Fresh install or upgrade? Which is better

[apparle]

This question has been repeated many time but I am asking this because the file system has changed to ext4 this time.

So should I upgrade or do a fresh install

[Elegia]

From my personal experience, I'd advise you to do a fresh install. I've had some trouble with upgrading before, so reinstalling puts my mind at ease.

But why not try upgrading first? If everything seems to work well afterwards, the better. And I think it's possible to convert ext3 to ext4.

[drs305]

This question has been repeated many time but I am asking this because the file system has changed to ext4 this time.

So should I upgrade or do a fresh install

Ext4 is going to be an option for Jaunty but my understanding is that it won't be the default. So you can kick that decision down the road for 6 months if you want to.

I've been using ext4 on alpha/beta versions of Jaunty without problems. The only drawback is that I run several versions of ubuntu for support reasons and the older versions can't read the ext4 partition. It is possible to 'convert' ext3 to ext4 without reformatting if you really want to.

Opinion: If I had a single system with multiple partitions I'd probably try to run all ext3 or all ext4. You can mix them except for the drawback mentioned previously. Many users don't seem ready to make the jump to ext4 yet.

[vigyani]

From my experience I prefer fresh install.

I partition my HDD so that on a fresh install I do not have to move data, i.e. / and /home are on different partions. I usually keep / around 20 GB, it is more than enough for all pacakge and including /tmp requirements.

[Sef]

Fresh install is best. If you do want to upgrade, make sure that you have either an Ibex or a Jaunty disk handy in case there is a problem.

[zvacet]

Upgrade with alternate CD.That way you will always have CD if something goes wrong.