3

I'm new to Ubuntu and am running an old unsupported release and would like to gain some understanding of how the release schedule works.

What the difference is between an end of life and a supported release is and how I can go about moving to a supported release?

Here's the extent of what I know: Windows executables don't run natively on Ubuntu and my update manager says the Ubuntu I have is no longer supported.

Zanna
  • 70,465
BluEyes
  • 31
  • 4
    Welcome to the Ubuntu universe :) . You are using an outdated version, way out dated. You need to download a newer version not necessarily the latest. You can use 14.04 or 16.04, both are LTS(long term support) versions. LTS versions are supported for five years. And one more thing .exe files don't work on Ubuntu, for Ubuntu the equivalent is .deb file. – Noisy_Botnet Apr 12 '17 at 18:28
  • 2
    I vote to reopen the question as IMO it is a question from a new user and the answer is to explain releases, EOL, and to install a supported version. – Panther Apr 12 '17 at 18:36
  • true.. I support that – BluEyes Apr 12 '17 at 18:39
  • @bodhi.zazen As do I – Elder Geek Apr 12 '17 at 20:22
  • Hello, I [edit]ed your post in an effort to provide some clarity and get it to pass the on-topic bar. IF I've inadvertently missed a key point or misrepresented your question please feel free to [edit] further or roll back my edit. – Elder Geek Apr 12 '17 at 21:04
  • It's far from clear that the edited version is what OP actually meant to ask imho. I voted unclear not off topic – Zanna Apr 13 '17 at 04:40

2 Answers2

4

You need to locate and download a supported release. That'll be 14.04 LTS, 16.04 LTS, or 16.10. I wouldn't recommend anything but the LTS releases unless you like having to upgrade a lot.

Once you have a supported OS installed, you'll still need additional software to run .exe files, because those are DOS/Windows executables, and aren't directly compatible with Ubuntu (or any other flavor of Linux). If there are Windows programs you need to use, you may be able to use Wine or PlayOnLinux to provide the Windows API they expect -- but not every Windows program works that way.

Zeiss Ikon
  • 5,128
  • 1
    How is that done? – BluEyes Apr 12 '17 at 18:21
  • I understand i need to do the releases thing, but how? Iv'e only used windows all my life until two days ago – BluEyes Apr 12 '17 at 18:22
  • @Blue_Eyes: https://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop – Gunnar Hjalmarsson Apr 12 '17 at 18:23
  • @Zanna Thanks, I thought they got 2 years. – Zeiss Ikon Apr 12 '17 at 18:24
  • @Blue_Eyes You need to install the supported version the same way you installed 10.04 -- burn a bootable DVD or USB stick, boot from it, and choose an appropriate installation process. – Zeiss Ikon Apr 12 '17 at 18:26
  • What is the meaning behind this? "Either a DVD drive or a USB port for the installer media" – BluEyes Apr 12 '17 at 18:27
  • Those are requirements for installing the downloaded file. You need to be able to boot your computer from either a USB thumb drive, or from a DVD, to use the Live media after download and burn the file to an appropriate storage device. – Zeiss Ikon Apr 12 '17 at 18:28
  • I see... I am at school right now but i'll see what i can do. I don't understand the command line (terminal) either – BluEyes Apr 12 '17 at 18:31
  • 1
    @Blue_Eyes You can do almost everything you need in Ubuntu through the GUI -- just like in Windows, where you only need to do some pretty esoteric stuff from a command line. Questions are often answered with command line methods, because they're much more compact and less ambiguous (and work the same, usually, no matter which desktop you have). – Zeiss Ikon Apr 12 '17 at 19:07
0

All operating systems have a set time they recieve support and once the are no longer supported they are at end of life.

Microsoft - https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle

Ubuntu - https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases

and from - https://www.ubuntu.com/info/release-end-of-life

Ubuntu release end of life

When an Ubuntu release reaches its “end of life” it receives no further maintenance updates, including critical security upgrades. We highly recommend that you upgrade to a recent version of Ubuntu at this point.

So you should install a supported version of Ubuntu so that your receive bug fixes and security updates.

Panther
  • 102,067