Few questions about upgrading to 9.04

[AnBéalBocht]

Hi all, I'm running 8.10 at the moment but installed it through vista and didn't make a separate partition for it.. I want to upgrade now but is there a way I can upgrade so it'll go to a new partition (is that an option from the upgrading option with the software updater program etc) or will i have to download the .ISO for 9.04, install to a separate partition and then uninstall 8.10 from vista or something? The problem is vista isn't really working properly but I want to hang onto it for the odd times I use it.. and since it's ubuntu i'm using mainly now I don't want to mess up with upgrading/installing. Not too knowlegeable on partitions and such so any other advice ye can think of would be much appreciated.

Thanks a million in advance for any comments :)

[raymondh]

Upgrading is supported from 8.04 to 8.10 so I think it's ok to upgrade from 8.10 to 9.04 (using the update manager, of course).

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/WubiGuide

Some tips and thoughts :

1. Back up your files first. Both OS'. There are no guarantees.
2. Try to defrag Vista. A fragemented Vista will affect the performance of Ubuntu.
3. Try a liveCD of 9.04 first and see how it plays well with your system specs and hardware. See if wireless, graphics, keyboard, etc, work to your satisfaction.
4. Remember, when Vista crashes, so does your Ubuntu as it resides within windows. You may want to consider a fresh install since you are starting to move away from windows.... as you hinted in your post.

If you need assistance in installing Ubuntu in its' own partition, the forum can help you with a step-by-step guide. Should you decide to go this route, here are some links to help you understand/read up on what you are about to partake:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=282018&highlight=separate+%2Fdata+partition
http://www.ubuntupocketguide.com/index_main.html
http://members.iinet.net/~herman546/index.html
http://apcmag.com/how_to_dualboot_vista_with_linux_vista_installed_f irst.htm

Good luck.

[AnBéalBocht]

OK thanks for those tips. I suppose getting the Live CD and seeing that everything's ok with it, and then doing a fresh install might be the best route alright. Thanks for the links as well, will do a bit of studying before I have a craic off it. Will let you know things go sure!