I've downloaded Mint 19.3 as a torrent iso and I want to uprade from 18.3.

Now although I've been a Linux user for nearly four years, the emphasis is definitely "user", not understanding much of the complicated technical stuff.

I already have on a USB "Mint 19 Cinnamon Version 3.8.8" I think that was probably the first version that came out?

(I thought it seemed logical to install the latest 19 version, rather than keep upgrading from the first version?)

When I click on the .iso torrent, the "image burning setup" appears - see the attached image.
First of all, I see it says "Please replace the disc with a supported CD or DVD" No mention of USB.

Clicking "Properties" lets me navigate to "Linux Mint" - the name of my USB (see this image also)

However, I see "Save" is greyed out, but I don't know why?
Is it because the "image burning setup" doesn't support USBs, or is it because the USB already has an earlier Mint 19 on there?
If it's the latter reason, should I delete the files? Will that then let me save the 19.3 iso onto the USB?
Or is there some other reason?
I'm scared to do the wrong thing, as if I lose the earlier Mint 19 version, I won't have one at all.


If I manage to get 19.3 onto a USB to install. will clicking "install" give me the option to overwrite/replace/delete the 18.3 version I currently have, or will it try to "upgrade" from 18.3 to 19?


My 18.3 now really slow and I'd like to have a new install, but as I said I'm petrified of screwing it up and end up with no working OS.
(It's so slow that clicking on anything in Thunderbird for example will result in a wait of 10 -20 seconds to do anything, rather than instantly working as it originally did)

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This is confusing - to me as well as you.That makes no sense in the context of the post - did you mean Mint 18 version 3.8.8 ?.

I don't have any old Mint systems, so can't check - but on 19.3 right-clicking on an iso gives you the option to burn to USB, so maybe your problem is with the software on 18. The install docs here suggest getting etcher if you are having problem. Just download the appimage and double-click it to run it without having to install it. Have a good read of all that doco - just go through the sections on the left panel.

When you go to install it will offer to over-write your system. Note this will, in most cases, delete all your current data - including that Thunderbird mail and any photos, docs whatever you have. Is that what you want ?.
It's possible you will also get an option to install the new version alongside your current system - you will then have both versions and you can try them out - may get confusing, and will require more disk space.

Decisions, decisions ...

Besides following the good advice of syg00, installing a upgrade is not an easy task. Before you even try be sure backup everything on an external HDD (hard disc drive).

As you are a newbie, upgrading from Linux Mint 18.3 Sylvia to Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia, can be somewhat daunting. Here is a short video that gives some help in making that decision.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxiPv2WJwhw

While we are at helping you out, give us some usb information:

and

When follwing your link, I noticed it told me in straightforward terms where I have a USB writer already:
"Right-click the ISO file and select Make Bootable USB Stick, or launch Menu ‣ Accessories ‣ USB Image Writer."
I had no idea. I don't know why that didn't appear when I clicked on the .iso torrent?


So now I have installed 19.3 on my USB.
I ran it on the USB. I was petrified as there were pages and pages and pages of text on a black screen running past. I was scared it was starting to install 19.3. It didn't appear to fortunately.
However, when I clicked "Restart" on the USB 19.3 version go go back to V18.3 on the HD, it just hung for ages, apparently trying to terminated 5 programs that were running?
I never ran any programs, only looked to check the System Info confirmed it was 19.3, that was all.

I the end I had to pull the USB out and manually switch off my PC, it just wouldn't restart on its own.
I hope nothing's screwed up on the USB by me doing that?


I know this is irrelevant now, but see the attached image of version 19 I had on my USB before. I don't know why the font is shown so faint.

I think I'll wait until tomorrow to attempt installing 19.3. I don't think I have enough space to install 19.3 alongside 18.3 anyway, will have to overwrite 18.3 with 193. I just hope it all works OK.

I just hope the options are easy to understand when I do it.

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Thanks for your help. I'll watch the video in a bit.

Took me ages to realise that I don't paste "~ $ " in the command. This is the result. I hope it makes some sense to you:


~ $ lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sdb 8:16 1 7.5G 0 disk
├─sdb2 8:18 1 2.4M 0 part
└─sdb1 8:17 1 1.9G 0 part /media/watt/Linux Mint 19.3 Cinnamon 64-bit
sr0 11:0 1 1024M 0 rom
sda 8:0 0 698.7G 0 disk
├─sda2 8:2 0 131.7G 0 part
├─sda7 8:7 0 11.9G 0 part [SWAP]
├─sda5 8:5 0 475.6G 0 part /media/watt/Data
├─sda3 8:3 0 1K 0 part
├─sda1 8:1 0 16G 0 part
└─sda6 8:6 0 63.6G 0 part /



lsusb
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 046d:c31c Logitech, Inc. Keyboard K120
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 046d:c52f Logitech, Inc. Unifying Receiver
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 0951:1643 Kingston Technology DataTraveler G3
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0489:e010 Foxconn / Hon Hai
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 058f:b002 Alcor Micro Corp. Acer Integrated Webcam
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

I started watching watching the video.

Three minutes in at C2, it I typed what it told do me and I apparently have the wrong DM? I need to change it, which again is frightening in case I do something wrong and the display stops working.

My question is: If I'm installing 19.3 and removing 18.3, then what's the point of changing the DM in 18.3?


edit:
OK, having watched the complete video now, I can see that appears to be the route to upgrade from 18.3 to 19.
I had trouble understanding the commands.
From when I installed 18 a few years back, I seem to remember it asked straightforward questions, without the need for using terminal?

I'm planning to install 19.3 from scratch and overwrite 18.3, as I have a lot of issues with 18.3 and my limited logic says I think it would be better to start again, although I can see I will need to install existing programs again unfortunately.

If you are having trouble with the commands than the best course of action to take at this point is to install Linux Mint 19.3 and overwrite the Linux Mint 18.3 as you wrote and start again. Yes, remember to back-up before you proceed and be prepared to install your existing programs. Keep us informed and we wish you success.

1 members found this post helpful.

For your information, and for others who are downloading Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia, for the first time, or are having problems, below in the message is the link to the Official Linux Mint website.

On the website link, linuxmint.com, you will find the following Guides (free of charge of course!), that are very detailed and can help you through most problems that arise.

A word of advice. If possible, even if you have to use another machine, at a minimum, download the Installation Guide first, familiarize yourself with it, and follow its instructions.

1. Installation guide.
2. Troubleshooting Guide.
3. Translation Guide.
4. Developer Guide.
5. User Guide.

Normally, if you follow the Guides to the letter, and have a problem, the problem resides in the hardware and not in the software.

Also, on the top,right-hand side, of the web-page is the "Download" Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia "CD" avatar.

The web-page will give you the option to download either 32-bit or 64-bit Cinnamon. For me, and for most people, the "64-bit Cinnamon" is the one to choose.

https://linuxmint.com/documentation.php

Hope you have good success.

1 members found this post helpful.

Thanks greencedar,

I have two partitions I'd like to merge together. There's the Linux one now, plus another one immediately before it that's unallocated.
There's ext4 63.55Gb and unallocated 21.44Gb
Can I select the two together and install it like that in the installation guide? It shows selecting where you want to install it: Installation type, then Edit Partition.
What exactly does 'edit partition' and 'mount point' mean?

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Thank you for the three attached thumbnails as it is a great help in this discussion.

Evidently you selected, "If you want to mange the partitions or specify which partitions to use, select 'Something else' in order try and merge the two partitions together as you were installing Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia.

I would suggest that, at this point, you install Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia without managing the partitions and trying to merge them. The merging of the partitons at this point are separate questions that require more questions and answers.

The answer to your questions is more complicated to answer than I can give at this point and maybe a complication in your installing Linux Mint 19.2 Tricia. But, here is link to both answers if you want to study the two other questions:

1. 'Mount Point' link:https://unix.stackexchange.com/quest...inux-installer

2. 'Edit partition' link: https://askubuntu.com/questions/3432...g-installation

At this juncture, I would suggest to just normally install Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia without partitioning.

1 members found this post helpful.

I didn't get very far with the 19.3 installation. Not as straightforward as I hoped.

When I clicked to install the third party software, it took a while to do anything, then I saw the attached message about partitions.
I quit and restarted 18.3 in order to write this.

I have no idea what the question I was being asked means, and what should I answer, Yes or No?
I need to be able to access the Data partition (via Cinnamon and also Windows) where I stored all my files, and may need boot up Windows at some point.

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Thank you for the attachment, "Unmount partitions that are in use." At this point I am hesitant to say for you to click 'yes' or 'no.' If there is someone else that can give advice on this matter now is the time to jump in and give your instruction. Maybe someone else can see what is an obvious answer, or resolve it, than is escaping my understanding.

At this juncture I can understand your frustration. Also, it is encouraging to know that you can still use the Linux Mint 18.3 Sylvia OS.

Maybe we need further information on your current OS and go from there. This is probably something missing from our knowledge that prevents us from resolving this situation.

I have the following questions.

1. You stated: When I clicked to install the third party software... Where did you get the third party software? If not at the link that I gave you above on post # 8 https://linuxmint.com/documentation.php where did you download it from?

2. Do you have a 'dual boot' system? With Windows?

3. Can you give us the results of:

4. Can you give us the results of:

We will do as much as we can to help you resolve this situation.

Since you don't seem to have much knowledge on the process, I would suggest that you simply do a new install of Mint 19 on the currently unallocated space between sda5 and sda6. You do understand that if you combine unallocated space with your current install of Mint 18 and install Mint 19 there, you will overwrite everything from the 18 install.

You can use GParted which should be on the Mint install USB to create the partition from the 21GB of unallocated space before beginning the install. This should appear as a logical partition (sda8) during the install. If you do this before beginning the install, you should not see the message in your last post. If you do, click the No tab as you won't need to create, delete or resize partitions. If you create the partition in advance, you would use the Something Else manual install option and select sda8 on which to install Mint 19 which should put Grub in the MBR and include Mint 18 in the boot menu. You can worry about combining the partitions later. 21GB is more than enough for a basic install of Mint.

1 members found this post helpful.

1. Where did you get the third party software? If not at the link that I gave you above on post # 8 https://linuxmint.com/documentation.php where did you download it from?

I was trying to install Mint:
It seems to follow the guide above initially:


2. Select your language.> I selected English

3. Connect to the Internet. > I don't remember seeing that one

4. If you are connected to the Internet, tick the box to install the multimedia codecs > That's the box I ticked.
It says: "Install third party software", etc I thought that going to be was all the stuff like Libre Office, different browsers, VLC, etc?
It was after that the message appeared.


* * * *

2. Do you have a 'dual boot' system? With Windows?
Yes, Windows 7. I use it once it a blue moon.



3. Can you give us the results of:


inxi -Frz
System: Host: PCMint Kernel: 4.15.0-46-generic x86_64 (64 bit)
Desktop: Cinnamon 3.6.7 Distro: Linux Mint 18.3 Sylvia
Machine: System: Gateway (portable) product: ID57H v: V1.03
Mobo: Gateway model: SJM50_HR
Bios: Gateway v: V1.03 date: 04/26/2011
CPU: Dual core Intel Core i5-2410M (-HT-MCP-) cache: 3072 KB
clock speeds: max: 2900 MHz 1: 2526 MHz 2: 2249 MHz 3: 2584 MHz
4: 2167 MHz
Graphics: Card-1: Intel 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller
Card-2: NVIDIA GF108M [GeForce GT 540M]
Display Server: X.Org 1.18.4 driver: intel
Resolution: 1366x768@60.00hz
GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Intel Sandybridge Mobile
GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 17.2.8
Audio: Card Intel 6 Series/C200 Series Family High Definition Audio Controller
driver: snd_hda_intel
Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.15.0-46-generic
Network: Card-1: Qualcomm Atheros AR8151 v2.0 Gigabit Ethernet driver: atl1c
IF: enp2s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Card-2: Broadcom and subsidiaries BCM43225 802.11b/g/n
driver: bcma-pci-bridge
IF: wlp3s0b1 state: down mac: <filter>
Drives: HDD Total Size: 750.2GB (64.4% used)
ID-1: /dev/sda model: TOSHIBA_MK7559GS size: 750.2GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 84G used: 46G (58%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda6
ID-2: swap-1 size: 12.73GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda7
RAID: No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 85.0C mobo: N/A gpu: 78.0
Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Repos: Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/dlech-keepass2-plugins-xenial.list
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/dlech/keepass2-plugins/ubuntu xenial main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/dlech/keepass2-plugins/ubuntu xenial main
Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/jtaylor-keepass-xenial.list
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/jtaylor/keepass/ubuntu xenial main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/jtaylor/keepass/ubuntu xenial main
Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list
deb http://packages.linuxmint.com sylvia main upstream import backport
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-backports main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ xenial-security main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ xenial partner
Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/opera-stable.list
deb https://deb.opera.com/opera-stable/ stable non-free #Opera Browser (final releases)
Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/skype-stable.list
deb [arch=amd64] https://repo.skype.com/deb stable main
Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/tor-xenial.list
deb http://deb.torproject.org/torproject.org xenial main
deb-src http://deb.torproject.org/torproject.org xenial main
Info: Processes: 221 Uptime: 5:30 Memory: 5062.4/11862.0MB
Client: Shell (bash) inxi: 2.2.35




uname -r
4.15.0-46-generic

1 members found this post helpful.

paxolin,

Follow the advice of yancek and let us know the results or if you run into problems.

greencedar