I have a virtual machine of Ubuntu old version. I am running it on Windows 7 Virtualbox.
Is it safe to upgrade the Ununtu from inside the VM to latest version of Ubuntu?
Is it possible at all?
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karel
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Upgrade paths vary between Ubuntu versions... what version is your "old" Ubuntu? Generally you should always backup data prior to a release upgrade. – Takkat Jan 07 '16 at 07:09
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1Possible duplicate of How do I upgrade to a newer version of Ubuntu? – David Foerster Jan 07 '16 at 11:39
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Upgrading Ubuntu in VirtualBox is the same as upgrading Ubuntu in a physical machine. The available direct upgrades are the next Ubuntu release and also the next Long Term Support release if you are upgrading from an existing Long Term Support release.
The problem with upgrading vs. a fresh install is that upgrading Ubuntu in VirtualBox takes 2-3 hours whereas a fresh install of Ubuntu takes only about a half hour, but you can still use Windows 7 while Ubuntu is upgrading. If you see a black screen during the upgrade, that is because the screensaver is running, and you can show the Ubuntu desktop screen again by moving the mouse. I have received a few error messages in the terminal while upgrading Ubuntu in VirtualBox which I ignored and let the upgrade continue to run, but despite the error messages I didn't have any problems with Ubuntu in VirtualBox after I upgraded it.
Your personal data should be safe, but you should take the usual precautions about backing up your personal data that was in the Ubuntu guest OS before you start a distribution upgrade.
karel
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