-1

I'm not versed in Linux, but my father-in-law gave me Ubuntu 10.10 on a USB, because my Hardrive had failed and I put in a new one. I ran Ubuntu from the USB for a while and decided that I would give it a try and installed it onto my brand new empty hardrive. I now see that I really need to upgrade to a newer version. I thought that I could use the Update Manager and just work my way up the version, but upgrading to 11.04 fails with the message "Failed to fetch, this may be a network problem".

I can download 12.04 and 13.04, but all I get are .iso files. What do I do with them?

Running Wubi.exe doesn't work. I've searched here and can't seem to find an answer which addresses my issue, or at least one written in a way I can understand. Please bear with my inexperience with Linux.

UPDATE: So with further research I have found this:

As a release gets old (especially if it is not a LTS release), it becomes no longer hosted at archive.ubuntu.com. However, the repository is still hosted at

http://old-releases.ubuntu.com

So try changing your repository source to http://old-releases.ubuntu.com.

This is great, but I'm now having difficulty finding somewhere that describes "Changing your repository" for a layman. I have found these:

help.ubuntu.com/community/Repositories/Ubuntu

help.ubuntu.com/community/Repositories/CommandLine

But I can't seem to follow how to add the "old releases" url to the repository.

2

1 Answer 1

1

First off, download an ISO file from ubuntu.com: http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop

All things considered, you might want to get the LTS version (12.04), as it's the most stable. If you want the latest version, go for 13.04.

Then, you can create a bootable USB from Windows, using this application:

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/

I've used it many times, and never gave me any troubles (well, except that one time... I just created it again and worked like a charm.)

Or, you could create the USB from your existing Ubuntu installation: Run the Startup Disk Creator (Applications > System > Startup Disk Creator in 13.04, but it's supposed to be available in 10.10. The command is usb-creator-gtk. You can run it by pressing Alt+F2)

There you'll be able to select your pendrive, the ISO, and the app will create a bootable USB for you to install Ubuntu with.

5
  • Now I come to read your update. Here's how to update your sources, scale up through the versions (though, I'd recommend a fresh install, as explained in my original answer.) help.ubuntu.com/community/EOLUpgrades Sep 8, 2013 at 3:04
  • Thanks, but I don't have Windows, so I cant' create a bootable USB. My machine only has Ubuntu 10.10 and that's it.
    – shazle
    Sep 8, 2013 at 3:17
  • The link in your comment was very helpful, but I think this is getting beyond my abilities.
    – shazle
    Sep 8, 2013 at 3:27
  • Any time is a good time to expand your abilities, if you like all of this Linux/Ubuntu stuffs. To add the required sources (the locations from where Ubuntu looks for new software), you need to edit the file: /etc/apt/sources.list To do so, open up a Terminal, and run: sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list (as this particular file is system-protected, you need SuperUser permissions, that's why we add sudo) There, add the lines described up in my link (the EOLUpgrades one). Where it says "CODENAME", replace it for "maverick" (your current version, which is Maverick Meercat. [continued...] Sep 8, 2013 at 6:52
  • That will enable you to do a sudo apt-get update and sudo apt-get upgrade to get the newer packages. And eventually, a sudo do-release-upgrade to jump to the next version. However, in order to get to the latest version, I'm reading that you would need to step through all the intermediate versions of Ubuntu. That's a whole lot of work, and it'd be just better to start with a fresh install of the latest version. Can you run the Startup Disk Creator, as described in the original answer? Sep 8, 2013 at 6:55

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .