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So I bought a new thinkpad and I have Ubuntu 18.04 LTS running.

I wanted the stable version, but as a developer I want the latest verions of things like ruby, go, redis, postgres etc.

The question is whether I should keep fighting the system and figuring out ways to install the latest version, or just download the latest version of Ubuntu.

Can I partiion my harddrive in a way where I can install, re-install Ubuntu over my "core" partition and not have my own personal files lost in the process? I know how this might work at a high level but looking for more experienced users for advice.

Currently I also have windows running in a partition also. 512GB drive, 128GB for windows.

Blankman
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  • I do not share /home and if changing versions, best not to. Settings can be different for your user configurations. But I have many Ubuntu installs all about 25 or 30GB and all use same large data partition which only has my files. https://askubuntu.com/questions/1013677/storing-data-on-second-hdd-mounting & https://askubuntu.com/questions/1058756/installing-all-applications-on-a-ssd-disk-and-putting-all-files-on-hdd-disk & https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2315714 – oldfred Jan 04 '20 at 15:32

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Create a partition for 18.04 LTS, one for the latest version, and one for shared data (optional - you can mount the other partition, and use a shared folder).

Create a boot USB for the new version, and run setup. Don't select upgrade, rather install the new version on the newly created partition.

When you boot, you'll have a choice between the two. Note that if you uninstall one, Grub may be effected, so keep a boot USB around to repair it.

If you have the memory, you could run both version in separate virtual machines. If you are interested in doing that, research it, and post another question if it's not working. (There's a fair amount to learn to do this.)

JasonF4
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