{"id":1774,"date":"2019-05-14T17:05:15","date_gmt":"2019-05-14T14:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/surgery.moscow\/smos\/?p=1774"},"modified":"2019-05-14T17:08:54","modified_gmt":"2019-05-14T14:08:54","slug":"how-to-upgrade-to-linux-mint-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/surgery.moscow\/smos\/2019\/05\/14\/how-to-upgrade-to-linux-mint-19\/","title":{"rendered":"How to upgrade to Linux Mint 19"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n A. Introduction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\n This tutorial explains how to upgrade to Linux Mint 19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n B. General considerations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\n B1. Do you need to upgrade?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\n Linux Mint 17.x (17, 17.1, 17.2 and 17.3) will be supported until 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Linux Mint 18.x (18, 18.1, 18.2 and 18.3) will be supported until 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n If your version of Linux Mint is still supported, and you are happy with your current system, then you don’t need to upgrade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n B2. Did you try Linux Mint 19 on this computer?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\n Each new version of Linux Mint comes with a new kernel. This means that\n it handles hardware differently. For instance, you may find out that a \ngraphic card or a wireless adapter which currently works fine for you \nunder Linux Mint, isn’t recognized by the newer version of Linux Mint \nyou’re planning to upgrade to. In some cases, this could mean that \nupgrading to this release is the wrong decision, maybe you’re better off\n skipping that particular release? There’s only one way to know: you \nneed to try it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Linux Mint comes as an ISO image which can be burnt to a DVD or a USB \nstick. Thanks to this, you can try the newer release on your computer \nand see if your hardware is recognized without installing and before upgrading.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n B3. Did you create a system snapshot?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\n If anything breaks or if anything goes wrong during the upgrade, you \ncan go back in time and revert all changes by restoring your latest \nsystem snapshot. Whatever happens, you’re covered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n B4. Did you make backups?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\n Your personal data is the most valuable thing in your computer. If \nanything happens and you break your operating system, it’s not a \nproblem, it can be reinstalled or restored via a system snapshot. If you\n lose your data or you’re unable to access it… that’s a different \nstory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n To be safe, make a full backup of your data on an external device (USB stick or DVD).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n C. Requirements<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\n To upgrade to Linux Mint 19 you need to satisfy the following requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n C1. Experience with APT and the command line<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\n Upgrading to a newer package base is not trivial and it should not be performed by novice users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n You need to know how to type commands and read their output.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n You also need to be experienced with APT.  During the upgrade you’ll \nneed to understand the output of APT commands. You’ll need to understand\n if a package needs to be removed, if it blocks the upgrade, if it \nconflicts with another package etc etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n C2. Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon, MATE or Xfce edition<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\n The upgrade tool only upgrades Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon, MATE or Xfce edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n If you are running Linux Mint 18, 18.1 or 18.2, you first need to upgrade to Linux Mint 18.3 using the Update Manager<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n C2. Timeshift snapshot<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\n To install timeshift, open a terminal and type:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n apt install timeshift<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Then launch «Menu -> Administration -> Timeshift».<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Follow the wizard to select a destination for your snapshots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n In the toolbar, click on the «Create» button to make a manual snapshot of your operating system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n If anything goes wrong, you’ll be able to restore your operating to \nthis current state, either from within Linux Mint, or by launching \nTimeshift from a live Mint session (live DVD or live USB).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n C2. LightDM<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\n To know which display manager you are currently using, open a terminal and type:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n cat \/etc\/X11\/default-display-manager<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n If the result is «\/usr\/sbin\/lightdm», you can skip this step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n If the result is «\/usr\/sbin\/mdm», you need to switch display managers \nby installing lightdm and removing mdm. Open a terminal and type:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n apt install lightdm lightdm-settings slick-greeter<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n When asked to choose a display manager between MDM and LightDM, choose LightDM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Open a terminal and type:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n apt remove —purge mdm mint-mdm-themes*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n sudo dpkg-reconfigure lightdm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n sudo reboot<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n D. How to upgrade<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\n D1. Update your Linux Mint 18.3 system<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\n Using the Update Manager, click on «Refresh» to refresh the APT cache and apply all updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n D2. Give your terminal unlimited scrolling<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\n Open a terminal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Click on «Edit»->»Profile Preferences»->»Scrolling».<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Check the «unlimited» option and click «OK».<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n D3. Install the upgrade tool<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\n To install the upgrade tool, open a terminal and type:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n apt install mintupgrade<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n D4. Check the upgrade<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\n To simulate an upgrade, open a terminal and type:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n mintupgrade check<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Then follow the instructions on the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n This command temporarily points your system to the Linux Mint 19 repositories and calculates the impact of an upgrade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Note that this command doesn’t affect your system. After the simulation is finished, your original repositories are restored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n The output shows you if the upgrade is possible, and if it is, which \npackages would be upgraded, installed, removed and kept back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n It is extremely important that you pay close attention to the output of this command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n If it shows packages which are preventing the upgrade, remove them (and\n take note of them so you can try to reinstall them after the upgrade).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Also note any important packages in the list of packages which would be removed, so you can reinstall them after the upgrade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Keep using «mintupgrade check» and do not proceed to the next step, until you’re happy with the output.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n D5. Download the package upgrades<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\n To download the packages necessary to upgrade to Linux Mint 19, type the following command:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n mintupgrade download<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Note that this command doesn’t actually perform the upgrade itself, but just downloads the packages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Note also that this command points your system to the Linux Mint 19 \nrepositories (if you want to go back to Linux Mint 18.3 after using this\n command, you still can, with the command «mintupgrade restore-sources»).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Use the «mintupgrade download» command until all the packages are successfully downloaded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n D6. Apply the upgrades<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\n Note: This step is non-reversible. Once \nyou perform it, the only way to go back is by restoring a system \nsnapshot. Make sure you’ve made a snapshot before following this last \nstep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n To apply the upgrades, type the following command:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n mintupgrade upgrade<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n E. Workarounds<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\n E1. Boot stuck at \/dev\/mapper\/cryptswap1<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\n If upon reboot, the computer fails to boot and the boot sequence seems \nstuck, type the left or right arrow to switch from the boot logo to the \nboot details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n If the boot is stuck trying to run the \/dev\/mapper\/cryptswap1 job, then do the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n