I am presently using Ubuntu 10.10 which I successfully upgraded for 10.04. I have attempted to upgrade to 11.04 but it did not work. I would like to upgrade but do it in a safe way so as not to mess up things as have happened on all my previous attempts/
On my other attempts to upgrade using the Update Manager it would go about its business. Then tells me the update had been successful, however when I tried to use this new update nothing worked. I could not open any of my browsers or access anything which might work or should work. Is there a way to update safely? This 11.04 does one need to have a newer PC for it to work? I am presently using an older PC; a Gateway all in one. I have had no problems going for Ubuntu 9.04 to 9.10 then 10.04 next 10.10 but when I came to 11.04 disaster struck.
Does 11.04 require some hardware which my Gateway may not have or some software? I do recall something about Unity and Gnome? Although I am not sure if Gnome is the right word or subject matter? Regardless I was not given a chance to choose one over the other for within seconds the screen went haywire nothing worked and by nothing I do mean nothing . I don't recall what I did but somehow I got out of there and used the 10.04 LTS Disk to start over.
I would like to try again. I do not wish to repeat the disaster that came about from previous tries. I am hoping someone here will guide me to a successful update?

I recommend that you burn a Live CD or Live USB of 11.04 and take it for a thorough test-drive before you even think about upgrading.

If you are happy with 11.04's performance on your hardware after using it in "live" mode for a few days/weeks, then you have two options:

1. Back up your documents and do a fresh install of 11.04 (this is my recommendation)

or

2. Read and follow the Ubuntu upgrade notes: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes

If you are, as you should be, installed on 2 partitions (/ [root] and /home) it is easy and pretty safe to upgrade by doing a fresh install of whatever version you want formatting only the / partition and just mounting the old /home partition as the new /home partition. Backing up your data is still a real good idea but I have done this many times with no data loss at all.

I am currently on, for instance, Debian testing. This install was originally installed as Ubuntu 10.04-testing. I am still using the same /home partition. I have a Debian Sid install using the same /home partition that was originally for Ubuntu 9.10-testing.

You really should not upgrade more than one step at a time (10.04>10.10>11.04 and so on). The exception is that you could wait and try upgrading from 10.04LTS to 12.04LTS. Ubuntu will be upgrading some packages in 10.04 so that this will work.

Any upgrade should be done with backed up data.

You could also attempt to do an install of the version you want to go to if you are installed on one partition. Again you would use the "manual partitioning" option (or as Ubuntu now calls it "something else") and not format the partition. This should over write all system files while leaving your /home/<user name> directory mainly alone. Definitely back up your data.

Always check the md5sum of your image before burning to disk. It is also a good idea to use the menu option on the new disk to check the integrity of the disk before trying to install (I think you have to hit the space bar when the purple screen first appears when you boot the CD - you have about 2 to 3 seconds to do so).

If you back up your data and decide on a clean install and then replacing your data, please install on 2 partitions. You will save yourself some grief down the road.

I am not all that familiar with the (/ [root]) partition. If you could elaborate on it telling me where to look for it? I may be able to move forward.I do appreciate the help being offered I just want to make sure I don't screw things up.

What is the best method for backing things up? I know I should back up my email accounts and certain files but there I run into a problem as to which ones? Are there some which should be backed up over others? Should I back the files on to a USB stick or a CD RW? How much space should be allocated for the back up?

I realise this is not what I began this thread to learn. However this information could very well help me now if not later.

["Always check the md5sum of your image before burning to disk. It is also a good idea to use the menu option on the new disk to check the integrity of the disk before trying to install (I think you have to hit the space bar when the purple screen first appears when you boot the CD - you have about 2 to 3 seconds to do so)"]

This purple screen would it appear using the Update Manager to do an upgrade? If so then that may be where I made my mistake back when I tried to update using UM, I was not aware that I needed to hit the space bar within seconds of seeing the purple screen. That is if this purple screen shows up while using the Update Manager?

Do you think this could be where and why I screwed up? Could my computer just not be powerful enough to handle Unity? If so what is my option an would I be given that choice after the space bar has been hit?


herakles_14

Ah, I am guilty of confusion.

The purple screen that I mentioned is what comes up when you boot to the LiveCD.

You should get the 11.04 LiveCD and try it on your computer. If it runs the installed version probably will be fine.

Version upgrades are always tricky. You went from 10,04 to 10.10. 10.10>11.04 did not go well.

Was 10.10 fully update/upgraded when you tried going to 11.04? Did you have any outside repos in your /etc/apt/sources.list?

That last is a good recipe for disaster.

As far as I am concerned using UM (Update Mangler) is also a good way to screw up a good install.

If you fire up a Live Session using a Live CD you can pull up Gparted the partition editor included on the Live CD. You do this by going to System>Administration>Gparted (I have seen it named Partition Editor in some versions).

When you have this up you will see your entire partition table laid out for you. This is the structure of your HDD. A partition is similar to a partition in a building, it separates the space into compartments.

Your root partition contains your system files. It can also contain your personal files. If your go to Places>Home you will have Nautilus, the file manager open. This will open to your personal files. If you look in the Left Pane of that window you will see "File System" listed.

If you click on that it will open all the files on your system in alpha/numeric order. As you look down the list you will see "Home". If you were to double click on that you would be back to where Nautilus first opened. As you can see this is just one of many folders, or as Linux calls them directories.

If you look at the gparted display of your HDD you will probably only see one partition for your Ubuntu install. All directories are in that partition. It is your / partition.

When you install the home directory will be very small because there is little in it. As you use the OS, however, this will soon become the largest directory on there.

This is because it has all the sub directories that you store data in. Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Video and so forth. If you are on your install you can hit the keys Ctrl and h and then you will see files you have not seen before. These are more files owned by you the user. They are the configuration files for things you use and have customized.

Playlists for your music player. Your bookmarks. Anything that has to do with you the user.

If there is another user, with their own password they will have a different /home/<user name> "home" folder. It will have its own "hidden" files with that same information but strictly their playlists and bookmarks and so forth.

Most if not all the stuff you need to save will be in /home/<your user name>.

If you install a clean install of 11.04 you will have an empty bunch of /home files. That is where you will put your data that you back up.

It is best if this is in a separate partition from all the other files in that file system. Nothing in that /home folder needs changed except a couple of the ~/.hidden files. That means that if you install on 2 partitions / and /home all that ever really needs changed it the / partition.

You can even, using different user names to avoid configuration conflicts, install more than one Linux OS using separate / partitions and only 1 /home. I have Debian Wheezy (testing) with the Xfce desktop environment (like Xubuntu) and Debian Sid (unstable) with the Lxde desktop environment (like Lubuntu) install on my sdb drive and they share a /home partition.

You will very rarely have trouble installing a new version on your / partition damaging your /home partition files. If you did people I know of that have up to 5 installs using the same /home would be in big trouble.

So it is just best to install on 2 partitions. This is not something that the installer is going to do automatically for you. You have to tell it what to do.

When you have your data backed up let us know. Then we can give you some tips on installing on 2 partitions in one post that you can pull up on the live session in one workstation and install on another. That way you can refer easily to the directions while installing and if you have a question you can ask before moving on to the next step.

I do not want to scare you off by that. I succeeded in doing a dual boot install on 2 partitions on, I think, the 8th day of my very first Linux install with no previous experience in partitioning. This is something you can do pretty easily. It is just nice to have a fall back for info if you get confused.

A screen shot from that Live Session of a full screen window of gparted would be nice to see as then we would know exactly what was on your HDD.

Do not feel bad about asking questions. This all really does have to do with your original question because it is going to be the easiest way for you to resolve that problem. It will also make it a lot less likely that you will run into that problem again.

So ask away.

Please do not look up the early posts I made here. I am sure I strained the patience of many fine folks. Occasionally I learned something eventually.

You certainly gave me a lot of information I hope to learn from all of it. Oh, I had a blank CD RW disc and put it in my CD/DVD drive with the purpose of burning Ubuntu 11.04 on it but it told me the disc did not have sufficient space on. I looked at one it says it is 80min/700MB is that not enough or is that 700MB not actually 700MB but perhaps 690 or 680MB??

Can information on a USB stick be written over or is it a one time deal? I have a 2GB USB stick with some back up information but it was when I still had WinXP on my PC. So I am not sure how pertinent those directories that are backed up really are? Do you think I should get another such stick maybe a 4GB one, use the 2GB to back up the info and the newer one to burn Ubuntu 11.04 on it? You burn a CD/DVD do you also burn a stick?

herakles_14

I am a grumpy geezer. Reactionary old fart. Don't own a newfangled stick.

Actually want to someday but live in a fairly remote area and have to drive about 160 miles round trip to get somewhere they are available.

I usually burn things I want to keep to a disk. If you had a working install you can actually boot the ISO directly from grub with out doing anything to it.

I just installed Xubuntu 12.04-testing the other day that way.

The size thing is strange. You may want to try a different burner. K3b is popular it is in the repo. Default for KDE. I like xfburn. It is in the repo too. Default for Xfce. I have all three installed here. They use different libs. If one doesn't work usually one of the others will. A lot of folks don't like brasero at all. I have not had too much trouble with it but prefer xfburn.

If it doesn't work use a DVD RW. I usually do anyway. Most burners for some reason will burn them at a slower speed than they do CDs. Slower is better when burning ISO images.

You can also put them on a stick. I think there is a tool in your menu for that even. I know there are directions somewhere on the Ubuntu site. I think it may be linked from the "Get Ubuntu" page.

I would not over write your old files until you have a good chance to check them all out.

There is a limit to how many times you can right to a stick but it is lots. The newer they are the longer they should be good for. They are making SSDs and folks use them.

That is another place that 2 partitions is a good idea. Most folks put their / partition on the SSD if they have one and their /home on a HDD for more R/W cycles. Don't know it that is actually needed but I do know that I couldn't afford a SSD big enough to hold my /home. They do get some blazing speeds from the SSDs. When they get to a reasonable price I want to give one a whack.

People also install directly to sticks for a portable OS they can take with them.

After writing all that I finally (have worried about this for a couple years) came up with a comparison. If you think of your entire OS as a car and your data as luggage you will see that most people do not put the luggage in the same compartment as the engine. Just not a great idea although it would work. So they put the works in the /engine and the luggage in /passenger/trunk and the driver in /passenger.

Hey, I didn't say it was great.

It sounds like maybe you are trying to burn a data CD instead of a CD image:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto

If you prefer the USB method:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/In...n/FromUSBStick

snowpine and widget;

I managed to burn the Ubuntu 11.04 iso onto a CD RW disc, using K3b however it did not completely burn 100% of what was needed all indications are it burned 85%. I am going to try another disc an see if I can spot where the hang up is/was/will be?

I am going to check both links out and choose the one where I will be less likely to royally mess up.

Okay, I have the USB thumbdrive/stick loaded and am ready to install. I went with the stick when I had some problem erasing old data on several of my CD RW disc's. I am going to get another USB thumbdrive/stick to use as the back up medium. Then I will need to go over the material on setting up partitions. Query, should I have the partitions set up before attempting to install Ubuntu 11.04 or while I am installing it?

herakles_14

The Ubuntu installer has the ability to do the partitioning for you.
However some users may find it preferable to do it ahead of time, either option is OK.

Yes, I am one that prefers to do it ahead of installing. Just makes me feel better. The partitioner in the installer should do fine, particularly on a stable release.

I ran into problems with a couple of test releases that made me just prefer to get done first. The installer for 11.04 should be pretty much rock solid.

I have not backed anything up am having some difficulty figuring out which folders contain the stuff I should back up. I apparently have Ubuntu 11.04 on that USB drive, I say apparently because I went clicked 'Places' it opens about ten down is an icon
that reads: Ubuntu 11.04 i386. I moved the cursor down so it hovers over the highlighted icon. A window there is a small window which describes what to do next. This one says 'Mount Ubuntu 11.04' I double click and this is what shows up:

Unable to Mount location

Error mounting: mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/loop0,
missing codepage or helper program, or other error
(could this be the IDE device where you in fact use
ide-scsi so that sr0 or sda or so is needed?)
In some cases useful info is found in syslog - try
dmesg | tail or so

I have not attempted to install what is on the 2G stick. I don't know if I would cause more of a problem then what appears to be? A thought entered my cranium could what I am seeing be from the CD RW I tried to use to burn the ISO but could only get 85% done and that is why it reads as it does? That what is there has nothing to do with the 2G USB thumbnail I used. Okay, if that is right, it still leaves me with where is the folder with all my stuff that I need to back up?

herakles_14

I really did not follow what the problem is with whatever it is that you have the Live ISO on.

As for what you need to back up it is the all in your /home folder. Basically what you see when you open Places>Home.

Before just copying that,though, you need to hit Ctrl+h so that you can see your "hidden" files usually referred to as ~/.hidden as all the stuff begins with a . such as ~/.mozilla/firefox/xxx999.default/bookmarkbackups (where xxx999 is a unique number for your FF profile). You should probably move that to another place, like /templates (or some other empty directory) just to be same and have it handy.

You may also want to find any playlists that you have for your music player and put them in the same directory. If you have spent alot of time setting up other things those config files will be in the ~/.hidden files somewhere.

If you us Rhythbox for instance the playlists will be in ~/.local/share/rhythbox/playlists.xml.

~/.local is a good place to look for a lot of your personal configs. Also ~/.config. If you don't find it right away check out all the stuff there. It will be quite a bit of fun. Very educational. At least it was fun and educational for me the first time I went through it.

Comes in handy if you want to duplicate configuration in another install. You do have to make sure you have the same packages installed that are needed for what ever you are transplanting and, in the case of something like playlists, you need the music and it needs to be in the place called for.

I was recently having trouble getting the gui config tool for Thunar "custom actions" to work in a new install and just copied the configuration file from ~/.Thunar from here to there.

If you have trouble with some program not working right you can, a lot of times put it back to default setting and thus correct the problem by simply deleting its ~/.whereeveritis file and rebooting. A new, default ~/.hidden file will be created for it.

It is a good idea to move the ones you want and just leave the rest to be wiped, or if installing on an existing /home partition to move the ones you want and delete the rest before install so that none are left that may not refer to anything in the new install. If you don't it is not a wreck but I like to be careful so that I can screw the system up on my own.

I have not made the transition. I have the information on what to do I am just not steady enough to go through with it. I guess I'm a little gun shy? I wish to thank you widget and you snowpine for your help. You can call this thread closed.