Ubuntu 20.04.5 LTS with MATE - can I use do-release-upgrade?

[Bo Berglund]

On Mon, 13 Mar 2023 11:02:19 +0000, Liam Proven <lproven at gmail.com> wrote:

>On Sun, 12 Mar 2023 at 09:20, Bo Berglund <bo.berglund at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> This system is ready for a release upgrade but I am reluctant because I am
>> running MATE desktop since I cannot stand the Ubuntu default desktop...
>
>I sympathise. I can't stand GNOME either. Personally I prefer Xfce
>over MATE, but I use some MATE applets and accessories.
>
>The key question here is what you installed originally.
>
>If you installed vanilla Ubuntu with GNOME, then added a different
>desktop (and maybe removed or just didn't use the other desktop), then
>when you update, I think it will put the original desktop back as
>default.
>
>E.g. when I upgraded my 16.04 machines to 18.04, I got GNOME as my
>default desktop, although I was using Unity.
>
>In 18.04 the default was changed to GNOME so I got GNOME.
>
>I had to reinstall Unity, but then it worked fine. GNOME is still
>there but I ignore it and don't use it.
>
>So the question is:
>
>Did you install Ubuntu MATE? Or did you install Ubuntu (i.e. with
>GNOME) and then add MATE to it?

I do not remember at this point. Too many systems to juggle...

But this is the oldest of my Linux PC systems so it might have had some
trial-and-error installs.

I have looked in my downloads dir for Linux ISO:s and there I find this amongst
others:

ubuntu-mate-20.04.3-desktop-amd64.iso

I don't believe I used that on this laptop though since the iso file is dated in
january 2022.

Is there a way to figure out when the corrent system was installed in some log
file or similar?
Or if it uses a different desktop but on a on a standard install?


-- 
Bo Berglund
Developer in Sweden