14.04 to 14.10 upgrade - video driver question

[felgro]

Does the upgrade completely replace the existing video drivers or does it attempt to upgrade what is there?

I had horrible problems installing 14.04 with a newer AMD card, got it running, then a system update broke it again and currently I am running but fallen back on my Intel Haswell-ULT. The 14.10 live CD actually boots into a full desktop (14.04 did not) so I assume the new release is compatible with my AMD card. I want to nuke all of the existing video system and replace it with what is in 14.10. Will the upgrade do this or should I just bite the bullet and do a clean install?

[grahammechanical]

Ubuntu live session discs use an open source video driver. I certainly advise reverting to an open source video driver before upgrading to 14.10. Each new release of Ubuntu brings in the latest Linux kernels, firmware and proprietary video drivers. I think that it is better to upgrade with an open source video driver and then activate a proprietary video driver through Additional Drivers if that is our wish.

Some of us do recommend clean installs. This is a link to the release notes

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UtopicUnicorn/ReleaseNotes


The Ubuntu 14.10 release delivers a v3.16 based kernel. This brings a significant number of bug fixes and new hardware support including expanded architecture support for Power 8 and arm64 platforms. It also includes support for Intel Cherryview, Haswell, Broadwell and Merrifield systems, and initial support for Nvidia GK20A and GK110B GPU’s. There is improved graphics performance on many Nvidia, Intel and ATI Radeon devices and also audio improvements with support for the Radeon .264 video encoder. Expanded platform support is enabled via support for 64 bit EFI boot on 32 bit EFI BIOS. This release also brings performance improvements in suspend/resume times.

Regards.

[felgro]

Ubuntu live session discs use an open source video driver.

I know - and getting a desktop off the CD tells me my card is finally supported. But you misunderstand my question - currently, my system does not see the AMD card (HD 8600M) but only the Haswell. Does the upgrade scan for devices or rely on the existing system information?