Roll back to Hardy?

[OswaldGlinkmeyer]

I have an old Dell computer with 256Mb RAM that was running Xubuntu Hardy a year or so ago with little problems. I realize this is old hardware, but it used to run reasonably well. I upgraded to Karmic, and I noticed a slight performance hit. Since then, it seems to have slowed and slowed. I don't know what the issue is, and "top" reveals nothing taking up RAM or CPU. It is simply slow. Changing from one terminal screen to another, for example, takes ten to twenty seconds. Opening and closing tabs in Firefox takes even longer. Booting seems to go relatively well and speedily, but shutdown frequently takes forever.

Since Hardy worked so well, I'm wondering if it's possible to downgrade. I've been leery to upgrade to 10.10 since I don't want to make it worse. Is downgrading possible, desirable, or simply out of the question with regard to security and maintenance?

[Slim Odds]

There are literally thousands of threads about this and the answer is: No, there is no "downgrade" option.

Backup your data and reinstall is the only option.

[mörgæs]

Best is to go for a clean install of Lubuntu:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=9834517&postcount=261

I don't know if Lubuntu is ready in 10.10, but anyway it works great in 10.04.

[OswaldGlinkmeyer]

There are literally thousands of threads about this and the answer is: No, there is no "downgrade" option.

Backup your data and reinstall is the only option.

I should have been more clear. I was intending to do just that, reinstall the previous version, I shouldn't have really phrased it as a "downgrade." But I guess one of the things I was wondering is it possible to keep old packages updated with security if you stay with an old version? Even if they aren't made available in a repository, is it possible for someone with relatively limited experience in such things to get and keep the thing somewhat secure?

[mörgæs]

If you choose one of the supported versions, bugfixes are offered to you automatically. There is no difference with regard to security between the releases.

[OswaldGlinkmeyer]

Best is to go for a clean install of Lubuntu:
http://www.uluga.ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=9834517&postcount=261

I don't know if Lubuntu is ready in 10.10, but anyway it works great in 10.04.

Thanks. I'm not very familiar with lxde, but I'm willing to try it as Xubuntu gets more difficult to use.

[OswaldGlinkmeyer]

If you choose one of the supported versions, bugfixes are offered to you automatically. There is no difference with regard to security between the releases.

How do I know what a "supported" version is. If support stops for Hardy in April 2011, does that mean I'd be having to look for another version then instead of now?

[Slim Odds]

How do I know what a "supported" version is. If support stops for Hardy in April 2011, does that mean I'd be having to look for another version then instead of now?

Yes

[mörgæs]

How do I know what a "supported" version is.

By googling, for example :-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ubuntu_releases#Version_timeline

[OswaldGlinkmeyer]

So basically if I install Xubuntu Hardy, I'll have six months to use it before I really need to start looking for alternatives, so it's at best a short-term solution.

mörgæs's suggestion to look in to Lubuntu might be more optimal as a long-term solution, or I need to look into switching back to something else.

[OswaldGlinkmeyer]

By googling, for example :-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ubuntu_releases#Version_timeline

That helps me know when "support" ends which I already know, but it didn't help me really understand what happens at the end of support, which is why I asked the other questions. That is, whether someone would be able to patch the thing on their own after official support ends. I take that as a "no" based on Slim's answer of "yes" to my question about whether I'd just be delaying things to April 2011 if I switched back to Hardy.

[arpanaut]

I have an old Dell computer with 256Mb RAM

This is probably the major issue, any possibility to upgrade ram?
Yes lubuntu may help but 256 of ram is just too little for most modern OS
I have an old compaq box that I upgraded to 768 and although the cpu is really dated
It runs well with the additional memory. both Xbuntu and Lubuntu 10.04.1

Good Luck.

[mörgæs]

If you are used to Xubuntu on 256 MB memory, Lubuntu will be a huge improvement.

[OswaldGlinkmeyer]

This is probably the major issue, any possibility to upgrade ram?
Yes lubuntu may help but 256 of ram is just too little for most modern OS
I have an old compaq box that I upgraded to 768 and although the cpu is really dated
It runs well with the additional memory. both Xbuntu and Lubuntu 10.04.1

Good Luck.

Unlikely there will be any investment in RAM for this machine. Again, it ran fine with 8 but has slowed to a crawl with 9x. I didn't remove any RAM.

[Slim Odds]

Unlikely there will be any investment in RAM for this machine. Again, it ran fine with 8 but has slowed to a crawl with 9x. I didn't remove any RAM.

LOL

And OS's are adding things.... they are NOT removing things.

Just so you know....