How do I revert to Kubuntu version 18.04 LTS from version 21.04 without losing anything? [duplicate]

18.04 was the last version I used that I liked. I used version 20.04 and currently use 21.04.

Solution 1:

Ubuntu's apt and dpkg tools are designed to upgrade to later/newer packages, so the automatic tools will upgrade, but not downgrade.

You use data restoration tools (ie. restore your backups) when you want to go backwards.

You can re-install though :)

If you install using "Something else" (Manual I believe with the Qt skin over ubiquity that Kubuntu uses) and

• select your existing partitions but ensure format is unchecked

This will install with this procedure

• note your installed (additional) packages
• erase system directories
• install new system (whatever release you're using to install; which can be same release, earlier, or later)
• attempt to add back your added packages (if available in new release)
• ask you to reboot.

It won't touch any user files (unless you format!). As system directories are erased; many server apps can lose configs where they store conf files in system directories - but this isn't the case with desktop programs that Kubuntu provides.

You'll still need to check each of your used programs can cope with a backwards change; ie. I've had issues before doing this where my chosen email MUA (mail user agent) didn't know how to deal with later features I'd started using, thus emails where I'd use later features were ignored (didn't exist to earlier version). I've also had issues with RSS readers; so you'll need to check whatever programs you consider the data as valuable.

Easiest though is restoration of a backup (as is often the case)