<div dir="ltr">Thanks for all this. I am going to read this over and get the backup part done. I can come to the very end of the meeting...maybe I can connect with someone there who can talk me through the upgrade?<br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 9:58 PM, tom <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:thomas.w.cranston@gmail.com" target="_blank">thomas.w.cranston@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"><div><div class="h5">
<br>
<div>On 01/22/2015 08:37 PM, Steve
Roggenkamp wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
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 href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes" target="_blank">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>On 01/22/2015 01:51 PM, Susan
Sommerfeld wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote 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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If you are not a techie, I would strongly suggest finding someone to
sit with you thru the process.<span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><br>
<br>
Tom<br>
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