I'm currently running 8.04, and of course there's the upgrade out and it's been there for a while, and I don't know if I should or not.

I mean, it works fine, it's all good and everything, I think I have all the settings I want (Still deciding if I should drop the GUI altogether) and I don't know if I'm going to wind up losing all that.

So basically, should I upgrade, or let it go?

On servers, I'm usually of the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" crowd. On desktops, I'm usually of the "if it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet" crowd. But it depends on why I'm looking for an upgrade.

Here's my typical thought process:

Is it losing security updates (i.e. being abandoned)? Yes, upgrade.
Do I need some new shiny program? No, try installing that particular program from a repository built for the version I'm running.
Do I need some new shiny program and it won't install/compile without an upgrade? Depends on if I can find a suitable alternative.
Do I just want some shiny new OS? Yes, but timing depends on how badly my wife will kill me if the computer isn't working for a few days.

Either way, always make a good backup. If you want a bare metal restore, you can use Clonezilla to make a good backup image to restore later. Note that you can't retrieve individual files using Clonezilla, just the whole partition. So it pays to also have just a data backup.

Ubuntu 8.04 will be supported through April 2011, so you only have a few more months of support left.

Personally, I would not upgrade. I would do a fresh install of the new release (I'd recommend 10.04 since it is long-term-support) side-by-side with your existing 8.04 install as a dual-boot. That way, you'll have 4 months to gradually transition, and you'll still have your working 8.04 install as a fall-back.

Just a word of advice from someone who's seen a lot of "failed upgrade--help!" stories on Ubuntuforums.org.

(edit) If you are running a server (I assume you are not since you mention using a GUI) then 8.04 has plenty of support left, through April 2013.

On a server, install the LTS; on a desktop or netbook, install the latest stable version. That's my recommendation.

I am one of those still running 8.04... It is a mission critical system, yet I can report that I have applied all updates without a single hitch.

YMMV as the reliability of some parts of kernel updates sometimes depend on the actual hardware you run.

Well, I guess I'll stay where I am for now!

Thanks to everyone that replied - That's why this is an amazing community. No matter how stupid the question, it gets answered

Here's what I do on my desktop ---

My goals are to --

1. Stay in a supported version of the OS
2. But not spend a lot of time doing upgrades all the time

Every time a new Long Term Support (LTS) version of Ubuntu comes out, I create a new partition and install it fresh into that partition. Then I run it side by side with the older release until I am satisfied the new version works as I want it. Then I delete the oldest version I have by deleting its partition.

So at any one time, I have a current LTS version, and one older version on my PC that I can use as a backup if necessary.

I do NOT recommend pressing the UPGRADE button when using Ubuntu's UPDATE MANAGER. I have had trouble with this as have many others. A fresh install is far preferred.

Good luck.

Heartily agree with benali72, who said:
This is the setup I recommend. If you have not yet set up your computer hard drive this way, it will take some time to get it into this configuration (how to do so will be covered later), but, believe me, it will be well worth your while and you'll be on very solid ground. I'll explain the setup and then explain how to get there.

When you partition your drive, there should be 4 partitions for Linux (in addition to whatever Windows or recovery partitions you have):
Partition A) swap partition for Linux (a given; this should be at least as big as your RAM, and I recommend at least twice as big)
Partition B) system partition for your current Linux system, probably about 8-10 GB in size.
Partition C) system partition for your next/previous Linux system, probably about 8-10 GB in size
Partition D) data drive for most of your data: your home directory, documents, photos, videos, etc. This should take up the remainder of the drive space and be the biggest partition on the drive.

If your data drive partition won't be at least as big as both of your Linux system partitions (16-20 GB), after you leave space for the swap and two system partitions and any Windows/recovery/whatever partitions, you may want to consider buying a bigger hard drive. Two years ago I bought a 1500 GB (1.5TB) drive for US$120, so getting a 160 GB drive shouldn't be that expensive.

When you install your system, you would install (say) Ubuntu 8.04 into Partition B, but your "/home" directory would be on Partition D. (The formal terminology is that Partition D is "mounted" onto the "/home" directory.) Then when you want to upgrade, you would not actually upgrade the old 8.04 system, but would do a fresh installation of (say) Ubuntu 10.04 into Partition C, but "/home" directory would still be mounted on Partition D.

This allows you to choose to boot your computer to run either the new 10.04 system or the old 8.04 system, but your data with the photos and documents etc. would still be on the same place on your data partition. What would be different is the software programs themselves. If they fail on the new system, you can still run the old system (and vice versa). Once you get comfortable with the newer 10.04 system, if an even newer system comes out, like 12.04, then you can erase the old 8.04 system and do a fresh installation of the even newer 12.04 on Partition B.

If your current hard drive is not set up this way, then how to get there is a separate topic, but I'll give a concise version:

1. Back up your entire hard drive (you should already be doing this anyway. Buy an external drive if need be.)
2. Boot your computer from a LiveCD (say the Ubuntu 10.04 LiveCD) and run the "GParted" program
3. Tell the "GParted" program to shrink your current partitions, create new ones, etc. etc. in order to achieve the setup described above. This may take a VERY LONG TIME --you may have to leave your computer running overnight.
4. Move the files from your "/home" directories onto the new partition as applicable
5. Edit the "/etc/fstab" file so that the new partition is mounted as the "/home" directory

And then, when you want to install the new 10.04 system, do a fresh installation. When it comes to partitioning the disk, choose "manual partitioning" and then set up Partition C as "/" (where the main system goes) and Partition D as "/home" (where your data will be). Setting up a partition as "/home" does not actually erase data on that partition.

Ask if you want more details. But that's a roundabout way to give the answer to your question: do a fresh installation instead of upgrading, but do it before support for your current version 8.04 goes away.

Excellent explanation, KWTm. You've done a great job explaining the strategy I follow.

Its advantages --

1. You always have a fall-back version of Ubuntu to use if the rare occassion happens where you need it.
2. A safe way to move to new releases (much safer than "update in place" via the Update Manager).
3. Data is isolated from OS issues by residing in its own partition
4. It's easy to identify and back up data, since it resides on its own partition
5. This strategy doesn't take a lot of your time

Regarding (5) some people prefer to spend more time playing with Linux and are quite willing to do so to always be up-to-the-minute in releases. I prefer spending less time and having a stable, redundant environment. To each their own.

Well, how about the OP just upgrades to the next LTS version, which is 10.04 "Lucid Lynx"? That way, you still have a stable LTS.

8.04 is wayyy outdated, having a *very* old kernel and apps. And I mean *OLD* kernel and apps. It also will be EOL when 11.04 comes out.

If you think that upgrading risks loss of data, it doesn't. Unlike Windows where you need to insert a CD or DVD to upgrade, Ubuntu upgrades via the package manager.

Suppose you upgrade from Hardy to Lucid. What happens is that the Update Manager simply adds the Lucid software repositories and installs updated software packages from them instead of installing updated packages from a Lucid CD. This means that not only is your Ubuntu Linux distribution updated but so are all your apps that you have installed on it.

Kenny Strawn, you seem to think that we are talking about upgrading to each non-Long-Term-Support version (e.g. 8.04 to 8.10, for example), but that if we actually jumped from one LTS (8.04) to the next LTS (10.04), then everything will be okay. Quite the contrary: I am (and I think Benali72 is also) talking exactly about moving from one LTS to the next. No one even mentioned going from 8.04 to 8.10 (not even the original poster, Mr. apt-get).

I guess we all have our opinions, but I disagree with you on two counts. First, I think it is very worthwhile using dual booting even when upgrading from a LTS version to another LTS version, because those LTS versions are not perfect and can very well result in errors. I personally found that when I upgraded from 8.04 to 10.04, I lost the ability to use my scanner, some programs failed to access my DVD drive properly, and some screen modes (e.g. fullscreen on the BZflag game) did not work properly. Others may have found other problems.

If this turns out to be a showstopper for, say, myself, then it doesn't matter if everything else works, or "all you have to do is Google on the web for a solution" or whatever --the fact is that upgrading caused problems. I am very thankful that I was able to simply reboot into the old system to use my scanner, for example, when I needed it in a hurry and did not have time to try to diagnose the problem.

If you personally did not encounter any problems, or were able to fix any of the encountered problems, then I am happy for your smooth sailing. However, if you think that therefore no one else encountered any problems, perhaps you'd like to come fix my screen mode problem, which remains a problem 9 months after the current LTS came out.

My second point of disagreement is your apparent view that "8.04 is outdated". I think one of the strengths of Linux is that, lacking the drive for commercialization seen in software by Microsoft, for example, there is no need to upgrade simply because upgrades are available. If v8.04 works --let's say we're talking about a word processor, for example-- then it would NOT suddenly stop working simply because now 10.04 exists. If the user does not need any of the new features from a newer version, I fail to see any reason to upgrade --especially since there is a non-zero amount of time spent on learning the new programs (for example, Grip the CD ripping program in 8.04 no longer exists in 10.04).

You do point out a valid reason to upgrade: if there is lack of support, then upgrading can be worthwhile. However, 8.04 is supported until April of this year, and until the day comes that it is not supported, I would say that it is a very valid distro to use.

Finally, I think it's foolish to think that upgrading doesn't risk loss of data. Remember that you cannot tell from the results whether there was risk, so the fact that it has not happened does not exempt one from being careful. You're right that upgrading in Ubuntu is a surprisingly smooth ride --I'd say that the chance of problems has been reduced from 20% to 2%-- but for those people like me who would prefer 0%, dual partitions are a solid way to go.

As I said, we each have our opinions and I don't think yours is any less valid than mine when applied to ourselves; but I would submit that your way of thinking is not as compatible with the original poster Mr. apt-get, who says he is "scared to upgrade" and would probably feel better with a fall-back plan. One good strategy might be to find a block of time between now and End-Of-Life April 2011 --let's say a week where he is not too busy-- where he would upgrade and learn to use his new system.