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View Full Version : [SOLVED] Upgrade from 9.10 to 10.04 problems



Arachan
May 10th, 2010, 09:47 AM
Hello,

I had Ubuntu 9.10 with KDE added on installed on my HDD and I decided to upgrade to 10.04. I ran the update manager and selected Upgrade. I followed the instructions and it said it would need to download 999M. I accepted and it spent a few hours downloading the packages and installing them. It seemed to go fine until it rebooted, as it was shutting down it showed what I assume is the new shutdown screen, but it said Kubuntu even though I was in Gnome.

When it restarted I got Grub as usual, except for the wrong screen resolution. I selected the top option which was the newest kernel (there were two, both with recovery modes). The screen then went black with a few coloured pixels at the top. It stayed like this, I tried pressing CTRL+ALT+BACKSPACE to attempt to restart X, but nothing happened. I tried ALT+F1, this also did nothing.

I pressed the reset button on my case and booted first to the recovery mode, but the same thing happened. I then tried the other kernel as well as it's recovery mode. They all got the same result.

Is this a problem with my installation, or could it be a hardware-related problem in my monitor or graphics card (ATI Radeon HD2600)?

Any help would be much appreciated,
Thanks,
Arachan.

darkod
May 10th, 2010, 09:53 AM
Have you tried running a 10.04 cd in live mode to see if it works with your hardware (graphics)? If it does, most likely it's not hardware related.

Since you can't boot at all it doesn't give much to troubleshoot that I can help with. Maybe someone else.

Arachan
May 10th, 2010, 10:21 AM
Thanks for the fast response.

Yes, I'm in the Live CD right now so that must mean it's not hardware related.

I think it's something to do with Gnome and KDE confusing each other.

Thanks,
Arachan.

darkod
May 10th, 2010, 10:33 AM
Few ideas for future reference (too late for that now). :)

1. Clean install is usually better than upgrade, if you can do it. For example if you don't have too many special settings to keep, you have separate /home partition which allows easily keeping settings/files, etc.

2. Another way to upgrade is using the Alternate CD which takes only 700MB to download, not 999MB and you don't risk anything getting corrupted during the long download. You just need to make sure the cd image itself is not corrupted after download (there is a test you can run in the menu). The Alternate CD offers the option to upgrade.

Arachan
May 10th, 2010, 10:58 AM
Hello,

So basically you think that my upgrade failed and I need to do a fresh install?

If I do, will I have to reinstall (and download) my software again, or will that be in my /home folder?

Thanks,
Arachan.

darkod
May 10th, 2010, 11:59 AM
Something obviously went wrong with the upgrade. But whether you can keep settings and personal files in Home depends how ubuntu was installed previously.

If you had a separate partition mounted as /home, that will still remain intact if you format / and install 10.04. However, if Home was only a folder in /, as it is in the default layout, it will be lost if / is formatted.

Right now before doing anything I think it's best to run the Boot Info Script (there is a link in my signature), which will produce a results.txt file with detailed results.

You can run it in live mode. If after download you place it in desktop, you execute it with:

sudo bash ~/Desktop/boot_info_script*.sh

You can also post the content of the results file here, and wrap it in [CODE] tags for easier reading. You can do that when with the text you want selected, hit the # button in the toolbar above when creating your reply.

Arachan
May 10th, 2010, 12:21 PM
Hello,

I don't have /home on a separate partition, but I would like to. I just haven't been bothered to find out how to transfer it properly.

Here is the RESULTS.txt:


Boot Info Script 0.55 dated February 15th, 2010

============================= Boot Info Summary: ==============================

=> Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda
=> Grub 2 is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb and looks on the same drive in
partition #2 for /boot/grub.
=> Syslinux is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdc

sda1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows XP
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System: Windows XP
Boot files/dirs: /boot.ini /ntldr /NTDETECT.COM

sda2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sdb2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext4
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System: Ubuntu 10.04 LTS
Boot files/dirs: /boot/grub/menu.lst /boot/grub/grub.cfg /etc/fstab
/boot/grub/core.img

sdb3: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: swap
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:

sdb4: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext3
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sdc1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: vfat
Boot sector type: Fat32
Boot sector info: According to the info in the boot sector, sdc1 starts
at sector 0. But according to the info from fdisk,
sdc1 starts at sector 62.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

=========================== Drive/Partition Info: =============================

Drive: sda ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders, total 312581808 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sda1 * 63 20,482,874 20,482,812 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 20,482,875 312,576,704 292,093,830 7 HPFS/NTFS


Drive: sdb ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdb: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders, total 976773168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdb2 * 8,353,800 39,070,079 30,716,280 83 Linux
/dev/sdb3 39,070,080 42,973,874 3,903,795 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdb4 42,973,875 976,768,064 933,794,190 83 Linux


Drive: sdc ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdc: 8011 MB, 8011120640 bytes
247 heads, 62 sectors/track, 1021 cylinders, total 15646720 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdc1 * 62 15,635,593 15,635,532 c W95 FAT32 (LBA)


blkid -c /dev/null: __________________________________________________ __________

Device UUID TYPE LABEL

/dev/loop0 squashfs
/dev/loop1 77d02c52-4c48-4950-b131-c378e3f60102 ext3
/dev/sda1 C080618E80618C2A ntfs XP
/dev/sda2 75A3533E397335AA ntfs GAMES
/dev/sda: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sdb2 023578f6-5766-42e5-af67-ab995737e5aa ext4 UBUNTU
/dev/sdb3 bec75a0d-5d80-4fa3-b195-9f3a267ea284 swap
/dev/sdb4 08605420-3111-4828-9d89-88c68f87954e ext3 DATA
/dev/sdb: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sdc1 19DE-0E9B vfat 10~04 BOOT
/dev/sdc: PTTYPE="dos"

============================ "mount | grep ^/dev output: ===========================

Device Mount_Point Type Options

aufs / aufs (rw)
/dev/sdc1 /cdrom vfat (rw,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=cp437, iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro)
/dev/loop0 /rofs squashfs (ro,noatime)
/dev/sdb4 /media/DATA ext3 (rw,nosuid,nodev,uhelper=udisks)
/dev/sdb2 /media/UBUNTU ext4 (rw,nosuid,nodev,uhelper=udisks)


================================ sda1/boot.ini: ================================

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOW S
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

=========================== sdb2/boot/grub/menu.lst: ===========================

splashimage (hd0,1)/boot/grub/images/grubed_splash.xpm.gz
# menu.lst - See: grub(8), info grub, update-grub(8)
# grub-install(8), grub-floppy(8),
# grub-md5-crypt, /usr/share/doc/grub
# and /usr/share/doc/grub-doc/.

## default num
# Set the default entry to the entry number NUM. Numbering starts from 0, and
# the entry number 0 is the default if the command is not used.
#
# You can specify 'saved' instead of a number. In this case, the default entry
# is the entry saved with the command 'savedefault'.
# WARNING: If you are using dmraid do not use 'savedefault' or your
# array will desync and will not let you boot your system.
default -1

## timeout sec
# Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry
# (normally the first entry defined).
timeout 3

## hiddenmenu
# Hides the menu by default (press ESC to see the menu)
#hiddenmenu

# Pretty colours
color red/cyan green/red

## password ['--md5'] passwd
# If used in the first section of a menu file, disable all interactive editing
# control (menu entry editor and command-line) and entries protected by the
# command 'lock'
# e.g. password topsecret
# password --md5 $1$gLhU0/$aW78kHK1QfV3P2b2znUoe/
# password topsecret

#
# examples
#
# title Windows 95/98/NT/2000
# root (hd0,0)
# makeactive
# chainloader +1
#
# title Linux
# root (hd0,1)
# kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro
#

#
# Put static boot stanzas before and/or after AUTOMAGIC KERNEL LIST

### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
## lines between the AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST markers will be modified
## by the debian update-grub script except for the default options below

## DO NOT UNCOMMENT THEM, Just edit them to your needs

## ## Start Default Options ##
## default kernel options
## default kernel options for automagic boot options
## If you want special options for specific kernels use kopt_x_y_z
## where x.y.z is kernel version. Minor versions can be omitted.
## e.g. kopt=root=/dev/hda1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8=root=/dev/hdc1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8_2_686=root=/dev/hdc2 ro
# kopt=root=UUID=023578f6-5766-42e5-af67-ab995737e5aa ro

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=(hd0,1)

## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. alternative=true
## alternative=false
# alternative=true

## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. lockalternative=true
## lockalternative=false
# lockalternative=false

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=quiet splash

## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options
## e.g. lockold=false
## lockold=true
# lockold=false

## Xen hypervisor options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenhopt=

## Xen Linux kernel options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenkopt=console=tty0

## altoption boot targets option
## multiple altoptions lines are allowed
## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options
## altoptions=(recovery) single
# altoptions=(recovery mode) single

## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst
## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the
## alternative kernel options
## e.g. howmany=all
## howmany=7
# howmany=2

## specify if running in Xen domU or have grub detect automatically
## update-grub will ignore non-xen kernels when running in domU and vice versa
## e.g. indomU=detect
## indomU=true
## indomU=false
# indomU=detect

## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option
## e.g. memtest86=true
## memtest86=false
# memtest86=false

## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system
## can be true or false
# updatedefaultentry=false

## should update-grub add savedefault to the default options
## can be true or false
# savedefault=false

## ## End Default Options ##

title Ubuntu 9.10, kernel 2.6.31-19-generic
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-19-generic root=UUID=023578f6-5766-42e5-af67-ab995737e5aa ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-19-generic

title Ubuntu 9.10, kernel 2.6.31-19-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-19-generic root=UUID=023578f6-5766-42e5-af67-ab995737e5aa ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-19-generic

title Ubuntu 9.10, kernel 2.6.31-17-generic
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-17-generic root=UUID=023578f6-5766-42e5-af67-ab995737e5aa ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-17-generic

title Ubuntu 9.10, kernel 2.6.31-17-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-17-generic root=UUID=023578f6-5766-42e5-af67-ab995737e5aa ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-17-generic

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

=========================== sdb2/boot/grub/grub.cfg: ===========================

#
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
#
# It is automatically generated by /usr/sbin/grub-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
#

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then
load_env
fi
set default="0"
if [ ${prev_saved_entry} ]; then
set saved_entry=${prev_saved_entry}
save_env saved_entry
set prev_saved_entry=
save_env prev_saved_entry
set boot_once=true
fi

function savedefault {
if [ -z ${boot_once} ]; then
saved_entry=${chosen}
save_env saved_entry
fi
}

function recordfail {
set recordfail=1
if [ -n ${have_grubenv} ]; then if [ -z ${boot_once} ]; then save_env recordfail; fi; fi
}
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,2)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 023578f6-5766-42e5-af67-ab995737e5aa
if loadfont /usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2 ; then
set gfxmode=640x480
insmod gfxterm
insmod vbe
if terminal_output gfxterm ; then true ; else
# For backward compatibility with versions of terminal.mod that don't
# understand terminal_output
terminal gfxterm
fi
fi
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,2)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 023578f6-5766-42e5-af67-ab995737e5aa
set locale_dir=($root)/boot/grub/locale
set lang=en
insmod gettext
if [ ${recordfail} = 1 ]; then
set timeout=-1
else
set timeout=3
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###
set menu_color_normal=white/black
set menu_color_highlight=black/light-gray
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme.BACKUP ###
set menu_color_normal=white/black
set menu_color_highlight=black/white
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme.BACKUP ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-22-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,2)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 023578f6-5766-42e5-af67-ab995737e5aa
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-22-generic root=UUID=023578f6-5766-42e5-af67-ab995737e5aa ro vga=792 splash quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-22-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-22-generic (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,2)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 023578f6-5766-42e5-af67-ab995737e5aa
echo 'Loading Linux 2.6.32-22-generic ...'
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-22-generic root=UUID=023578f6-5766-42e5-af67-ab995737e5aa ro single vga=792 splash
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-22-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.31-21-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,2)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 023578f6-5766-42e5-af67-ab995737e5aa
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-21-generic root=UUID=023578f6-5766-42e5-af67-ab995737e5aa ro vga=792 splash quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-21-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.31-21-generic (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,2)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 023578f6-5766-42e5-af67-ab995737e5aa
echo 'Loading Linux 2.6.31-21-generic ...'
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-21-generic root=UUID=023578f6-5766-42e5-af67-ab995737e5aa ro single vga=792 splash
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-21-generic
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry "Microsoft Windows XP Professional (on /dev/sda1)" {
insmod ntfs
set root='(hd0,1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set c080618e80618c2a
drivemap -s (hd0) ${root}
chainloader +1
}
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries. Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment. Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###

=============================== sdb2/etc/fstab: ===============================

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid -o value -s UUID' to print the universally unique identifier
# for a device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name
# devices that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
# / was on /dev/sda2 during installation
UUID=023578f6-5766-42e5-af67-ab995737e5aa / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1
# /data was on /dev/sda4 during installation
UUID=2AA3-6D4B /data vfat utf8,umask=007,gid=46 0 1
# swap was on /dev/sda3 during installation
UUID=bec75a0d-5d80-4fa3-b195-9f3a267ea284 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/scd0 /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0
=================== sdb2: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


4.5GB: boot/grub/core.img
5.3GB: boot/grub/grub.cfg
9.8GB: boot/grub/menu.lst
16.3GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-21-generic
16.4GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-22-generic
10.6GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-21-generic
12.2GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-22-generic
16.4GB: initrd.img
16.3GB: initrd.img.old
12.2GB: vmlinuz
10.6GB: vmlinuz.old

Do you see anything wrong? I didn't, but that's not saying much.

Thanks,
Arachan.

darkod
May 10th, 2010, 12:33 PM
Boot files/dirs: /boot/grub/menu.lst /boot/grub/grub.cfg /etc/fstab
/boot/grub/core.img

It looks fine except having menu.lst in boot/grub. That file is used in grub1 which was used in 9.04 and earlier. 9.10 started shipping with grub2 but if you did upgrade from 9.04->9.10 I guess that's how it remained there.

Try to boot without it to see what happens. In live mode browse to /dev/sdb2 in boot/grub and move menu.lst to your Home folder on /dev/sdb2 for example. That way you can put it back if needed. Don't delete it at this moment.

You do have grub.cfg in boot/grub so you should be able to boot. See how it goes.

Arachan
May 10th, 2010, 12:55 PM
Hello,

My 9.10 was a fresh install, however at one point I had both GRUB 1 and 2, which caused some problems. I still don't really know how that happened.

I renamed the menu.ist to menu.ist.old and rebooted. I selected the new kernel and the screen went black, then after a few seconds it went to a light-ish blue with a few coloured pixels at the top of the screen, some of which flashed repeatedly. It stays like this for about five minutes, then I did a hard reset and booted back to Windows (ugh).

Any other ideas?
Thanks,
Arachan.

darkod
May 10th, 2010, 01:06 PM
Open /boot/grub/device.map and check the mapping. It should be:
hd0 /dev/sda
hd1 /dev/sdb

If that is correct, as a final thought reinstall grub2 again to /dev/sdb with:

sudo mount /dev/sdb2 /mnt
sudo grub-install --root-directory=/mnt/ /dev/sdb

If that doesn't help I'm running out of ideas.

A last option would be to copy your Home folder to external hdd, and install fresh 10.04 over the current upgrade and at the same time you could use this situation to set up separate /home partition. You could reuse your /data partition that I see here without any data loss on it, you won't format it.

If you decide to go this way, ask if you need pointers how to set up manually separate /home partition.

ashokranade
May 10th, 2010, 01:16 PM
Upgradation for Ubuntu from Karmic Koala to 10.04 went smoothly. My grub page shows window XP but when i do 'enter' a cursor in a blank screen appears and continues. I donot know how to fix this problem:confused:

Arachan
May 10th, 2010, 01:22 PM
Hello,

My device.map is correct. I reinstalled GRUB and will try to boot again. I think if that fails I will just do a fresh install and make a /home partition. If I put my current /home there what kinds of things will I lose anyway? KDE, I suppose.

Thanks for your help,
Arachan.

dondiego2
May 10th, 2010, 01:35 PM
Upgradation for Ubuntu from Karmic Koala to 10.04 went smoothly. My grub page shows window XP but when i do 'enter' a cursor in a blank screen appears and continues. I donot know how to fix this problem:confused:


The exact same thing happened on my upgrade from 9.10 to 10.04. It seems to be a common problem for those of us that dual boot. It appears to be a grub issue.

Arachan
May 10th, 2010, 01:38 PM
Hmm. Mine problem seems to be the opposite, I dual boot but ******* XP works fine and Ubuntu 10.04 doesn't. My OSes are on different HDDs though.

darkod
May 10th, 2010, 01:39 PM
The exact same thing happened on my upgrade from 9.10 to 10.04. It seems to be a common problem for those of us that dual boot. It appears to be a grub issue.

This is a different problem I think and it's not easy to solve different problems in the same thread because it mixes up the solutions. But I'll try to be short:

Run the boot info script (there is link with details in the link I am providing), also you can download it from my signature. If you see in the results file something like explained here:
http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/bootinfoscript/index.php?title=Boot_Problems:Boot_Sector

the solution is on the same page.

darkod
May 10th, 2010, 01:40 PM
Hello,

My device.map is correct. I reinstalled GRUB and will try to boot again. I think if that fails I will just do a fresh install and make a /home partition. If I put my current /home there what kinds of things will I lose anyway? KDE, I suppose.

Thanks for your help,
Arachan.

Did reinstalling grub2 help?

Arachan
May 10th, 2010, 01:47 PM
No, the same thing happened. I noticed that every time I pressed a key, one or two more pixels of colour were added to the top of the screen. Does this mean that it's trying to display something and failing maybe?

What will I lose if I reinstall 10.04 but keep my /home?

I'm going to bed now (it's 1:00AM here), but hopefully I can get this resolved tomorrow.

Thanks for your help,
Arachan.

darkod
May 10th, 2010, 02:00 PM
In your current situation, because you don't have separate /home partition, I'm not sure you can keep it at all.

But from the live mode you could copy all the files from Home you need. After that you could delete the / partition and in its place create new / and /home as separate (2 partitions in place of one).

I can see in the results you have about 4GB unused space in front of /dev/sdb2, your current /. And the / partition is about 15GB.

You could, for example, create 10GB / and approx 10GB /home. You have a huge /data partition so I guess you store all large data files there, so 10GB /home is not too small. Be careful, in that situation you would have only 10GB to use on it.

What will you lose? If you copy all files that you need from your current Home, you won't lose any of them of course. But with the fresh install you will need to reinstall any software that you added yourself (that wasn't included in the default 9.10 install) and any specific settings for that software will probably be lost so you will need to set things the way you like them again.

But if that is not too much work a fresh install is worth it because it will also allow you to start having separate /home partition that you just reuse in any future clean install.

If you decide to do this, and need some help, post here. You will have to use the manual partitioning method in the installer, the guided automatic methods don't offer separate /home partition.

Arachan
May 11th, 2010, 05:37 AM
Hello,

My main reason for upgrading rather than reinstalling was so I wouldn't have to download and install my software again (including stuff like KDE it would be a lot relative to my bandwidth allowance). I suppose I will have to go through that now though.

Unless you (or anyone else) have any more suggestions about how to get my current install working, I think I'll reinstall and format my drive you like suggested (10GB /home and 10GB /).

Thanks,
Arachan.