Introduction
Upgrading an operating system can sometimes be a daunting task but keeping your system up to date is crucial for security and access to the latest features. In this tutorial, we will go through the steps required to upgrade Ubuntu to a newer version. We will start with simple commands and explore different scenarios to ensure you can competently manage your Ubuntu upgrade.
Prerequisites
- A working Ubuntu system with access to the internet
- A user account with sudo or root privileges
- Backup of important data
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Preparing the System
Before upgrading Ubuntu, it is important to update the current system with the latest packages. Use the following commands to update all installed packages.
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
After the updates and upgrades are installed, it is always a good practice to remove unnecessary packages and clean the system.
sudo apt autoremove
sudo apt autoclean
Step 2: Installing the Update Manager
If you do not have the update-manager-core package installed, do so with the following command:
sudo apt install update-manager-core
Step 3: Configuring the System for Upgrade
Edit the /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades file to define how the system notifies you of new releases.
sudo nano /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades
In this file, find the Prompt line and configure it to either normal for regular releases, or lts for Long-Term Support (LTS) releases.
Step 4: Begin the Upgrade Process
To start the upgrade process, you can use the do-release-upgrade command.
sudo do-release-upgrade
Follow the on-screen instructions. The system will prompt you to confirm the upgrade and may ask you about a series of package upgrades or services restarts.
Handling Possible Issues
Network Upgrade for Servers
If you are upgrading a headless server, you can use the -d flag to perform a network upgrade:
sudo do-release-upgrade -d
The -d option will also work for desktop versions, especially if the intention is to upgrade before the updated packages have made their way to all mirrors.
Upgrading Without a Connection
For systems without a direct internet connection, you can use the following command with the appropriate Media or ISO:
do-release-upgrade -f DistUpgradeViewNonInteractive -m https://path/to/media/or/iso
Partial Upgrades
If notified of a ‘partial upgrade’, you can deal with it by using the following:
sudo apt --fix-broken install
This command will try to correct a system with broken dependencies in place.
Advanced Upgrading Scenarios
Upgrading Using the Command Line
Edit the /etc/apt/sources.list file to change the source URLs from the current version to the new version:
sudo sed -i 's/old-version/new-version/g' /etc/apt/sources.list
Then update and begin the dist-upgrade:
sudo apt update
sudo apt dist-upgrade
Reverting Back to the Original Version
In case you need to revert your system back to its original state before the upgrade, you can try to ppa-purge the PPAs:
sudo apt install ppa-purge
sudo ppa-purge ppa:repository/name
Or use Timeshift or a similar tool to restore the system to a previous snapshot.
Conclusion
The process of upgrading Ubuntu can be lengthy but it can be smoothed out if the steps outlined are closely followed. Always ensure that your data is backed up before commencing an upgrade and schedule enough time to address any arising issues.
