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I currently have Ubuntu 10.10 installed and I would like to upgrade to 11.10 (i.e. upgrading by two versions).

There are a couple of issues:

Firstly, I have Matlab installed, and I can't install this myself (I need to get it done by IT support, which can sometimes be quite difficult). So I'll need to keep Matlab installed across upgrades.

Secondly, I have custom drivers installed (the NVidia developer drivers for using CUDA) and I'm not sure if this is a problem. I don't mind reinstalling this however, as they are freely available.

I could click the "upgrade now" button in the update manager, but I will have to do this twice (10.10->11.04->11.10).

Is it possible to put in an Ubuntu 11.10 CD and upgrade my 10.10 install? Will this leave Matlab installed?

Reinstalling and copying over data might not be an option due to my need for Matlab (proprietary software, eh? :P).

Alex
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  • Yes there's a reason why you have to upgrade from version to version, no skipping. Things change and while the change from 10.10 to 11.04 was significant the change from 11.04 to 11.10 was even bigger. Gnome 3 and Unity are on of the main differences, this is why you shouldn't just put 11.10 on top of 10.10 it may break something. – Uri Herrera Jan 05 '12 at 04:58
  • With the level of Linux support I've experienced where I am now, I'm surprised that I managed to get a copy of Matlab for Linux at all. Unfortunately I'm not confident that it will be "no big deal," so I'd really like to be able to do it myself, as I'm not sure I'll be able to get IT support to do it for me. – Alex Jan 05 '12 at 05:19
  • Well it's their job isn't it? I'm not sure if just simply copying the folder and the executble of Matlab, upgrade and then putting it back will work.. but you can always try. – Uri Herrera Jan 05 '12 at 05:24
  • Well last I heard, they support Windows officially, and Linux on a "best effort" basis... – Alex Jan 05 '12 at 05:26
  • http://askubuntu.com/questions/5435/will-there-be-data-loss-for-upgrade Here you can see that upgrading be it with the Update manager to 11.04 or Using the 11.10 Livecd will erase / but your Home folder will be left intact, so nope you can't keep Matlab if you do upgrade. You will have to tell them to ___DO___ their job and install it back. – Uri Herrera Jan 05 '12 at 05:29
  • Ok, thanks for your help. But are you also saying that I cannot upgrade by putting in an 11.10 CD? Last I remember there was an option to upgrade an existing installation from a live CD. – Alex Jan 05 '12 at 05:30

2 Answers2

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Upgrade from CD

You can not upgrade from the desktop CD, but you can using the alternate CD.

See : https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MaverickUpgrades#Upgrading_Using_the_Alternate_CD.2BAC8-DVD

General advice

I think for the most part your question has been answered by Uri, but ...

Upgrading any OS is associated with some risk, upgrades can fail for any number of reasons.

In addition there are some substantial changes from 10.10 to 11.10, so there some risk the upgrade will cause problems.

What makes you think you should upgrade to 11.10 ? What features does 10.10 lack ? What features of 11.10 do you "need"?

Before you upgrade you should:

  1. Read the release notes. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes .
  2. Back up your data.
  3. Test your hardware by running the desktop live CD.

Matlab

In addition, in your case, it sounds as if you need specific applications, Matlab is one. You need to do your homework to determine if it will run in Ubuntu 11.10

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MATLAB

suggests this is unsupported. Upgrading to an unsupported version of Ubuntu sounds llike an unwise decision.

What other applications do you need to work in 11.10 ?

IT Dept

You mentioned you have an IT department. IMO you should be asking them for advice as it sounds as if you are expecting their support.

Consider the possibility that it may be easier to go with a fresh install.

Panther
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I used the update manager to upgrade from 10.10 to 11.04 and then again to 11.10. This went very smoothly, and did not delete my Matlab installation located in /opt/.

Alex
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