<html> <head> <meta content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type"> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> <div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 7/31/2012 7:59 PM, Felix Miata wrote: </div> <blockquote cite="mid:50187147.7010309@earthlink.net" type="cite">On 2012/07/31 09:14 (GMT-0400) Dave Burrows composed: <blockquote type="cite">We've tried everything we know to do to upgrade Ubuntu (Ubuntu 6.06 LTS - the Dapper Drake) on this HP Omnibook without success. </blockquote> [...] <blockquote type="cite">We use this machine exclusively to record sermons at our church with Audacity. </blockquote> This begs the question whether there's any point in an upgrade. Is this machine normally not connected to the internet? If not, there's no real risk in keeping it as is. Even if so, maybe there's not enough connect time to retain material risk that any security holes that may be open in Dapper would be exploited. If Dapper can still do what needs doing, what's the point? </blockquote> Fair question. There is a point; it's because Audacity made a fairly major upgrade that Dapper won't fetch. Firefox, in addition, is in v.1.5 on this machine, and Dapper won't fetch the new version of that, either. There are, in fact, 71 files it wants to upgrade, but when we tell it to, it can't. <blockquote cite="mid:50187147.7010309@earthlink.net" type="cite"> <blockquote type="cite">I'm a total Linux novice beyond this machine. </blockquote> Others have made reasonable suggestions, but left one significant one out. As long as Linux is already installed and functional, and decent internet access speed is available, both upgrade and new installation are possible by first downloading only the installation kernel and initrd, booting them with Grub, and installing directly from the internet via HTTP or FTP. This valuable method works when PXE is not available, as well as when it is, and when booting from floppy, CD, DVD or USB for whatever reason won't work. Only what's actually needed gets downloaded this way, plus things not available on conventional installation media. </blockquote> Absolutely, I'm pretty surprised by all the responses, good ideas, all of them. Thank you all very much! I followed Nils Kassube's suggestion, of editing sources.list so it points to old-releases.ubuntu.com rather than archive.ubuntu.com. I ran into some trouble when I tried to edit permissions in order to save the changes; it told me I wasn't the owner. This suggestion sound pretty interesting also. I'm somewhat concerned that it is going to run into the same permissions block that I've run into twice over the last 3 days of working on this. So, it seems to me that the next logical step would be to solve that. I'd like to know a little more about your thinking, with a few steps to point me in the right direction...if you have the time, and patience, that is. I almost understand, but it would be helpful to know how to find the installation kernel on the Ubuntu site, and to know what initrd is, and where to find it. <blockquote cite="mid:50187147.7010309@earthlink.net" type="cite"> <blockquote type="cite">Does anyone have any ideas for a next direction? </blockquote> If you asked around the congregation you might find someone less novice who is willing to help if you can't succeed on your own. Barring that, you might ask outside about non-members willing to do computer work gratis for churches. If you're within reasonable driving distance of west central FL, you can bring it to me and I'll do it, by temporarily installing your HD in a different system if need be. </blockquote> Right, the real expert in Linux, who also shares responsibilities at the sound board where sermons are recorded, has been on the phone with me quite a bit, but we both felt like some outside ideas would get us moving again, and I think they will. Thank you most kindly for the offer. I live a couple of hours farther away from you than seems feasible...in Washington, PA, just south of Pittsburgh. Peace, Dave <pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">-- Dave Burrows 741 Cleveland Road Washington, PA 15301-2514 USA</pre> </body> </html>