5

I typically upgrade downloading the relevant ISO (not necessarily the alternate one), going offline and then running:

sudo mount -o loop ubuntu-11.04-alternate-amd64.iso /media/cdrom
gksu /media/cdrom/cdromupgrade

...and then connecting and doing an update once the system is installed. I do this for stability and so I can schedule the upgrade and update independently (i.e. juggling time and bandwidth).

However, the Trusty Tahr release notes say:

Offline upgrade options via alternate CDs are no longer offered for Ubuntu Desktop and Ubuntu Server. Please ensure you have network connectivity to one of the official mirrors or to a locally accessible mirror and follow the instructions above.

Does this mean that an offline upgrade is impossible, even with the non-alternate ISO? If it is impossible, can I still do the upgrade via a mounted ISO, or is a USB/DVD now required?

4
  • Pretty sure the answer is "no", but see this related question: askubuntu.com/questions/283026/…
    – Nattgew
    Apr 23, 2014 at 15:09
  • I really would like to know if this is truly impossible. If Canonical really has removed all functionality of a from-ISO/from-CD/from-USB upgrade I think that is a poor move on their part. There are many people who can't upgrade their distro via the internet at home because of bandwidth speed/restrictions, and so download the ISO separately and upgrade via ISO/CD/USB. I know I would prefer this manner. Apr 24, 2014 at 2:07
  • 1
    @RPiAwesomeness it is possible to upgrade from ISO on CD/USB, but you still need network connectivity - I imagine that the ISO contains the majority of what you need and will reduce the bandwidth requirements but not eliminate it - I have settled for this
    – lofidevops
    Apr 30, 2014 at 12:28
  • I wonder how feasible it is to generate the list of required packages and download to create a local mirror ?
    – NGRhodes
    Apr 30, 2014 at 12:40

1 Answer 1

1

It appears that the answer is no, an offline upgrade is not possible.

The reason behind this move, is enourmous amount of support cases of broken and partial upgrades since newer installation media will be missing manual additionally installed packages; packages that have now transitioned to new names; packages that have been removed from the default installation. Thus default install media for next release simply doesn't contain everything one will reasonably need to upgrade, hence the internet connectivity requirement.

(from bug 1170531 via Alexandre P. - see that answer for suggestions on creating a mirror on your local network - this way one machine can perform downloads and other machines use it as a local cache)

I confirmed this by attempting a number of variations on the old offline instructions, none of which worked. In the end I could upgrade using:

  • network only
  • ISO on CD/USB + network for additional downloads (network connectivity required for upgrade to start)

but I couldn't figure out how to do it from a mounted ISO.

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