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I just upgraded from 16.04 to 18.04. Running

ubuntu-support-status --show-all

yielded (besides other output) a section with packages that are no longer downloadable.

I understand that package support might change between Ubuntu version. Still, to my great surprise, three packages I heavily rely on are no longer downloadable: pdftk, sbackup and unetbootin.

Fortunately, this machine has those packages already installed, but how can I deal with this on a freshly installed Ubuntu 18.04?

Is there any way to install packages from 16.04, or do I have to install the packages from other sources / replace them by alternative packages?

  • I think it would be worth trying to figure out what exactly "not downloadable" means in this context. For example, one can certainly download unetbootin from the developer's github page or install it from a ppa. https://unetbootin.github.io/ – Organic Marble May 02 '18 at 00:17
  • In this context, it means that they are no longer part of the main/universe repositories. Of course, they might be downloadable from other sources, such as the developer's pages or ppas. –  May 02 '18 at 04:17
  • I didn't think unetbootin was ever in the repos. – Organic Marble May 02 '18 at 04:18
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    It was: https://packages.ubuntu.com/search?keywords=unetbootin&searchon=names&suite=all§ion=all –  May 02 '18 at 06:06
  • Thanks! On 14.04 I installed it via ppa. I wonder why? Maybe the repo version was old. – Organic Marble May 02 '18 at 11:06

2 Answers2

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Apparently, it is possible to install packages from Ubuntu 17.10 by installing the deb packages and its dependencies manually (https://askubuntu.com/a/1029451).

Alternatively, one could temporarily add the 17.10 sources to apt and then install the packages (https://christiandietze.de/pdftk-with-ubuntu-bionic-18-04/).

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I would keep running 16.04 until 18.04 is ready and required packages have been tested by Ubuntu teams and put into regular repositories. Who knows what the problems could be going any other route until it's too late!

WinEunuuchs2Unix
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  • Does it happen that packages are added to an LTS verison after it has officially been released? –  May 02 '18 at 04:18
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    @jpmath That's a good question. Any day Ubuntu can add new files to the upgrade package. Putting in bug fixes is a no-brainer. Would they add new packages previously unsupported? I'm not sure where they draw the line in the sand. I have a script that reclones Ubuntu 16.04 to repeatedly run the upgrade to 18.04 whenever I want: https://askubuntu.com/questions/1028604/bash-script-to-clone-ubuntu-to-new-partition-for-testing-18-04-lts-upgrade – WinEunuuchs2Unix May 02 '18 at 04:21
  • I think in the cases of pdftk and unetbootin, bugs led to the removal from 18.04. My best hope would be that they are readded in 18.10. For sbackup, I might switch to backintime. –  May 02 '18 at 06:07
  • @jpmath If enough people "encouraged" the developer to fix the bugs a new PPA could be created and the app could be added the old fashioned way. – WinEunuuchs2Unix May 02 '18 at 09:57
  • I have postponed upgrading (for now) from 16.04 to 18.04 in the hopes that sbackup will be made available. A problem is that sbackup development seems to have been abandoned by its maintainers. To bad, I consider sbackup to be one of the better backup programs. – Steve R. Aug 31 '18 at 22:35