It’s always exciting to upgrade to a newly polished Linux distro and hopefully there is an happy ending after upgrade. Linux Mint 18 is now available and that leaves us with two options including an upgrade option or a clean installation. While the latter is preferred method for junk less, and trouble free experience, it is not free from the backup of data headaches and re-installation of all the third-party programs you have been using all these days. Therefore, upgrade is most suited for most individuals. In this article, my focus is only on how to effectively upgrade to Linux Mint 18 from Linux Mint 17. This is 100% fully tested set of working instructions.
Upgrade to Linux Mint 17.3
Before doing anything else, I recommend upgrading your Linux Mint 17 to latest stable version 17.3. You can use Update Manager or the command prompt as shown below:
Update Manager: Make sure to install all the required updates and that it shows your system is up-to-date.
Update Manager – Linux Mint
Terminal: Alternatively you can update Linux Mint 17 using apt command:
Launch terminal and run the following commands one at a time followed by enter.
sudo apt update sudo apt dist-upgrade
Enable Unlimited Terminal Scrolling
It is a good practice to enable unlimited scrolling so that you know what commands you have input previous time. By default settings, Linux Mint’s terminal stores only 512 lines of command lines which is too low especially when dealing with upgrades. So let’s bump it up to unlimited scrolling.
Open Terminal > Edit > Preferences > Scrolling. Then select “Unlimited“.
Unlimited Scrolling in Terminal
Install Mint Upgrade Tool
Next step is to install the Linux Mint Upgrade tool using apt command:
sudo apt install mintupgrade
You may have to input ‘Y’ during the process.
Simulate Upgrade before going Live
This step is not mandatory, but recommended. Like any simulations which are helpful in knowing the upcoming disasters or issues, this simple check command is quite useful.
mintupgrade check
Check Upgrade
Typically, you should see many PPAs installable without problems.
Final Check
Upgrade to Linux Mint 18
OK, finally time to begin the actual upgrade. Type the following command and hit enter to begin upgrading your Linux Mint from 17.3 to 18 ‘Sarah’.
mintupgrade upgrade
Mint Upgrade
Keep watching the terminal as you will have to give feedback on some prompts. Typically, it is going to be only ‘Y’ input like this one.
Confirm Y (YES) during Installation
Confirm Installation of Sarah
Confirm by clicking Tab key to move the selection to <Yes>. Mouse won’t work here for selecting it! You must use the Tab key.
Confirm Restart of Services
After the installation is finished, you will have to restart the computer. Welcome to Linux Mint 18 ‘Sarah’.
Linux Mint 18
1 comment
Kiran thank you for your dedication to Linux, you really made it simple for a nobe to install or upgrade MINT or the others for that matter. My only question is why is it necessary to have so many versions of Linux. Are these not counter productive if we like Corporations to switch from MS to Linux. Have a good day .
Emile