0

I want to upgrade Ubuntu 16.04 to Ubuntu 20.04. I have a disk with the new OS. I have been told I should back up everything in the /home directory. I am shown either 91GB or 97GB there. The Disk Usage Analyzer lists the folders I put my personal files in (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos) totaling about 7GB. When another computer with similar usage was upgraded three years ago from 16.04 to 18.04, a 32GB USB stick was used. Is it really necessary to keep everything in that directory? I don't know what most of that is. The computer is weak and old and slow, with recurrent internet connection problems. (The ISP technician replaced all the cables and said the problem is in the computer itself, and I should get a new one.) I'm hoping it will work better after discarding whatever might be cluttering up the hard drive. Is there anything I should be careful to save? Should anything be disabled first? Is there a way to copy a list of all the apps I have, so I can select the ones I still want? Is there anything else I should know? Thank you for any help.

Frank P
  • 432
  • No, it is not necessary and some hidden folders with settings for certain software shouldn't be used anyway. Basically save your personal files and then you may also save a few hidden settings folders depending on what software you intend to carry on using. – ChanganAuto May 03 '21 at 01:38
  • I tend to backup only the files that I know I'll want (by directory usually like you've listed directories you know you've put files in).. I often also backup ~/.config, ~/.local/ & a few other directories settings are saved in, but I'd adjust for what you're wanting to upgrade from/to. Ubuntu 16.04 desktop was Unity 7, 20.04 default is now GNOME so if you're making that switch I'd be less worried about configs (I tend to backup anyway just in case). I'd likely upgrade via re-install (ie. something-else, use existing partitions without any format) as it's fast & allows you to skip 18.04 – guiverc May 03 '21 at 01:44
  • 1
    The (upgrade via re-install) will cause existing apps to be attempted to be re-installed... but given the jump (four years) a error telling you some apps may not be able to be restored/installed should be expected (python2, Qt4 reached EOL during 16.04 & 20.04 etc so any apps not ported to python3 and/or Qt5 won't exist etc)... It's what I'd do (got a system to do the same too now).. Note: I don't know what you consider old (this desktop is a 2009 dell & whilst GNOME runs, it's heavier than Unity 7 so moving to a flavor is also possible via this method and if 'old' I'd consider it) – guiverc May 03 '21 at 01:47
  • "Is it really necessary to keep everything in that directory?" Of course not. It's YOUR stuff. Throw away anything you no longer want. – user535733 May 03 '21 at 02:51
  • "I'm hoping it will work better after discarding whatever might be cluttering up the hard drive." This seems a dubious assumption. It's likely that emptying your /home directory will make little difference in your system's performance. – user535733 May 03 '21 at 02:53
  • "Is there a way to copy a list of all the apps I have, so I can select the ones I still want?" Yes, but it's generally unnecessary. You can (re-)install software easily the first time you need it again. – user535733 May 03 '21 at 02:55
  • My wife got really mad last time I dumped a folder named "Vacation Photos". If you got a folder named "Vacation Photos", you should keep that for sure. – C.S.Cameron May 03 '21 at 05:46
  • 1
    Backup all of /home including hidden . folders & files. But some like cache & temp files do not need to be copied. https://askubuntu.com/questions/545655/backup-your-home-directory-with-rsync-and-skip-useless-folders You can export list of installed apps to make it easy to reinstall. http://askubuntu.com/questions/17823/how-to-list-all-installed-packages If you manually edited system settings in /etc, you may want to back them up. Some /etc settings may change with a new version, so best not to just totally restore all of /etc. I edit grub, but then just copy that file into /home for my backup – oldfred May 03 '21 at 14:29

1 Answers1

0

The only, single most important files to backup are your personal documents, pictures etc. These can never be replaced if lost.

All the rest is less important. The operating system is the least important of all. It can be downloaded for free, and each time you download it anew, it will have improved. Apps can be installed and removed at will. Configuration can be redone if needed.

One caveat may be archived mail that you downloaded and deleted from the server. How and where that is stored depends on the mail application. When using Thunderbird, that mail will be stored under the hidden .thunderbird folder. However, if you care preserving archived mail, you probably know how to handle that.

vanadium
  • 88,010