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Hi Susan,<br>
<br>
Welcome to the group.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
This is all nice background, but it doesn't solve your problem of
updating to a current version.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
I don't know if you found it, but here's the Ubuntu Wiki page
regarding upgrades:<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes">https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes</a><br>
<br>
It provides descriptions of how to upgrade various versions of
Ubuntu.<br>
<br>
It sounds like you have two options. You can either perform a
series of upgrades:<br>
<br>
12.10 -> 13.04<br>
13.04 -> 13.10<br>
13.10 -> 14.04<br>
14.04 -> 14.10<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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:<br>
<br>
$ cd<br>
$ cd ..<br>
$ tar cvzf /media/susan/FDVOLUME/susanHome.tgz susan<br>
<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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:<br>
<br>
$ tar tvzf /media/susan/FDVOLUME/susanHome.tgz<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
You can now unmount the flashdrive and set it aside in case you need
it.<br>
<br>
To recover the files you would use the following command:<br>
<br>
$ tar xvzf /media/susan/FDVOLUME/susanHome.tgz<br>
<br>
This will extract your original susan directory into the directory
you're in.<br>
<br>
This isn't a very sophisticated backup mechanism, but it works to
store or move a directory of data.<br>
<br>
I hope this helps.<br>
<br>
Steve<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 01/22/2015 01:51 PM, Susan
Sommerfeld wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:CAEdt8ymihnJF=Jh0DQttJFBuxxc7-PfxcDsaFRaYWJQAcRk1Qw@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>Hi!<br>
</div>
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.<br>
<br>
</div>
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)<br>
<br>
</div>
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. <br>
<br>
</div>
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!!<br>
<br>
</div>
Susan<br>
</div>
<br>
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