0

Is it possible to switch from Ubuntu 17.10 to something newer that is supported so I can download software without loosing all of my files and setup?

My computer has a root password and I'm not sure how it was set up but I am afraid to mess anything up and loose everything, and or not have a working computer because nobody around here will touch my computer with Ubuntu. If I do the regular updated that pop up will this fix my problem? I have a bunch of stuff set up to my liking on this computer, and I have no idea how to start from scratch and update.

I can't download software after trying to download zoom it halted a perfectly working OS from being able to launch newly downloaded programs. I was told on another Ubuntu forum that I never need to update from 17.10 if I am happy with it, which I am. Thanks

K7AAY
  • 17,202
chasoncows
  • 1
  • 1
    Always, always, make a backup and verify it before making large system changes; then, make a second backup, to a different external drive or cloud, and verify that backup, because large system changes sometimes lead to mistakes which could lose data.. – K7AAY Apr 06 '20 at 23:10
  • 1
    Backup your data. Then make a fresh install of currently supported Long Term Release (LTR) version of Ubuntu. If you wait a few weeks it will be 20.04. Or go with 18.04. The main thing is reformat your hard drive and do a fresh install. Then restore from backup your data. – user68186 Apr 07 '20 at 00:04

2 Answers2

1

Yes, you can upgrade from 17.10 to 18.04. 18.04 is the current Long Term Support version which is supported here until 2023. The red and pink bars show versions of Ubuntu which are supported here.

Yes, you can keep using 17.10, but we're not able to support that old version which is well past its End Of Life. Of course, there are other support sites and commercial support from third parties.

To update, run the Software Updater; the process is explained in detail here.; or, open a terminal window and run 

sudo apt update  && sudo apt upgrade && sudo apt dist-upgrade && sudo apt autoremove && sudo apt install update-manager-core && sudo do-release-upgrade

Once you've completed the upgrade to 18.04 LTS, then the jump to the upcoming version 20.04 LTS will be much easier. You can, of course, wait until all the rough edges has been rubbed off 20.04 to do that upgrade.

K7AAY
  • 17,202
0

I would of course backup.

Download Ubuntu 18.04 LTS install ISO, validate it (https://tutorials.ubuntu.com/tutorial/tutorial-how-to-verify-ubuntu#0), and write to install media (the version would depend on whether or not you wanted HWE enabled, 18.04.1 if you don't want to use HWE, 18.04.4 if you wanted to use HWE software stack)

I would verify such media (ie. "Check disk for defects" or https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/CDIntegrityCheck) to ensure write to media was perfect.

Then I would install using "Something-else", selecting your existing partitions and ensuring you did not have the "format" check box ticked. This will

  • take note of your installed packages
  • erase system directories
  • install system
  • add back your additional packages (if available in new release)
  • won't touch your user files (unless you had format checked)
  • ask you to reboot system.

This I see as an 'unclean' install, it's far faster than a do-release-upgrade and has a higher chance of success in my experience. A 'clean' install (ie. format partitions) and restore data is still a backup option if you have problems, but I'd not expect any.

For details on the HWE or hardware enablement stack, refer For HWE info refer https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/LTSEnablementStack and https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/RollingLTSEnablementStack

guiverc
  • 30,396
  • this method is great to 'skip' releases too, or go backwards to an earlier release (though more problems can be encountered going backwards if programs made changes to data files which the older software won't know how to handle for example). For HWE info refer https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/LTSEnablementStack and https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/RollingLTSEnablementStack – guiverc Apr 07 '20 at 00:08