Upgrading from 32-bit to 64-bit versions

[TheRedDragon]

I've updated from 9.04 to 9.10 (32-bit) successfully, and have no problems to resolve. I wonder, however, if it is possible to migrate from 9.10, 32-bit, to 9.10, 64-bit without starting with a freshly formatted drive, and in the process, losing all the modifications I'd made and the software loaded under the 32-bit version. :confused:

[SuperSonic4]

Nope, you have to reinstall although if you have a separate /home you can use that although some settings may be off

[IgnorantGuru]

Make a copy of your /home folder to another drive (partition) or USB stick, eg:

sudo cp -a /home /mybackuplocation

If /home contains your music, video, and other large files, you may want to back those up separately, perhaps to DVD-Rs. Other than those user files, /home should not be very large. In fact you could also tar /home and burn it to CDR.

When you install the 64 bit version, use the same username.

After your fresh install with 64 bit, when you get to the login screen, press Ctrl-Alt-F1 to get a shell. Login to the shell, then copy your /home folder back...


sudo rm -r /home
sudo cp -a /mybackuplocation/home /home

Press Ctrl-Alt-F7, then login. Most of your settings should be restored. You just need to add the additional programs back in using apt-get or another package manager.