Can I skip over releases when upgrading?
I am currently using Ubuntu 10.04. I know there is a 10.10 release, but can I upgrade directly to 11.04? Could you walk me through the steps please?
Ubuntu only supports upgrading from one version to the next version, or from one LTS version to the next LTS version. So you need to upgrade from 10.04 to 10.10, and only then to 11.04.
There are technical reasons for this restriction. When a new version of an existing package is installed it sometimes has to perform conversions, e.g., it may have to import existing settings into a new database format. In performing such conversions the packaging scripts have to make assumptions about the old format. If upgrades from all previous versions of Ubuntu were supported then this would quickly become a maintenance nightmare, as packaging scripts would have to be able to convert from all previously used formats to the current format. To avoid the nightmare, packaging scripts only in general support upgrading from the version of the package included in the previous Ubuntu release (and from the previous LTS release, in the case of a package included in an LTS release).
Upgrading directly from the penultimate, or earlier, version to the current version (called a "skip upgrade) is possible, but is liable to result in a misconfigured system.
To update from an older version (very old in this case) than the previous version to the current version is highly not recommended. You are better off downloading the new release, doing a backup and then installing the new release.
If you are using Ubuntu 10.04 and REALLY REALLY want to update from that version up to the latest version then keep reading, if you are using Ubuntu 10.10 and also want to update from that version up to the latest version go to the second part. I should warn at least users from 10.10 that this involves downloading more than 2GB of data and will take you around a whole day. And even at the end it might be slower, give you errors, your connection will drop at some point or the computer will go crazy. This means that I do not give a guarantee that it will work flawlessly on every PC. So really think about it if you want to upgrade this way. I recommend reading this link: How do I upgrade to a newer version of Ubuntu?
Here is an image that shows what 10.04 users should see after 12.04 was released:
UPDATE - if you are reading this after 12.04 came out, there should be an option in the Update Manager in 10.04 that says to upgrade from 10.04 to 12.04. This is the way to go since 12.04 came out.
For historical reasons I will leave the information below for users that wanted to know how to do it before 12.04 came out but if you are still in 10.04 please read here: How do I upgrade to a newer version of Ubuntu? since fossfreedom created a very good and complete answer about upgrading from 10.04 to 12.04.
- FIRST PART (For Ubuntu 10.04 Users BEFORE 12.04 came out)
If you are in Ubuntu 10.04 first you need to upgrade from 10.04 to 10.10 then from 10.10 to 11.04.The reason is that 10.04 is a LTS Version (Long Term Support) and as such it upgrades itself from one LTS to the other. So the next LTS would be 12.04. When 12.04 comes you will see an upgrade noticed on your 10.04. But if you still want to upgrade to 11.04 then do the following:
Ubuntu 10.04 to 10.10
Menu Way
1a. Using the menu go to System -> Administration -> Update Manager .
Keyboard Way
1b. ALT+F2 and Type gksu update-manager
When the Update manager opens and it does NOT show the "New Ubuntu Release Available" message in the upper part do the following steps:
2- Click on the SETTINGS button in the Update Manager on the lower left part of it. After the Software Sources Windows opens it should have you in the Update Tab where you will change the option Release Upgrade at the bottom. Change it from the one that it has to Normal Releases then close. What you did here was tell Ubuntu not to check for LTS versions but to check for normal version instead. Normal versions are the ones that come out every 6 months. LTS come out every 2 years. For example 8.04, 10.04, 12.04..
2.1 Open The Update Manager again following the Steps in 1a or 1b.
2.2. Click on the UPGRADE button that should appear there in the upper part. After finishing the upgrade reboot the PC and you should be in 10.10. Test it a little and then if you are 100% sure to go to 11.04 do the following:
- SECOND PART (For Ubuntu 10.10 Users)
Ubuntu 10.10 to 11.04
- ALT+F2 and Type 'gksu update-manager -d' to open the update-manager. The -d is to check if there is a Developing Version. Since 11.04 is still in development it will appear in the upper part of the Update Manager saying New Ubuntu Version 11.04 with a button to UPGRADE
- Click on the UPGRADE button and follow it through.
IMPORTANT - Make sure you have ALREADY updated everything in Ubuntu 10.10. So you are ready for a clean upgrade to 11.04.
NOTE - From LTS to LTS you can actually update. For example 10.04 LTS to 12.04 LTS. But for any other like 10.10 you need to actually update from one release to the other until you get to the final one. In your case, before 12.04 came out you could update from 10.04 to 10.10 and then 10.10 to 11.04 and so on until 11.10. After 12.04 came out you can update directly to 12.04 since it is the next LTS released.
No it's not possible.
using standard upgrade methods.
The only "point to point" release upgrades which work outside of the standard release to release upgrades, are LTS release upgrades. In other words you can upgrade from 8.04 -> 10.04 and 10.04 -> 12.04 without having to upgrade to each of the three other non-LTS versions in between. Otherwise you'll need to go next to 10.10 then to 11.04. Since you're not too far behind it shouldn't take long. Simply run the update manager as you normally would and follow the chain to 11.04.
If you were to try, you could simply pop in an 11.04 disk and install over the 10.10 installation. This should keep all of your home folder contents intact but will result in you having to re-install all of the software you had prior to the "re-installation"