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View Full Version : Reluctant To Upgrade 14.04



O)9(yo&#
July 26th, 2016, 07:53 PM
I have an older computer, a Gateway GT5656, on which Ubuntu 14.04 runs very well. Although I had to update the video driver and turn off acceleration, but then I have to do with all Linux OS's. The computer is about 10 years old, and I'm wary of doing the upgrade (or clean install, which I would probably choose. I like having a DVD available as needed). My theory is that, as time goes by and OS's get ever more complex, this computer will tend to have more and more problems with them, so why not stay with what's working? Does this make sense?

Thanks, Michael
AMD Quad core, 6-GB RAM, 2 500-GB HDD (7200-rpm), Nvidia 8400-GS video card.

QIII
July 26th, 2016, 08:07 PM
If it ain't broke ...

14.04 is supported until 2019. If there isn't anything you absolutely need that is newer than you can get with 14.04, don't sweat it.

kansasnoob
July 26th, 2016, 09:32 PM
If it ain't broke ...

14.04 is supported until 2019. If there isn't anything you absolutely need that is newer than you can get with 14.04, don't sweat it.

+1! I maintain nearly 60 PC's strung out over about a 50 mile radius and all but 3 will continue running Trusty (14.04) with the original 3.13 series kernel until probably late 2018 or early 2019 at which point I'll figure out whether to upgrade to 16.04 or 18.04 or whatever.

kurt18947
July 26th, 2016, 09:50 PM
In my not-so-educated opinion, the desktop in use (Unity, Gnome, XFCE, LXDE) has more to do with the ability of a certain machine to suitably run a certain distro than the 'newness' of a release. Unity & Gnome require more 'graphics umph' than LXDE & XFCE for example. If you're curious, you could always create a live USB of the release you're considering. If a Live USB runs well, an install is likely to run well. The only thing you can't do with a live USB (AFAIK) is run a proprietary graphics driver like Nvidia's or AMD's.

grahammechanical
July 27th, 2016, 01:28 AM
My theory is that, as time goes by and OS's get ever more complex, this computer will tend to have more and more problems with them,

I agree with everything stated in the other posts But I do not accept that your statement that I have quoted is necessarily correct. Your machine is much more powerful than my machine with the exception of the video card. I think that my Nvidia GT 220 with 1 GB video memory might outrank your 8400 GS.

I used to have a 8500 GTS with 256 MB video memory but I did not notice it getting too hot and I had to replace it. I am not sure how well the 8500 GTS would have coped with the change over to Unity what with it only having 256 MB video memory but apart from that important change this machine has run every version of Ubuntu since April 2007.

I have noticed that the Linux kernel in 14.04 handled memory much better than the Linux kernel in 12.04. And here I am on 16.04 and Ubuntu is working very well on an Intel Core 2 Duo with 1 GB RAM. And Linux memory handling has got even better.

Regards.

DuckHook
July 27th, 2016, 01:58 AM
Like grahammechanical, I agree with all of the other posters, including grahammechanical's own observations. The only thing I would add is this―we are missing an important context here, and it is:

What do want to do with your computer?

If you are entirely focused on getting work out of the cussed thing and have no interest in exploring the OS; just want it to work without worry or complaint; and Trusty (14.04) is performing splendidly for you, then there is no reason to change things―for the reasons already stated by others.

If you are curious about technology and the OS for its own sake, do not mind fixing (and thereby learning) things, and are willing to put up with some breakage in order to experience what new goodies are being offered, then I still do not suggest an upgrade, but rather, a dual-boot. This is my own current configuration (although I have since largely abandoned Trusty because Xenial is working so well―for me, at least).

You would then still have Trusty to fall back on for those times when reliability is critical, but you could boot into Xenial to tinker and explore.

O)9(yo&#
July 27th, 2016, 01:59 AM
Thanks for the insights, folks. As for the point about the desktop, I'm running Unity, with the "spy lens" disabled. As I said, I usually have to upgrade the video driver and disable accelerations in my browser to prevent lock-ups and sleep-related issues (waking up, specifically). But then things are fine. I've wondered about my video card being the culprit. I've actually had 8 GB of RAM in this machine, which is its max. But then, even Windows had lock-up issues, so I dropped down to 6 GB. I also have Deepin on the same HDD as Ubuntu. And on the other HDD I have Windows 7 and Elementary OS. Both of those GNU/Linux OS's are recent installs, latest versions. Just doing some comparisons. I want to get my wife into Linux before W7's EOL in 2000. Although I like both of them, I must say Ubuntu feels more robust and stable. I just got back on to it today, after about a week or so on the others, and it just seems faster and more solid. I've run various Mints in the past, as well as Zorin. At this point, my inclination is to recommend Ubuntu to her. Her laptop is an i5, so it should handle 16.04 fine. And if she doesn't like the Dock being on the side, I can put it on the bottom. But as for me, I'm inclined at this point to stay with 14.04, it's just running perfectly, and as was pointed out, why spring for something if you don't really need it, and what you have is working well?

kurt18947
July 28th, 2016, 12:15 AM
<snip>
But as for me, I'm inclined at this point to stay with 14.04, it's just running perfectly, and as was pointed out, why spring for something if you don't really need it, and what you have is working well?

Because you live by the philosophy "If it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is?"

:lol:

Oh wait, that would be me :redface:.

There is something to keep in mind re support duration. As I understand it, the support duration of LTS core components is 5 years. With Ubuntu that would cover the entire O.S. With the 'flavors' such as Xubuntu, Lubuntu etc. you'd need to check the support duration on the non-Ubuntu components i.e. LXDE, XFCE and other non-core Ubuntu components. I think those might be 3 years, or 2 years between LTSs plus one year to upgrade to the next LTS. I could be mistaken in this but that's how I understand it.

zero2442
July 28th, 2016, 01:25 AM
I still have Xubuntu 14.04 and it is a solid version. I have been stalling upgrading it. I have two other computers both running Xubuntu 16.04 and they do require some extra resources over 14.04.
The main thing would be trying to run 16.04 on less than 4 gigs of ram will slow things down.
I distro hop but keep coming back to Xubuntu.

PS: I got caught in the Forum meltdown a while back and lost my previous account. I first joined this forum back in 2006 if memory serves me. And had around 500 posts, now I am back to square one with one bean.

howefield
July 28th, 2016, 01:44 PM
PS: I got caught in the Forum meltdown a while back and lost my previous account. I first joined this forum back in 2006 if memory serves me. And had around 500 posts, now I am back to square one with one bean.

Post in the Resolution Centre (https://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=123) if you wish assistance getting back into your original account.

O)9(yo&#
July 28th, 2016, 05:30 PM
Like grahammechanical, I agree with all of the other posters, including grahammechanical's own observations. The only thing I would add is this―we are missing an important context here, and it is:

What do you want to do with your computer?

Sorry I missed your reply, and it's an important consideration. All I really do with this machine is browse the web. Occasionally, I install demo versions of music software, but that's pretty rare. I must admit that I am curious, and trying 16.04 just for that reason alone is probably the only attraction for me: I like Ubuntu; why not use the latest version? But I'm still leaning toward waiting awhile. When my curiosity/boredom is great enough, and the ground has been trodden by more intrepid explorers, I'm sure I will upgrade.

O)9(yo&#
August 12th, 2016, 01:02 AM
Well, I got bored here in these dog days of summer, and decided to try it. I installed it on a drive that already had Deepin and Ubuntu 14.04 on it. I went with the option to install over the Ubuntu 14.04. It went fine, and my settings and programs were not touched. This was a clean install, with a DVD, not an upgrade. I started to do the upgrade, but when I got to where it said it would take several hours, I decided I wasn't that bored. The clean install that was really an upgrade took about an hour. So far everything is fine. We'll see how it goes. It certainly is pretty. I like the cosmic brown wallpaper.

zero2442
August 12th, 2016, 05:00 AM
A couple of weeks ago I took a perfectly stable 14.04 Xubuntu installation and upgraded to Xubuntu 16.04.1 and so far two weeks later it is working without any problems. Even Slingscold which I had installed on 14.04 works fine after the upgrade. Keep in mind Slingscold will not install on 16.04 but will work if it was already installed when you do the upgrade.
This is the first time I have successfully upgraded a LTS to the next LTS. So apparently they have improved this type of upgrade.
I did have a image copy of my hard drive before I tried the upgrade, but so far I am using the new release as is.