Updates breaking my system

[monkeybrain20122]

I am not sure if OP is even interested in finding a solution. He joined the forum in 2009 but only has four posts here, the one before this one was back in July 2012 (guess, complaining about Unity)

[Copper Bezel]

Routine updates never break my machine - they might break a small feature here or there, usually in a fixable way, but never the whole system. Version upgrades I tend to have less luck with - I've had my machine become essentially unusable for one reason or another after an upgrade. But less so in recent releases - I'm even starting to trust the updater instead of doing a fresh install every six months (not that the latter isn't really a better habit in any case.)

[Bucky Ball]

I am not sure if OP is even interested in finding a solution. He joined the forum in 2009 but only has four posts here, the one before this one was back in July 2012 (guess, complaining about Unity)

A drive-by whinging, perhaps. It happens.

[tgalati4]

Yes, I meant that kernel and xorg updates can break things--it is not a certainty. I've had a few mishaps with such updates, but overall, they were things that could be fixed with a little research.

[monkeybrain20122]

Kernel update going wrong is easy to fix, just boot into an old kernel and delete the new one and then reboot. I have had troubles updating with xorg-edgers but ppa-purge fixed them. Now I would simply clone the / partition before such updates and if something goes wrong, it takes about 10 minutes to restore the image.

[orb9220]

"how much a user has modified a system beyond its baseline configuration"

+1 to that as the major contributing factor with No. 1 being using proprietary drivers.
And another +1 that breakage is a real factor that has to be entered into the equation and planned for.
That is why doing regular backups is essential. I use Redo Backup and back up my root and /home partitions before any major upgrades. Than breakage is a 20min. fix at most.

Tho I do challenge the stability of Level 4 & 5 security updates. As never seen any real world reasons for them beyond the theoretical threat.
And wonder if they are really needed in lieu of losing stability? What's the point of them if they give a higher degree of instability?

If someone more knowledgeable can chime in with the reasons specifically Level 4 & 5 am always willing to learn new things.
But haven't had any issues keeping them off my system as they do come with additional stability risk. Or am I mis-informed?
And exactly how in a real world scenario I'm being unsafe? Not the imaginary threats that could happen?
.

[craig10x]

I think that is why Upgrades go so well for me...i don't make major modifications on my Ubuntu...all i lose are a couple of ppas, Ms Core Fonts and Chrome (all easily put back of course) everything else gets smoothly transferred over (including all my important data like music, videos, docs, etc)...also..i do it from the live iso which seems to be a very reliable way to go about it...

And updates are always very smooth...can't remember the last time an update messed anything up on my system...

[tgalati4]

The Risk Level assessment is based on how low into the kernel the changes take place. Changes to DBUS for instance (the basic messaging service between processes) have a high risk of breakage. Changes to Firefox will generally only affect the running of Firefox and not other applications, so the risk is lower--2 or 3. Similarly, changes to xorg--the graphics server can cause a blank screen--which is severe, because it is difficult to troubleshoot. Proprietary drivers are plugged into the kernel and to the graphics server--so again, changes to the kernel or the graphics server cause a higher level of breakage for those with proprietary modules installed.

I put off these higher level updates, until I have the time to spend to both reboot the system and to test the basic functionality. If there is breakage, then it is not as traumatic, because I have prepared for it.

[buzzingrobot]

I keep fonts, must-have deb's from PPA's, edited /etc entries, crontab entries, tweaked config files, icons, themes, etc., stashed away on Dropbox. When I reinstall or update, I install Dropbox, go have some coffee while it syncs, and then move things into place manually.

I could put these things on a USB stick, which would eliminate the need to wait while Dropbox synchs. But, I'd lose the convenience of moving files to the Dropbox folder as I change or add them. Of course, if I was clever, I'd just remember to copy the Dropbox folder to the USB stick just before I reinstalled.

[mJayk]

To be frank, I've never had an update break a Linux installation, on Ubuntu or any other distribution. I just spent several weeks using pre-betas of the unreleased Fedora 20. Even the frequent and voluminous updates there didn't break the install.

Have to say ... what