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I have upgraded to 14.04, installing it side by side with my Ubuntu 12.04. I have Windows8 as well. So now I have three - OS to boot from my laptop. (500 GB for Win8, 250 GB for 12.04 and ~ 200 GB for 14.04)

I do not know why I chose that in the first go, but now I want to revert back and combine the two Ubuntu's into one, using only 14.04. I had the option of doing a fresh install (I couldn't go for upgrade, idk why. I was using USB to install) but installing it side by side seemed a better idea then.

However, now I realize the horror I've done. My files are a big mess and will get messier. I have no clue what is where and its an unorganized chaos.

Is there a way to combine 14.04 and 12.04? Do I have to delete both of them and do a fresh install? How to do that?

Braiam
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MayKay
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  • What are you trying to get combined? Like files, programs? Or do you just want to be able to access one from the other? – No Time May 18 '14 at 14:56
  • I want to combine all the files that are in 12.04 to Ubuntu 14.04. And possibly enlarging the space of it to 500 GB as well. – MayKay May 18 '14 at 14:58
  • You could look at this link http://askubuntu.com/questions/133533/how-to-remove-ubuntu-and-put-windows-back-on If that (main answer) doesn't work you can look towards the middle it says boot to liveCD, install a program called 'OS-Installer' (in live environment), and uninstall that way. I am not sure what happens to GRUB with the 2nd method, but you can always fix the MBR for Windows with a cd, and always repair GRUB with livecd and bootrepair – No Time May 18 '14 at 15:04
  • This may not be the answer to your question. Unknowingly, I also landed in a similar situation. Two Ubuntu 13.10 and 12.04.4 LTS on two different HDDs. It was a real messy situation. To cut a long story short. Here is what I did.

    1. Booted the system with Ubuntu 14.04 LTS through USB drive on 'try-out' mode. Transferred all necessary files on to a USB-HDD. Formatted the disk with 12.04.4 LTS.

    2. Rebooted the computer with the same USB drive with 14.04 LTS. Upgraded Ubuntu 13.10 to 14.04 LTS.

     – bluepearlsky May 18 '14 at 15:22

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One possible solution is to boot 14.04, copy the files in your 12.04 home folder over to the 14.04 home folder. Organise them as you wish.

Make a backup on an external disk just in case.

Then boot a live USB using the "Try Ubuntu" option.

Next use Gparted to delete the 12.04 partition and enlarge the 14.04 partition. DO NOT REBOOT.

Reinstall grub using boot-repair.

You will have to reinstall any programs you had in 12.04 that you need.

To Do
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    I lost my partitions after doing this, so make sure you backup. (Resizing) – No Time May 18 '14 at 15:30
  • I tried to boot the USB - but seems I'm not able to set the size of the partition? Any ideas? And when I try it there are only three options: a) install a new one alongwith the two ubuntus, b) erase the disk and install a new one (I don't have windows CD so deleting is not an option?) c) It says some other additional options but I can't seem to set the partition. – MayKay May 19 '14 at 06:35
  • You should not use the install option of the liveUSB but the "Try Ubuntu without installing". Then launch Gparted to changed the partitions. – To Do May 19 '14 at 07:27