Upgrading from Ubuntu 7 to Ubuntu 8

[james3302]

When allowing updates to run last night I noticed a button that I could click to upgrade to Ubuntu 8. Is this a really big process? I mean do I need to back everything up because there's a chance everything may explode and Ubuntu become inoperable? Or is it more like a general update, just may take a longer time to finish? Just curious because I'm wanting to upgrade.

Thanks.

[mikewhatever]

Upgrading the whole system is a serious matter. I think it's a good idea to backup your personal files.

[avtolle]

I agree that your personal data files need to be backed up.

I've done the so-called "network upgrade" before, without incident. A few observations: first, if on a laptop, be sure it is on AC power; second, for network connection, be on wired, not wireless; third, disable any third party repositories before starting; fourth, if there are any error messages at the beginning, read them carefully, usually there is some simple step to take to remedy the problem; and fifth, don't have any applications open and running during the upgrade (don't plan on surfing the net, listening to streaming audio, etc).

It will take some time, depending upon the speed of your processor, the amount of RAM in your system, and the speed of your internet connection. Good luck.

[james3302]

Thanks for the fast responses, think it would be okay to just move the personal files over to the Windows Partition? I should be okay I have a desktop that's wired directly to the wireless router. Processor is kinda slow at 1.8Ghz dual core and I have 2 GB Ram.

[tom56]

An upgrade like that won't ever destroy your data, though it might make it difficult to get at (e.g. if Ubuntu stopped booting). At any rate, there's no harm in backing up, in fact you really ought to do it regularly to an external drive (or CDs or DVDs) anyway in case of a power cut or hard drive fail.

In this situation, your plan to copy everything from /home to My Documents on your Windows partition is a good one.