Upgrading

[Daniel Pittman]

Neil Winchurst <neil at holsdevon.eclipse.co.uk> writes:

> I have been using Linux for some years now (more than five). When
> Kubuntu Edgy came out in October I installed it. I have been very
> pleased with it, after some tweaks and changes. I am sure that I will
> stay with it.
>
> However, one thing that I have learnt over the years is that upgrades
> just don't work. Up to now I have always wiped the hard drive and
> installed as new each time I have gone for a newer or different
> distro.
>
> So Feisty is due out in April. So what do I do then? 

Simple: you take a full backup of your machine and then upgrade to
Feisty.  If things go terribly wrong you can restore the backup, but...

...unlike many other distributions Debian and Ubuntu are actually quite
good at upgrades.  Ubuntu has had some rough edges in the past, but now
those are settling out and upgrades are starting to be as smooth as
Debian.

> If I stay with Edgy, which is working just fine for me, will I have
> any problems? Am I right in thinking that, after April, Edgy will no
> longer be supported? 

Once Edgy is no longer supported you will no longer have security
updates so yes, inevitably *something* will go wrong for you.  It may
take quite some time for a suitable work or whatever but it will happen.

> Has anyone out there had a successful upgrade in Kubuntu? After a
> couple of disastrous attempts at upgrades in the past I am very wary.

Yes.  Through several versions, in fact, without any significant
problems.  

> I know that some of you have been using (k)ubuntu much longer that I
> have. Any suggestions, help, warning etc gladly received.

Well, the best advice I can offer -- and something that many people
don't seem to follow -- is to do this:

  1. Wait six weeks after the release of the next version to let
     *someone else* find the first round of bugs.

  2. Read the release notes for the next version.  They will include
     detailed instructions on how to upgrade without running into that
     round of bugs.

  3. Follow those instructions.

Regards,
        Daniel
-- 
Digital Infrastructure Solutions -- making IT simple, stable and secure
Phone: 0401 155 707        email: contact at digital-infrastructure.com.au
                 http://digital-infrastructure.com.au/