Upgrade from Zorin 5.2 Lite to Zorin 6 Lite

I currently am running Zorin 5.2 lite. How do I upgrade to Zorin 6? If I have to reload the software, how do I do that and preserve all of the data and other software that I have now?

Hi,

during the install process; select "Something Else" from the list of options which ask where you want Zorin installed, look at the list of partitions which are available to you, assuming you only have Windows and Zorin installed; you should see something like sda1 sda2 and so on, you need to find which of those partitions your Zorin root (/) partition is located (lets say as an example: sda5) and select that for the installation and also to be formatted, you still need to select your /home partition too but DON'T FORMAT IT or you will lose all your data and settings from your previous install of Zorin OS!!!!!!!.

So; main points, select your root ("/" is the mount point) partition for installation and formatting but NOT YOUR HOME partition which still needs a normal "mount point" which as you know is "/home".

If you need help with the partitioning, please look here:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HowtoPartition

Regards Wolfman

I only have 1 partition, other than the swap partition. When I installed zorin 5.2, it defaulted that way. I was hoping that there might be a way or a utility or something that would just update the OS and preserve everything else, like the software update does with programs. Any suggestions?

Hi,

if you only have 1 partition then you are screwed, you will have to do a complete new install; as you cannot retain any info as it will be over-written by the installer!!.

You should always create 3 partitions, a "root" (/) for the main OS, a "/home" for all your settings and files and a "swap" partition to aid the memory on your PC!!.

http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic172128.html

(the above info is for any Ubuntu based system)

Regards Wolfman

Hi,

further to Swarfs suggestions, I would simply copy any of my important data to a stick or disk and re-intsall completely.

The reason that (in your case ) I would do this is because if I were to copy and paste the older home folder onto the new one, there is a danger that it would corrupt the newer OS'es config files!!!.

Regards Wolfman

Say I wanted to start over, fresh, but I wanted to partition my drive to accomodate multiple Linux Distros (3). I also want to have a common /Home directory that all of the distros use for my personal files. I want a root partition for all 3 of my distros and swap for all of my distros? I am a little confused by the Primary and Logical thing. I just don't want to paint myself in a corner. I really want (2) distros, but would like (3). I have a 160GB HD. I was thinking 15-20GB reserved for each Distro. Any comments or suggestions on how to proceed?

Hi,

you should create all your Linux partitions in an extended partition and then you can make as many partitions within the extended partitiion as you want. Just be sure to label each one, if you use Gparted to do this, it gives you this option.

Thats it really, you can take a look at this How-To:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1616

Regards Wolfman

Wolfman,
Thanks for your help and the link you provided. I have learned quite a bit.

Ok, I wiped my hard drive clean and followed your advice and created multiple partitions within the extended partition and loaded 3 distros. Each have their own root partition. Each use the common swap partition. Each use the common /home partition. But I have a strange dilemma. In each disto, I created the same account and password. When I loaded the first distro, I formatted the /home partition. On each subsequent distro load, I did not format the /home partition. It seems that because I created the same account and password for each distro, the personal settings are preserved for each distro load, so Zorin and my other distro looks and acts different than they were intended to. I did not anticipate this. How can I get around this? I was hoping to be able to use each distro as my mood strikes me, but I want to have access to the same home folder in each distro, but I want the look and theme of each distro.

I really want to be able to run multiple distros but I need to be able to access the same /home folder and have the same data and permissions, etc. when I log into a different distro.

I am really at a bit of a quandary here. Any suggesions?

Hi,

I did state in one of the posts that copying a home folder from a different install may well cause problems, as you have now found out, you cannot use the same home for different operating systems as at least one of them wants to control the system which will lead to a screw-up in the config files, you should always have a seperate home for each OS, you can still copy and paste between them by simply mounting the drives via nautilus!!.

I cannot really add anything other than "start again", sorry that I don't have better news for you, if you have 3 OS'es; you will have to redo at least 2 of them!!.

Regards Wolfman

No worries,

Thanks for all of your help! I see that you did warn me of that previously. It just didn't sink in with all of the other information that I was reading. One of the reasons I am going through all of this is to learn. I am taking a basic Linux class at my community college and have done all of this on a computer that I don't care too much about. But, I really want to use and evaluate a few distros so that I can decide on one and go from there. I have my computer partitions set up like this:
1). sda5 - linux-swap
2). sda6 -- Ubuntu 11.10
3). sda7 - Zorin OS 5.2 Core
4). sda8 - Pinguy OS
5). sda9 - /home partition

Here is what I really don't quite understand:

1). If the best way to set up a distro is to create (3) partitions , /root, /home, and linux-swap, then wouldn't I experience the same issue I am having now if I was to have 1 distro, say Zorin 5.2 and then followed the steps to upgrade that to Zorin 6 when it comes out? You said for an upgrade not to format the /home partition so that you don't loose data and settings from my previous Zorin OS. What if Zorin OS 6 is radically different than Zorin OS 5.2 with respect to the interface and such that uses the config files. Could I end up in the same situation?

2). If I were to just load (1) distro using (3) partitions, say Ubuntu 11.10, use that for awhile and then decide to replace that /root partition (and OS) with Zorin 5.2 and not reformat /home, could I end up with the same issue?

3). After reading your last post, I tried an experiment. I booted up Zorin OS 5.2, created a "test" user account, logged out and then back in with the test account and I see the interface behave the way that Zorin is supposed to behave. So, if I start over in this manner, are you saying that I should create a different user account for each distro when I load them one by one?

Thanks for all of your help. I am learning quite a lot!!

Hi,

with respect to the new Zorin 6, if you want to update Zorin 5 to the newer 6, then take note that it MAY cause problems with the new config files from version 5, this is not to say it will, you cannot directly upgrade Z6 like a normal Ubuntu version so you must format the root partition, you can try keeping your /home and install Z6 without formatting home, it may or may not cause problems with the new files!!.

Until Z6 comes out; I cannot test it to see if it will be okay just to format root and only mount /home without formatting it. As soon as Z6 is released; I will try it out and see and let everyone know what happens.

Normally if you update an Ubuntu version to the next higher version, it overwrites the config files, this might/should be the case with Z6 over Z5!!.

Regards Wolfman

Thanks Wolfman,

I would be interested in what you find out because I will want to upgrade from 5.2. I really love 5.2 by the way! I think this Linux OS will be my primary OS. I am using it with Cairo-dock and find that the combination rocks!

Thanks for all of your help.

Thanks Wolfman,

I would be interested in what you find out because I will want to upgrade from 5.2. I really love 5.2 by the way! I think this Linux OS will be my primary OS. I am using it with Cairo-dock and find that the combination rocks!

Thanks for all of your help.

Hi,

whatever way we install the next version of Z6, you will still have to re-install all the progs you had in Z5, hopefully all the files for the progs (FireFox favs and so on) will still be accessible!!.

The learning curve will also take you to Gnome 3 should you have not already done anything with it, Z5 is based on Gnome 2!!. Gnome 3 has a somewhat different layout and you will have to learn how to use it!!. The install process is exactly the same as any Gnome 2 install so you shouldn't have a problem there!!.

Regards Wolfman

If the ability to upgrade from one version of Zorin OS to another, while retaining personal data, depends on proper partitioning, then such partitioning should be part of the default installation process, not in the "other" option of the installer.

Does this make sense to anyone else?
I will reference this thread to the "Install from DVD should update/merge existing install" thread as well.
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1554

No worries,

Thanks for all of your help! I see that you did warn me of that previously. It just didn't sink in with all of the other information that I was reading. One of the reasons I am going through all of this is to learn. I am taking a basic Linux class at my community college and have done all of this on a computer that I don't care too much about. But, I really want to use and evaluate a few distros so that I can decide on one and go from there. I have my computer partitions set up like this:
(cut stuff for brevity)

If you wish to evaluate different Linux distros without needing to constantly re-format your hard drive, you might consider using VirtualBox or VMware Player to run them in virtual machines on a good computer. I am partial to VMware myself, and both virtualization programs are free. I currently run VMware Player machines within a PC running Windows 7. Each virtual machine has its own virtual disk image, and each is allocated a fixed amount of RAM. It is very convenient.

Maybe should be on another thread, but:

I agree that VMware Player is a bit uncertain under Linux. Works quite well out of the box under Windows, but I have found its performance under Linux to need too many modifications and tweaks.

Hi,

with respect to the new Zorin 6, if you want to update Zorin 5 to the newer 6, then take note that it MAY cause problems with the new config files from version 5, this is not to say it will, you cannot directly upgrade Z6 like a normal Ubuntu version so you must format the root partition, you can try keeping your /home and install Z6 without formatting home, it may or may not cause problems with the new files!!.

Until Z6 comes out; I cannot test it to see if it will be okay just to format root and only mount /home without formatting it. As soon as Z6 is released; I will try it out and see and let everyone know what happens.

Normally if you update an Ubuntu version to the next higher version, it overwrites the config files, this might/should be the case with Z6 over Z5!!.

Regards Wolfman

Hi,

its me again, I said I would try an upgrade without formatting the home partition to see if it would be okay, well the answer is "Jein"; which is German slang for yes and no, if you retain your home partition, some of your desktop settings may well go astray and you won't have the new desktop as it should be!!.

My advice is to save all your data and do a complete install of both root and home.

You can keep your home intact if you want to but I don't recommend it!.

Regards Wolfman

OK. Tried this out on a VMware machine on which I installed Zorin 6 Lite, then re-installed with 5.2 Core. Not the best combination, but it's what I had around as .iso images.

Set up with three partitions for Root, Home and Swap
Had the new install format Root but not Home. This worked rather poorly.
So, it looks like you need to save your data separately, do a full install and then restore your data by hand. For an uncomplicated system, this is not a big deal, but if I were using Zorin for a long time, the number of files and amount of data might be a bit daunting to save and restore in this way.

Maybe I'll experiment with the UbuntuOne service for making backups of my data online. Then I could restore 'from the cloud'.

Wolfman,

Thanks for all of your help and advice. Regarding upgrading and installation of Zorin 6 on top of 5.2, couldn't you just preserve the /home without reformatting it, but get rid of the directories containing gnome, like .gconf, .gnome2, .gnome2_private, etc. Wouldn't Zorin then add the necessary config files and directories on your next login?

Maybe it's not that big of a deal to wipe everything out and do a clean install, but it seems like everything that I have read on-line regarding the best practices for partitioning suggests that having a separate /home partition ensures the preservation of your data when doing a new install or upgrade of the OS to /root.

I definately want to do what is best, but I am thinking down the road when I have a ton of data that I want to preserve when I do an upgrade. I don't have a lot now, so it is not a huge concern at this point. But as I get more ingrained with Linux, my data and config settings will grow and I will want to preserve them.

What I am really interested in is a "best practice" for partitioning and installing a Linux distro that would offer the most flexibility in the future for upgrades and preservation of user data. I understand that's like asking to have a crystal ball. But what do you think about installing /root and /home on the same partition and then create a separate partition called /linuxdata for all of the user's data with a mount point. Then maybe create soft links from each of the user's common /home directories, like /home/someuser/Documents , /home/someuser/Music etc to the mount point /linuxdata/someuser/Documents etc? That way the /home will only contain the user's config files and and can be easily copied and reinstalled after an upgrade for firefox settings, vim settings , bash settings and the like.

Hi,

if only it were so simple in a perfect world!!, sadly; if you don't format the /home partition, the config files would more than likely be a pain in the rear once you installed the new OS, it would be nice if there was an updater like in the real Ubuntu, alas, that is not the case so a new install is the only way round it!!. I say that to err on the side of caution, if you want to just install without formatting your /home, bear in mind it may go wrong!!.

Back up your data to an external drive or vacant partition is all I can really recommend!!.

Regards Wolfman

Thanks Wolfman, Swarf and Dan for you help and suggestions. When zorin 6 comes out as a stable release, I will do a clean install. But, I am really struggling with understanding the benefit of having a separate /home partition at this point. It seems like the recommended "best practice", but in the case of upgrading, it seems rather useless. So, what exactly is the benefit? Is there a benefit only when you need to reload the current OS, or upgrade to a "dot" release only? I am really trying to grasp the benefit in having a separate /home. Can anyone help me understand?

Ok, I am ready to upgrade to Zorin OS 6 and I don't want any problems like Wolfman warns about. So if I wanted to backup my home directory using a program like Deja Dup, which folders should I Include and which ones should I exclude. I want to keep all of my settings for Thunderbird, Firefox, etc., but I don't want the folders that would be problematic, like the gnome 2 folders. Any advice?

Ok, I am ready to upgrade to Zorin OS 6 and I don't want any problems like Wolfman warns about. So if I wanted to backup my home directory using a program like Deja Dup, which folders should I Include and which ones should I exclude. I want to keep all of my settings for Thunderbird, Firefox, etc., but I don't want the folders that would be problematic, like the gnome 2 folders. Any advice?

Hi,

you can try going to > home >show hidden files (Ctrl + h) and save the files you want that have a "." (dot) in front of them, example: ".firefox". ".thunderbird"

This should have the settings you want in them!!. (Said he hopefully!!)

Regards Wolfman

Thank you all. I will give it a whirl and let you know.
I appreciate all of your comments and assistance!