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07-18-2012, 12:21 AM
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#1
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Member
Registered: Feb 2011
Posts: 120
Rep:
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linux updation
I would like to know that if i am using the older version of any linux distro and want to update it to a new & latest version then what can i do here ?
Do i need to uninstall the older version and install the new version ? In this way, the data present in the system may get lost !!!!
Or is there any other way to update the linux distro to a new version without the chance of data being lost ?
Thanks
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07-18-2012, 12:30 AM
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#2
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Member
Registered: Apr 2006
Location: Montreal,Quebec
Distribution: Gentoo
Posts: 825
Rep: 
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Most distribution provide upgrade path. This is distribution specific, not standardized. Ubuntu and derivative have a button on top of the update-manager application. Aptitude or apt-get dist-upgrade also work, but are not advised anymore. Arch and Gentoo have rolling release, so new packages are made available just as regular security/bugfixes updates. Some distribution also have "offline" upgrade using the CD/DVD.
As with all upgrades, including Microsoft Windows, always backup your data, there is always a possibility of something going wrong in the process.
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07-18-2012, 12:30 AM
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#3
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Member
Registered: Jan 2012
Location: South Africa
Posts: 509
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Hi there,
For may Linux distros it is possible to upgrade without loosing all your data. Your question is difficult to answer without specifics, though. Which distro are you talking about, and what version are you currently running?
Regards
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07-18-2012, 12:35 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Registered: Feb 2009
Posts: 4,667
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There is no chance of your data getting lost if you have good backups.
Most distributions provide an upgrade path. Please tell us your distribution and we will point you in the right direction.
If it is a production/mission-critical machine then you would be wise to test the update on a non-production machine first.
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07-18-2012, 12:37 AM
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#5
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Member
Registered: Feb 2011
Posts: 120
Original Poster
Rep:
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I am talking for generally used distros like redhat,ubuntu,fedora.
Currently i am using latest version of backtrack but if i need to upgrade in the future then what will i do ?
So i am asking this question !!
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07-18-2012, 12:41 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Registered: Feb 2009
Posts: 4,667
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I am not a BackTrack user, but I understand it is in many ways an atypical distro. If they support release upgrades, it is probably documented on their website and/or forums? Don't follow instructions for Red Hat or Fedora! There is no "one size fits all" solution for every distro.
http://www.backtrack-linux.org/wiki/index.php/FAQ
http://www.backtrack-linux.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Last edited by snowday; 07-18-2012 at 12:48 AM.
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1 members found this post helpful.
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07-18-2012, 03:13 AM
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#7
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Member
Registered: Jul 2012
Location: Delhi, India
Distribution: CentOS
Posts: 82
Rep: 
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In ubuntu, it always shows this list of new updates and at the top they always show to upgrade to new version.
via commands :
sudo apt-get upgrade works well, I did the same on my laptop.
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1 members found this post helpful.
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07-18-2012, 03:54 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Registered: Jan 2005
Location: Roodepoort, South Africa
Distribution: Ubuntu 12.04, Antix19.3
Posts: 3,797
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Arjun
... In this way, the data present in the system may get lost !!!!
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Regardless of the way your distro performs an upgrade to a newer version, you should have backups. So I'll second snowpine's "There is no chance of your data getting lost if you have good backups"
What would you do if you experience a HD crash or wipe files by accident? Or your machine gets stolen?
PS The fact that one might have terabytes of data is no excuse not to back it up; as my signature states, your data is not important to you if you don't make backups. Let's add here that you should also verify your backups if you're serious about it.
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07-18-2012, 03:59 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Registered: Jan 2005
Location: Roodepoort, South Africa
Distribution: Ubuntu 12.04, Antix19.3
Posts: 3,797
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Quote:
Originally Posted by piyush.sharma
In ubuntu, it always shows this list of new updates and at the top they always show to upgrade to new version.
via commands :
sudo apt-get upgrade works well, I did the same on my laptop.
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Isn't that supposed to be sudo apt-get dist-upgrade or similar?
My 'automatic' upgrade from 8.04LTS to 10.04LTS went terribly wrong, by the way, and I had to install 10.04LTS from scratch. Data was not affected as it was on a separate partition.
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07-18-2012, 06:46 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Registered: Feb 2009
Posts: 4,667
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wim Sturkenboom
Isn't that supposed to be sudo apt-get dist-upgrade or similar?
My 'automatic' upgrade from 8.04LTS to 10.04LTS went terribly wrong, by the way, and I had to install 10.04LTS from scratch. Data was not affected as it was on a separate partition.
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Nope, 'dist-upgrade' is (perhaps somewhat confusingly) for getting the latest updates for your current release.
For Ubuntu, you can follow these instructions to do a release upgrade:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes
Your experience is, unfortunately, somewhat typical: many Ubuntu users find a fresh reinstall is less buggy than a release upgrade.
While Backtrack is "based on Ubuntu" I do not know whether the same release upgrade procedure applies.
Last edited by snowday; 07-18-2012 at 07:35 AM.
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07-18-2012, 07:22 AM
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#11
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Senior Member
Registered: Nov 2003
Location: Minnesota, US
Distribution: Fedora, Ubuntu, Manjaro
Posts: 1,792
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Arjun - I see that you're a Fedora user. You may want to check this out.
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07-18-2012, 07:58 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Registered: Jan 2005
Location: Roodepoort, South Africa
Distribution: Ubuntu 12.04, Antix19.3
Posts: 3,797
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Quote:
Originally Posted by snowpine
Your experience is, unfortunately, somewhat typical: many Ubuntu users find a fresh reinstall is less buggy than a release upgrade.
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My 6.06 to 8.04 went smooth  Then I started playing with snmp (installed some stuff from the repos) and when it was time to upgrade again, it went wrong with those packages. Warnings occurred that the system might be unstable which was basically an understatement 
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