How smooth are in-place upgrades?

[David_OConnor]

I'm buying a new laptop this week. Should I do an in-place upgrade to 15.04 when it comes out in two months, or do a clean install/not bother?

[ubfan1]

If your new laptop can use Ubuntu 14.04, that is the current Long Term Support release, and using it will reduce the number of upgrades you need to do in the future. Only if your new laptop requires the newer features of 14.10 should you use it, then you will have to upgrade to several non LTS releases before you get to 16.04 (the next LTS).

[deadflowr]

I vote not bother --if, as suggested, running 14.04.
Even if you need the hardware support of 14.10, 14.04.2 (now downloadable from Ubuntu.com (http://www.ubuntu.com/download)) has that already by default.
http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.linux.ubuntu.announce/190

But having made that point, in-place upgrades can be relatively smooth.
Circumstances differ from user experience to user experience.
For some it breaks every time, for others it works without issue.
Who could say why, I don't know.
I'm on the side that it works without issue, so don't know what causes others system to fail upon a release-upgrade.

[craig10x]

I've done a number of "in place" upgrades every 6 months and every one for me has been 100% perfect...As long as you remember to uncheck any ppas you have in your software sources, which you can re-check AFTER the upgrade, and just use a stock ubuntu (when i say "stock" i mean you don't make heavy modifications or use other sessions on it like gnome session, cinnamon session, etc)...and just add apps and data as everyone does, then it should work fine...

As a back up, i always burn an iso of the new version i am upgrading to, just in case...and have my important data (music, videos, pictures, etc) on a flash drive back up...do that, and you be completely prepared for all possibilities... ;)
In general, i have found in recent times, the upgrades have become pretty darn reliable, though...