Upgrade wants me to delete important packages [closed]
"I was prompted to do a partial upgrade" suggests you have added non-Ubuntu sources which provide packages that are incompatible with the newer release of Ubuntu.
Your system might be salvageable, if you have the skills and patience to remove those non-Ubuntu sources and packages.
The basic theory is to:
- Disable or delete the non-Ubuntu sources.
- Uninstall all packages provided by those sources.
- Run an apt full-upgrade to complete the release-upgrade.
- Run apt autoremove to remove orphaned packages.
- Evaluate which of your non-Ubuntu sources you still need, and are compatible with the new release of Ubuntu.
- Reinstall the appropriate non-Ubuntu software.
If you need step-by-step, detailed instructions, then you're probably not ready for the process. It's not difficult, but it is tedious and requires a fairly good understanding of apt. Backup and reinstall instead.
You can avoid this problem next time by returning your system to as close to stock condition as possible before a release-upgrade (steps #1 and 2 above).