Update Ubuntu 10

I have Ubuntu 10.10 installed alone on my laptop. About 2 years ago I attempted to update via the update center to the next version and had problems with my video card (?), it wouldn't boot up so I went back to 10 and have sat on it all this time. What I need to know is, could I upgrade now? I use my pc for work every day so it is hard when I have problems and have to shut down for a day.
I also have the problem of adobe update. A game I play says I need it but when I go to the adobe update page and download ver 11, my software center opens, installs it but the game still registers as needing the update.
I know most of the time I don't have to reboot my pc like winblows does, do I have to in this circumstance?
Even though I have used Ubuntu for a few years, I don't tinker under the hood and am still a newbie.
Thanks for any help in advance.

 

updating 10.10 from within Ubuntu would take you to 11.04, then 11.10, then 12.04, then 12.10, sequentially. I prefer LTS (Long Term Support) versions, as they tend to be the most stable & polished versions that Ubuntu is capable of at a given moment, and they are supported for the entire cycle. I have updated in the manner you describe from 10.04 to 12.04. I learned that updating from within Ubuntu will update your system incrementally (as described above), but I do not beleive that is the best way to go from LTS to LTS versions. For what it is worth, I updated an older Acer Aspire 11.6" netbook from 10.04 (UNR - Ubuntu Netbook Remix, the original design for Unity!) to 10.10 with no issues, but 11.04 (the first version with Unity desktop) was a quirky nightmare. Updating to 11.10 only calmed things down slightly, and I started to wish I had left 10.04 alone. However, going from 11.10 to 12.04 restored my system to the useable state I was accustomed to. There were graphics card issues at boot, but I was able to troubleshoot them and locate workarounds, and everything else was fine.

So the upshot of all this is that the 12.XX versions of Ubuntu introduced the 3.2+ kernel (jumping from the 2.8? series) that caused graphics issues with some older gpus. Those issues seem to have been addressed now, so it's probably "safe" for you to update at this time. Without going into the typical "what is your machine, what are the specs, type lspci, etc..." I will assume you know how to download an iso, burn a cd, and boot a liveCD or a LiveUSB stick created with UNetBootin. If you do not, there are instructions on the Ubuntu website download page. I would recommend the following for your consideration:

1. Download the most recent 12.04.2 LTS of Ubuntu. I know 12.10 is a newer version and 13.04 will be out in about 2 months. But they are "beta" or "rc" versions of a future LTS, IMO! 12.04 will be supported for 5 YEARS(!) through 2017. It is likely the 12.04 OS will outlast your machine! Stick with 12.04.2, which has received all the most recent updates/upgrades. Burn the iso image to a LiveCD.

2. Boot the LiveCD and test it out on your system. The new Unity desktop is more resource-intensive than the prior Gnome2 desktops and requires a little more grunt from your gpu. Also, a LiveCD WILL be slower than running directly from your machine; an installation is absolutely faster. You are simply ascertaining that the software works as intended, i.e. hardware is recognized; gpu displays properly; wireless is working; etc...

3. If all goes well, 12.04 will run perfectly on your machine without issues. If issues arise, we'll need to know those specs mentioned above, to determine what workarounds/tweaks are required for your machine. At that point, you need to decide whether you like 12.04 enough to install permanently. Use the LiveCD long enough to say definitely "yeah" or "nay." If 10.10 is working for you without issues, it is perfectly acceptable to stay with that version and realize it will never be updated (utopia?!).

4. If you like 12.04 enough to take the plunge, skip the incremental update mumbo-jumbo and just install from the LiveCD. It will definitely be faster than over-the-air updates. However, BEFORE you start, make CERTAIN you have backed up ALL your important files and data for later restoration, as your entire system WILL be over-written. With backup complete, I would also HIGHLY recommend that a laptop be plugged into AC current (not battery!) and, more importantly, be connected to the internet with an ethernet cable, rather than wireless. This is a safety precaution that MAY save you additional hours of wireless troubleshooting and downloading additional packages to support your wireless card, but you can't download the packages because your wireless card isn't working! Nasty little circle...just connect via ethernet cable and allow ethernet to download hardware packages the LiveCD recognizes on your system. I paid dearly for that knowledge, but it's yours for free...no additional charge!

5. Re-boot your installation and allow it to "settle in" for the next few days as you tweak your system the way you like it. Congrats and Enjoy!

 

Thank you so much for all the information, I had totally forgot that you could 'test run' before you install (*smacks forehead*) and will do so with the latest version. I have gotten so relaxed with Linux/Ubuntu not having to constantly maintain the system and fight viruses which I why I switched from Windows in the first place.

I am currently backing up my files

Also, at the adobe site, it stated this: NOTE: Adobe Flash Player 11.2 will be the last version to target Linux as a supported platform. Adobe will continue to provide security backports to Flash Player 11.2 for Linux.
Will this be a problem in the future?

 

You could also change your "update settings" to only notify of LTS version updates, but you don't get to "test run" that version. You click, you install...no going back. IMO, the LiveCD is still the best path for YOUR particular situation.

With respect to Flash, I must plead a general lack of knowledge. I don't game, so it's not an important consideration to me. All I can say is that I have 11.2 on my system and everything runs fine. I'll also add that, IMO, Flash is a slowly dying platform that is being replaced by newer protocols, i.e. HTML5 and such. Apple doesn't support it; Google has its own alternative; and now Adobe wants to drop Linux support. That leaves Windows as the sole benefactor, and I see Windows as being in jeopardy; they're not "in trouble" yet, thanks to their huge lead in marketshare, but the perfect storm of factors appear to be converging against MS and they are used to dictating terms, not innovating solutions.

Back to the crux of the discussion, Flash being discontinued on Linux systems will also affect your current 10.10 installation. Changing distros or versions solves nothing, as you're limited by version 11.2 and frozen in time. You don't really have a choice...

 

I have gone ahead with 12.04 LTS. Thanks for the help.
As for adobe, I am losing interest in online games anyway so no great harm.

 

I have installed the 'test run' of 12.04 Ubuntu and the only thing I can find wrong is the 'task bar' on the left hand side with shortcut to programs are is blacked out. I can still access the options there and the mouse over description comes up. I don't usually like things on my desktop anyway but I want to make sure this isn't a problem perhaps with graphics etc I can live without it.

 

Also, is there any reason why I can't install 12.04 alongside 10? ie dual boot both until I am sure I want to change over.

 

An unusual issue, to be sure. Haven't heard of that before and there isn't much available on the net. Look in here for potential solutions:

http://askubuntu.com/questions/138553/icons-cant-be-seen-on-ubuntu-12-04-ltss-launcher-after-updates

Also, the dual boot 10.10/12.04 idea is interesting. I don't see any reason why you coudn't do that, as I'm aware of numerous people dual-booting or multiple-booting multiple Linux distros on their machine. The only thing I would be concerned about is if the Ubuntu installer would allow Ubuntu to be installed next to Ubuntu without confusing the system. I believe you could do this, but I can't confirm it. Perhaps someone smarter and more experienced than me can chime in and confirm this can be done. Otherwise, proceed at your own risk.

 

Do you have the NVidia drivers installed?

Be familiar, not afraid of the steps to recovery should your upgrades not work how you expected.

Hedon James,

The dual boot is OK for separate partitions only. Not much different thann /sda for boot /sda1 for home /sda2 for /home2, etc.

 

nVidia drivers are not available on the LiveCD, the Nouveau drivers are default. Although nVidia can be installed as a test, if an nVidia card is on the laptop. To install proprietary drivers (nVidia, ATI, etc...) click on the gear in the upper right corner, next to user account name. choose system settings; under hardware section, choose additional drivers. your system will be queried and potential matches will be provided, if any.

I thought about the graphics driver, but the blacked out launcher sounds like a compiz issue with the launcher icons. Especially if sulli can drag an icon from the Dash (right click the ubuntu icon at the very top of the launcher and choose applications; drag and drop an application into the launcher; does it appear as an icon, or another blank space?)

Go ahead and try the additional graphic driver solution above, only because it's quicker. If additional drivers aren't available, or don't solve the issue, proceed with the compiz troubleshooting as suggested in the prior link.

 

I'm not sure why or how, but I went ahead with the installation, decided on the dual boot option which it offered. However I ended up with 10.04 gone (I think?) and have the full 12 LTS. The lauchbar problem had to do with having an external monitor on my laptop which was simply fixed by disabling the laptop monitor instead of mirror, though even with displays mirrored I had no launch bar. Once the laptop monitor was disabled the launchbar just popped up in color, I guess having something to do with limiting resolution (?). Strange but don't care - there it is.

I guess what Hedon said about the dual boot was right and the new release just took over. It seemed to hang on the partitioning then simply started to install the new release. Either way, I seem to be happy. It didn't fix my original adobe problem but I don't care that much about a silly game anyway. I would rather have a well behaving, stable operating system and do my work than have to put up with constantly having to 'fix' things.
Once again thank you so much for your help and patience. I know you must eyeroll at us newbies but, we try.

 

Your previous version of Ubuntu (10.04 or 10.10) may still be there, although it isn't as obvious anymore. The newly installed version of 12.04 will obviously be first in the GRUB boot menu, identified by a kernel version starting with 3.2 or higher. If the older version is there, it will be further down the list and identified with a kernel version starting with approximately 2.6 or lower. A second way to check for the older version is to simply open your Nautilus file manager and look for an entry called "25GB File System" or something similar; the entry "File System" should represent the entire OS of the distro you are currently in; a numerical prefix in front of it will represent the file system of "other" installed OS, with the numerical prefix indicating the size of that partition.

Regardless, glad you're happy with the install and hope you enjoy the new version. I didn't like it AT ALL at first, but have grown to see the wisdom in design choices...I have come to LOVE IT! As far as the newbie comment, don't sell yourself short. We're all newbies here, just a matter of "to what degree?" I made the full switch to ditch Windows in October 2009 and have never looked back. But I'm just a 4-year newbie who has to come here periodically to get assistance and advice from the likes of BOOOM, Plodr, Ian, and other regular posters with specific areas of expertise. Although, they'd probably describe themselves as newbies also, to a certain degree, who periodically require assistance. No eye rolls here! Enjoy your system, pay it forward, and help the next poor newbie who experiences what you have already solved! Welcome!!!

 

To find old kernels you can use the program Grub Customizer. It was part of the 10.04 repository, but not the 12.04 If the old kernel you want exist you can flag it to show up as part of the boot menu. To install the lastest version (3.01) use the following commands
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install grub-customizer

 

Thanks to all for your support and assistance.
I am fumbly navigating my way around this new release and quickly getting the hang of it.

I had noticed that things seemed a little sluggish and decided that I may need to update my video drivers from the AMD website, I found some info on the ubuntu forums about how to check and see if there was support and my card was listed. I went ahead through the software center and installed fglrx-dev and upon reboot I lost my external monitor and the system settings/details tab said there was no driver installed. I uninstalled it to get back to basic. Am I missing out on anything by not having the proprietry drivers installed? And am I doing something wrong?

I am not that familiar with the terminal or its commands though as an old DOS user understand the concept and I know I can do tutorials to learn but time management does not allow this luxury right now. I get very lost in the ubuntu forums with all the sudo commands etc. and my brain is windowsfied too much (windowsfried would have worked too).

My Video card is : AMD Radeon HD 4000 Series
The system says Gallium 0.4 on AMD RS880

 

You downloaded the developer version, which is likely still in development. As a good rule of thumb, you do NOT need to download external drivers for devices in Linux, although in RARE cases, it may be necessary.

To install a proprietary GPU driver in Ubuntu, click the gear at the top right of screen and choose system settings. In system settings, choose additional drivers in the hardware section. Your system will be queried for its GPU and a list of potential alternative proprietary drivers will present itself, if any exist (there are definitely ATI drivers!). Choose the recommended driver and click "activate". When finished, re-boot and try it out. If not satisfied, repeat process with the 2nd driver, etc... until you find one you're okay with. If none of the proprietary drivers are satisfactory, you should deactive and just use the Ubuntu default driver; but check back periodically for updates in the driver.

An alternative solution is the boot into the Unity 2d desktop. Upon reboot, at the login screen, there is an Ubuntu logo to the upper right of the user name login. Click this logo and a menu of desktop environments will appear, i.e. Unity, Unity 2d, Gnome, Gnome Classic, etc... You can choose Unity 2d, THEN log in. Unity 2d looks like Unity, but without a lot of the fancy effects that tax the GPU. The login screen will remember your previous desktop login and will automatically log in to that environment until you physically change it again.

Between drivers and desktop environment choices, you should be able to find a combination that suits you. :cool

 

After a short time, you learn not to fear the CLI (Command Line Interface).

You may want to search The Orange Side (Ubuntu Forums) and see others who have the exact same card you do. This Orange Side Thread may be of interest to you.

 

Thank you for the links BOOMM:

"the problem is that i'm experiencing visual lags, that is if i move lets say the terminal around it does mini jumps and doesn't move smoothly, same thing happens when i minimize a window."

I am experiencing this same problem. The thing is that I get rather lost in the posts after that. Although I am less afraid of 'breaking' Ubuntu than I was with windows, I am still concerned about copy and pasting terminal commands without actually understading what I am doing or even if I am looking in the right direction.

 

I remember being in your position and feeling the way you do. I have copied/pasted many terminal commands. Sometimes it works, sometimes is does nothing noticeable, sometimes it makes things worse!

What I have learned is that just because two people experience the same issues with their machine, doesn't mean the issue is a result of the same underlying cause. To a great extent, it's a process of elimination, typically by trial & errror, but you have to start SOMEWHERE!

I have increased my odds of success by doing the following:

1. Look for threads marked [SOLVED]. Start with those.
2. If you can't resolve your issue with #1, look for posts from users who state "here is what I did to solve this problem, and it worked for me." Pay less attention to posts stating "if you do this...it should work". Their theoretical knowledge MAY be correct, but a practical confirmed solution is preferable to a theoretical solution that cannot or has not been confirmed. Don't ignore it...just place it further down on the list of potential fixes.
3. Copy & paste instructions whenever possible. An unintentional space or capital/small case or missed flag could be the difference between solving your problem or completely borking your system. Plus, it's quicker.
4. When the proposed solution involves modifying a configuration file, ALWAYS save the file FIRST by adding .OLD to the file name BEFORE modifying the file and saving the change. For example, before modifying a file named "config", FIRST save it as "config.OLD", THEN modify "config" as suggested. If things go horribly wrong, simply overwrite "config" with "config.OLD" and save as "config" again.
5. Keep your LiveCD installation handy! When all else fails and you have messed up your system to the point it is no longer useable and/or you just can't figure out how to "undo" the file changes you did, you can always boot into the LiveCD and copy the original back onto your installed system. Not a full system re-install (although sometimes that IS an option), but a simple copy of the "config" file and overwrite/paste of your hopelessly unrestorable file (see #4 above).

In summary, it's a catch-22 situation. You're reluctant to make changes without the underlying knowledge of how things work, but it's extremely difficult to acquire the knowledge without making the changes. FWIW, you WILL make mistakes and you WILL mess up your system. But instead of taking it to the Geek Squad, you'll fire up a LiveCD (or another computer, if available) and cruise the help forums, which may include Ubuntu, Launchpad, MajorGeeks, or any number of googled sites, and we'll help you sort out the issues.

The absolute worst-case catastrophic scenario that I can envision is that you'll need to re-install your OS fresh and start tweaking again. For this reason, regular and current backups of your home directory (especially docs, pics, music, videos, etc...) is HIGHLY ADVISED!!! Unlike other operating systems, it's okay...you're allowed to do this! In fact, it's somewhat expected in the Linux community...tweak away!!!

 

You may want to try another Distro of Linux.
Some distros teams spends time asking us what we want in the development thread and asking "does this work" unlike Ubuntu which forces Unity on you, for example, whether it works for you, or not..

A good place to start is DistroWatch

You can find a distro that will work with your hardware, and easy for the Linux novice..

 

Or another desktop manager than the power hungry bloat of Gnome. I moved on to LinuxMint, then Crunchbang to minimize resources.

I moved the laptop back to LinuxMint.

Here was an experiment with a different WM every day for 30 days. (this would not work in February! :-D )