installing Feisty, but don't ask how. Aptitude "manual or howto files.

[Shane W. Handley]

On Wed, 25 Apr 2007 18:04:04 +1000
Anthony J Brow <tbrow at tpg.com.au> wrote:

> Hi Folks,
> 
> First my thanks to Simon with the
> http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/upgrading site suggestion. It like many
> other things I tried, did not make sense. When I first attempted the up
> grade with the update manager, some 960 update files had to be
> downloaded taking over 24 hours. With download 3/4 finished, I
> accidentally shut the system down late at night. 
<snip>
> ...can the proposed down be shortened, so that the download can
> be done in 2 or3 sessions?

Hi Tony,

One alternate update method is to download the Feisty .iso file, which you can burn to CD. This .iso file is about 700MB, and contains enough to install a base system. This will cover the main chunk of the required data for the update. 

The link to the .iso is (This is the Ubuntu Alternate .iso)

http://public.planetmirror.com/pub/ubuntu/releases/feisty/ubuntu-7.04-alternate-i386.iso

The page that you have linked to describes the process for updating using the alternate CD/DVD, under the heading "Upgrading using the alternate CD/DVD". It basically involves putting the burnt CD (burnt at a speed such as "8x" of course, for CD) in the drive and following the instructions.

This may also require some downloading after the main system has been updated, since not all packages installed on your system will be available on the CD, and these extras must be downloaded via system update (i think).

A piece of advice though: I have always found that a fresh install is better than an update, simply because a lot less can go wrong in the process, provided you have backed your data up well. This may be an opportunity for you to plan out an update process that you can follow each time you wish to update Ubuntu. If you define your process as:

1. Back up all data under /home/*
2. Make a list of required software, and ignore packages that you no longer use.
3. Back up all data under /home/* (can't stress this enough)
4. Wipe your system
5. Start a fresh install

This may seem like too much work, but I find that a fresh system always feels a little 'leaner' with redundant packages/software being removed between version. Sort of like forcing spring cleaning of your computer too.

> Further it has been suggested that aptitude should be used iso apt-get
> or synaptics. Is there a manual or similar for aptitude. Sofar nothing
> satisfactory on google as far as I can see.

The Synaptic update method can be troublesome on bad connections. If you have speedy Broadband and a good mirror, things will work well but it sounds like in your situation you want to go for the .ISO method, since if the process of updating fails for some reason, you can just pop the disc in the drive and start again.

Anyways, hope his helps.

Regards,

Shane Handley