responses I've seen suggest re-installing from scratch.. I'd rather just keep Karmic than do that tbh. I don't mind playing about with the Ubuntu partition, but if I lost both that and Windows I'd kick myself!

My instinct says that if I haven't got the time/can't be bothered to deal with the possible consequences, then leave well alone, but that 'New Ubuntu release '10.04.1 LTS' is available' notice on my update manager, next to the oh-so-tempting "Upgrade" button is a right tease! :rotfl:

I will look more into the possible option of upgrading via disc, because the other options don't seem great (Update Manager, Start over, leave alone (that's tricky but not hard I guess) ).

Thanks in advance for any advice

gonzo127

well first thing i would suggest before any thought on upgrading seriously crosses your mind would be to download a copy of it and try it on livecd

- a lot of the problems people came across with upgrading also seems to stem from the fact they didnt try it first to make sure all the hardware still works, as with any operating system you can get the occasional hicup with hardware stopping working, so long as that works i cant see to many issues with trying the update manager, however i would suggest if you are massivly worried to get a external hard drive and take a disk image of your current drive incase of a problem

gaming_guy

...........

esuhl

If you want a fresh Linux installation, I would back up anything you need on your Linux partitions, boot into Windows Recovery Console and re-write the MBR (so the PC will boot straight into Windows instead of LiLo/GRUB (or whatever boot manager you're using). You can then format the Linux partitions, and reinstall Ubuntu and the boot loader, and the boot loader should automatically detect your Windows partition and add it (or you can add it manually).

Hammyman

Backup the /home directories. Do the upgrade. If it goes wrong, do a clean install. Copy back the /home directories and jobs a gud un.

hannoja

Thanks guys.
I'll make/get hold of a Live CD then and see how that runs first.
I seem to remember that I put the /home folder in it's own partition, which has to be a good thing.
If the Live CD works ok, I'll try what you suggested Hammyman.
:beer:

candtalan

The worst that can normally happen is that you will have to install Ubuntu again, so, have a good checked copy of your /home partition before you start. I would take two copies, in different media, if it was really important stuff. And for me, that would be in addition to normal backups. But then I am cautious and run PCs with a second hard drive just so I can copy one over to the other at the end of a day..... It goes without saying that you should have a workable method of reinstating Windows if even that gets messed up. One method is to use, say, partimage, to capture the partition images onto external media. Note a partition image is useful for some situations, but you still need a copy of /home. Ubuntu 10.04 did not get released to 'online' update notification until 10.04.1, and 10.04.2 is not many weeks away now. However 10.04.1 is not at all bad, as long as your hardware is not one which gives trouble, though even that can be sorted out but advanced knowledge is SO useful. I have often done the online upgrade, and there have been no serious problems. It tends to be a bit slow, so arrange time. (A direct install from CD is very fast). It was particularly useful in a machine that had two users. During the online upgrade you will need to answer some questions relating to your choices about differences between old stuff and new approaches. Note that testing first with the Live 10.04.1 CD will also allow you to note details of the existing partitions - names, sizes, types, etc. Worth noting or printing a screenshot. You can also see where Windows is etc. All useful. Before using the live CD in earnest, check its quality (self check in the target PC is ok). If you throw caution to the winds and decide on a direct install of the later Ubuntu 10.10 be sure to see this bug first: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ubiquity/+bug/659106 (and do NOT attempt to use the buggy option). A direct install over the top of an earlier Ubuntu would normally be done using the Advanced, manual, features of the Ubuntu installer, when you would make careful use of the partition notes you recorded using the Live CD (see earlier comment).

Hammyman

hannoja wrote: »

Thanks guys.
I'll make/get hold of a Live CD then and see how that runs first.
I seem to remember that I put the /home folder in it's own partition, which has to be a good thing.
If the Live CD works ok, I'll try what you suggested Hammyman.
:beer:

If you created a partition with /home, then you're in luck if you do a clean install. When installing from a CD, go to custom partitioning and make sure the /home folder isn't marked for formatting.

debitcardmayhem

I have had probs but you probably wont because my Sammy netbook has a real{tek}crap network card which won't work with Maverick (why use animal names 10.10:D) Nor will ndiswrapper as far as I can tell (only tried searching for 3 days there is still hope) Ubuntu being a good girl/boy/animal I can still use my old 2.26.32 (memory fails here.... version) from Grub and still connect to the net via my wireless.

spud17

I've been bitten by taking the update path.

I now do a clean install, not formatting the /home partition.

albert_s

Hammyman wrote: »

If you created a partition with /home, then you're in luck if you do a clean install. When installing from a CD, go to custom partitioning and make sure the /home folder isn't marked for formatting.

+1 for that,
try the live CD first too,
upgrading is usually troublesome, I new install when I need too, currently running 10.04 and it is a lot better than 9.10 , IMHO anyways.