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ubiquity package

How to re-install Ubuntu 11.04 x64 from Ubuntu 10.11 properly ?

Asked by DarkRedman

Hello,

Now I'm on Ubuntu x86 10.10 Maverick Meerkat and I plan to migrate to Ubuntu x64 11.04 when it'll be released.

But I could I do a proper install, taking consideration that I'll change from x86 to x64 architecture and that I just want to format the main partition (/) but not /home partition. I want to be sure that when I'll install the next version of Ubuntu, I could select the existing partition /home as home partition (keep).

P.S : When I migrated from 10.04 10.10 ubiquity deleted all my data on /home (but I didn't check format) it was a big mistake.

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delance (olivier-delance) said : 		#1

Since at least 9.10, the /home directory is preserved when you reinstall Ubuntu from CD, if you uncheck format at installation. This should not prevent you to do a backup before installation (all my partitions on both internal and external disk are backuped every three months).

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#2

sudo update-manage –d

Should do it

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Eliah Kagan (degeneracypressure) said : 		#3

I think actionparsnip meant:

sudo update-manager -d

Which is the command-line equivalent of using the Update Manager to graphically upgrade the system.

However, my reading of your question is that you want to change architectures (you want to migrate from the i386 build of Ubuntu to the amd64 build of Ubuntu), and you're right that an upgrade (including by "sudo update-manager -d") won't do that. Your best bet is probably a totally fresh installation, or (as you appear to be planning) a reinstallation preserving your /home partition.

Please note that /home *does* have to be a separate partition in order for you to be able to preserve its contents when performing reinstallation. And it's a good idea to have backups of any important files in /home, both all the time, and specifically when performing a major operation like an installation or reinstallation of the system (not just because it can be accidentally overwritten, but also because an installation occasionally can result in a temporarily unbootable system, so you should ensure your important files are otherwise accessible).

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