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jimbob
August 8th, 2007, 10:53 PM
Please help me out here. Is there some way to keep Ubuntu current in a smooth way from release to release every six months other than cold installing the new release? I know that a given release is suported for eighteen months but what about after that?

Suppose I have Feisty Fawn installed on a couple of dozen laptops which are used in an academic classroom situation and I want to progress to Gutsy Gibbon when it becomes available. What are my options here? I guess it is possible to go into my sources.list and change all the Feisty names to Gutsy and do an upgrade but it has been my experience in the past that this does not appear to get everything.

I don't want to bring up that other software company but they do provide continuous upgrades for several years after a new operating system is released. What was the rationale behind Ubuntu's plan to offer a completely new release every six months?
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lyceum
August 8th, 2007, 11:03 PM
There are tutorials in the wiki that tell you how to upgrade without re-installing. When 7.04 came out there was a link on the Ubuntu home page.

ssam
August 8th, 2007, 11:38 PM
I guess it is possible to go into my sources.list and change all the Feisty names to Gutsy and do an upgrade but it has been my experience in the past that this does not appear to get everything

that is not a recomended method.

you should always read the release notes eg http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/704 . these explain the recomended upgrade method (there is a comand line method as well GUI).

Also if you want the updates to go smoothly then be care with installing third party stuff, or doing customisations to the system. for example if you have install graphics drivers from somewhere other that the ubuntu repos, dont expect them to work after the upgrade.