[colug-432] new ubuntu user question

[Steve Roggenkamp]

Hi Susan,

Welcome to the group.

Ubuntu 12.10 is beyond its end of life as it's over two years old and I 
think Ubuntu normally only supports its normal (non-Long Term Support) 
versions for only 18 months.  12.10 refers to the version Ubuntu 
released in October of 2012.  Every two years in April Ubuntu releases a 
version called it Long Term Support version that it supports for five 
years and is the version I normally run. Specifically, I'm writing this 
using a laptop running Ubuntu 14.04(LTS).  It provides a stable 
environment for at least two years.

This is all nice background, but it doesn't solve your problem of 
updating to a current version.

The biggest question to answer, before you upgrade, is whether you have 
files on your present system that you want to take with you after the 
upgrade.  If so, buy a flash drive (or two) and make a copy of the files 
you want to preserve.  If things go bump in the night, you'll have a 
backup copy.

I don't know if you found it, but here's the Ubuntu Wiki page regarding 
upgrades:

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

It provides descriptions of how to upgrade various versions of Ubuntu.

It sounds like you have two options.  You can either perform a series of 
upgrades:

12.10 -> 13.04
13.04 -> 13.10
13.10 -> 14.04
14.04 -> 14.10

Or you could "renew" your installation with a later one (14.04 LTS or 
14.10) and do not format the disk during the installation.  In this case 
it will overwrite your old version of Ubuntu with the new one, 
(hopefully) leaving your personal files intact.  You may have to 
reconfigure the networking and/or printers depending on how things are 
currently set up.  Hopefully, you will not and Things Will Just Work.

The easiest way to make a backup is with a command terminal and a 
program called tar.  Ubuntu changed the way it mounts flashdrives 
sometime between 12.04 and 14.04, so I'll mention both.  After you mount 
a flashdrive in 12.04 it will appear in the file system as 
/media/FDVOLUME, or whatever name the flashdrive volume is set to, while 
it will appear as /media/skr/FDVOLUME in 14.04.  Let's assume your user 
name is 'susan' you should enter the following commands to back up all 
of your files in your home directory:

$ cd
$ cd ..
$ tar cvzf /media/susan/FDVOLUME/susanHome.tgz susan


The first command puts you into your home directory.  The second one 
moves you up one level above your home directory, and the third command 
creates the backup, assuming you have sufficient space on your 
flashdrive.  The 'cvzf' says to (c)reate the archive, list all of the 
files being backed up (v), compress the archive as it saves it (z), and 
write it to /media/susan/FDVOLUME/susanHome.tgz.  The directory being 
backed up is 'susan'.  At this point, you should see a lot of file names 
flying up the screen as it saves them to the archive.  If you have a lot 
of files, it will take some time to archive them.  Make yourself a cup 
of coffee or tea and relax until it's done.

If you're paranoid at this point about whether it made a good backup, 
you can enter the following command to list all of the files in the backup:

$ tar tvzf /media/susan/FDVOLUME/susanHome.tgz

You should see a bunch of file name names and information flying up the 
screen.  This command reads the entire archive and should print an error 
message if there's a problem with it.

You can now unmount the flashdrive and set it aside in case you need it.

To recover the files you would use the following command:

$ tar xvzf /media/susan/FDVOLUME/susanHome.tgz

This will extract your original susan directory into the directory 
you're in.

This isn't a very sophisticated backup mechanism, but it works to store 
or move a directory of data.

I hope this helps.

Steve

On 01/22/2015 01:51 PM, Susan Sommerfeld wrote:
> Hi!
> I am a fairly new ubuntu user..not by my choice, it was installed on 
> my laptop by my ex. I do like it though and would like to keep using 
> it. But now I am dealing with having to upgrade several 
> programs..things are starting to act squirrelly here...my mozilla 
> version is very out of date and adobe just leaves a blank gray space 
> where the video should be.
>
> I have ubuntu 12.10 now. I'm guessing that is why the package manager 
> doesn't show any newer versions of mozilla or adobe..it claims I am up 
> to date. So I tried to upgrade my ubuntu with the software updater and 
> got an error message. (I didn't write it down but I'm sure I could get 
> it again because this computer really really does not want to upgrade)
>
> I am looking for someone to hire to help me understand how to use this 
> system. I am not completely incapable, but this is a bit over my head. 
> I've figured out as much as I could with the help documentation. 
> Googling my questions just gives me bunches of code..sigh. I could use 
> help with backups..the best method..and with this upgrade.
>
> Is there someone out there who is willing to help me? Please... A bit 
> of time with someone would help me much more than the hours I have 
> spent trying to follow directions that I struggle with. Thanks so much!!
>
> Susan
>
>
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