12.04 LTS upgrade to 14.04 LTS on ASUS X120E Notebook

[ronnie-vc10]

Hello I am running ´successfully' Ubuntu 12.04 LTS on a ASUS X120E Notebook, and want to upgrade it to Ubuntu 14.04 LTS



i) I have an official Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Desktop Edition, amd64 Installation DVD, as I planned to, hopefully, do a ¨fresh installation¨.


Apart from the Installation Notes, are their any other recommendations or tips for installing by this method
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ii) In downloading the regular updates for the existing Ubuntu 12.04 LTS it shows the message :



CD/DVD ´Ubuntu 14.04 LTS_Trusty Tahr – Release amd64 (20140417) is required....

(see attached screen-shot).



In trying this, the external, portable USB, DVD Writer is not recognised, and cannot proceed with the download and upgrade.



What do I enter in the Terminal to install this drive, and upgrade the machine by this method?


Any other tips and/or advice for upgrading the above on a ASUS X120E Notebook would be appreciated.

[ubfan1]

I'm a little confused, are you upgrading or doing a fresh install? Upgrades usually don't need the dvd if you have internet connection, but if you explicitly add the dvd to the package sources, I guess it's possible. If you are trying an upgrade, get the latest 12.04 before starting, use the check/install buttons, then the 14.04 upgrade button at the top. For a fresh install you boot from the dvd.

[ronnie-vc10]

I'm a little confused, are you upgrading or doing a fresh install? Upgrades usually don't need the dvd if you have internet connection, but if you explicitly add the dvd to the package sources, I guess it's possible. If you are trying an upgrade, get the latest 12.04 before starting, use the check/install buttons, then the 14.04 upgrade button at the top. For a fresh install you boot from the dvd.

Hello, thank you for replying.

In my question...it is in 2 parts:-

i) Using the DVD for a fresh install, but the External CDROM/DVD drive is not recognised??

ii) Using the option to upgrade by downloading, which I have tried, which requires the DVD, but the External CDROM/DVD drive is not recognised?

[ronnie-vc10]

?

[ubfan1]

Sorry, missed the above. As for ii, the dvd should not be needed at all for the upgrade online (what you call "downloading"?).
As for i, did you hashcheck the downloaded iso with md5sum before burning the DVD? Don't know if a bad iso would make the drive unrecognized, but maybe it can't boot. Can you check the drive on another machine, might be a hardware problem, or cable problem.

[ronnie-vc10]

Sorry, missed the above. As for ii, the dvd should not be needed at all for the upgrade online (what you call "downloading"?).
As for i, did you hashcheck the downloaded iso with md5sum before burning the DVD? Don't know if a bad iso would make the drive unrecognized, but maybe it can't boot. Can you check the drive on another machine, might be a hardware problem, or cable problem.

Re-Reading my original, first entry (above) for help ¨I have an official Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Desktop Edition, amd64 Installation DVD¨.



In order for me to support the great work done by Canonical, I ordered some Ubuntu goodies, gave donation, and also ordered the Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Desktop Edition, amd64 Installation DVD from Canonical (Ubuntu)...it is an ¨official copy¨ sent by post direct to me. This was not downloaded.



I have tested my external CDROM/DVD RW and works 100% on another pc.

[ubfan1]

I have tested my external CDROM/DVD RW and works 100% on another pc.
This is the drive you tested or booting from the DVD? If you can boot the DVD, select media check from the choices {Try, Install, Media check,...}.
If the media is not good, get another if you want to do a full install. There is no reason to use the DVD for an update of 12.04 (which it seems you are trying to do first). There is no reason to use the DVD for an upgrade of the 12.04 to 14.04 if you are connected to the internet, just use the "upgrade" button. I have never seen either of those update/upgrade choices ask for a DVD to be mounted -- that is not normal or necessary. Check the "settings" button on the lower left corner, and see what is listed in the "sources". Is the 14.04 DVD listed? What kernel are you running on your 12.04 system? If you had moved beyond the 3.2 series to a later kernel, like the 3.13 series that might explain what might be happening, but I've done that and updated many times, and don't have a DVD on the system.
When you say the drive is not recognized, you mean the boot fails and the system boot from the hard disk? Or the DVD boots, you select Try or Install, and something happens? When you checked the DVD drive on another PC, were you using the same cable?
I'm still a little confused, but lets first eliminate any possible hardware and bad media issues.

[Vladlenin5000]

Just an additional information:

The reason why the DVD appears as a source it's probably because you inserted it in your running system, Ubuntu detected it - correctly - as a source of packages, asked you whether or not to add it to the source and you said YES. Not recommended in this scenario and you can remove it easily just by opening System Settings > Software&Updates and de-select it from that list (it should be on top).

Now, a few comments with the hope they will clarify a few details:
1. As commented before you don't need physical media to upgrade if you have Internet access;
2. You can upgrade with the DVD -> Booting form the DVD and selecting that option accordingly <- NOT RECOMMENDED if you have a dual-boot system, there's a bug that can trigger an whole wipe out of the drive and subsequent installation of Ubuntu only.
3. Always prefer an installation from scratch whenever doable.
4. Booting from an external drive requires a BIOS supporting such feature; generally any board new enough to support booting from USB will also boot an external USB optical drive. If it doesn't boot from a USB flash memory it won't boot from an external CD/DVD either.