Installing over Xubuntu

[Cedarviola]

Hi, looking for advice,

I have an older Dell with Xubuntu (Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS), Qt Creator, other utilities and numerous project files.

I would like to clobber, overwrite the existing OS in favor of LL -- AND I want to preserve the projects, Qt etc.

The installation options are a little unclear to me -- The first option says "Erase Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS and reinstall". Then there is the option to "Erase disk and install Linux". Both options come with stern warnings about programs and files being deleted.

I've only before used this second option on a different system, which was what I wanted -- clobbering W10 once and for all.

And if I install side-by-side, will Qt still be available from LL? Or should I just backup the projects and install LL afresh?

Jim

[TheDead]

No, installing OSes in dual boot will not share applications. Files could still be available between OSes depending on different factors.
But, since you would be switching back and fort between OSes and rebooting each time I would personnaly go with the "backup your files" and install fresh.
If you are unsure about which files to backup, maybe copying everything to an external USB, not just documents, just in case.
(or putting your internal hard drive in an USB casing and reinstalling on a new hard drive, no copy required and making reverting
quite snappy if needed).

Also note that projects are sometimes incompatible between different versions of softwares...

Good luck!

-TD

[rokytnji]

I would like to clobber, overwrite the existing OS in favor of LL -- AND I want to preserve the projects, Qt etc.

14.04 is good for a couple of more years. Just wondering why not run a persistent live Linux-Linux install Off a external drive for now for a couple of years. It is how I got started on this distro.
It ran real good the way I ran it till I could afford to buy a hard drive.

https://www.freecinema2022.gq/forums/intro...5/#msg3875

I don't remember in the installer about preserving home partitions. Not even sure if the stuff you wanna save is even all in /home. But in root / instead?

[Valtam]

Best practice here would be to back up your project files first, and do a clean, fresh LL install. Just make sure the project files will work in the newer LL first with newer packages. Fire up a VM to test.

Avoid a mess. 10 minutes of backups and a 10 minute install has to be better than hours of potential fixing.

[Cedarviola]

Thanks everyone, I hear words of wisdom everywhere.

There is another option -- just leave it as is. I mean it works. Think I'll do that, work with the sources and migrate them carefully to this laptop with Current Qt. Then give that old Dell a make over.

Did I say Xubuntu? I meant Kubuntu. Can't spell, but it's late. Good night.

Jim

[trinidad]

Yes you will have some dependency problems with KDE and Linux Lite, though older versions like you have are likely to be less troublesome than Neon or 17, 18.xx series Kubuntu DEs would be, but you will also have dependency problems with your projects going from 14.xx Kubuntu to 15.xx and all the way upwards to 17 or 18.xx.

TC

[Artim]

KDE has undergone some really radical changes in the last year, so [member=5916]trinidad[/member] 's advice is important!  LOTS of compatibility fails between even the older versions of KDE and the new ones, let alone between Xfce (Linux Lite's desktop environment) and the new KDE/Plasma stuff.

One of the best things about Xfce is that it's development is slower and carefully measured to minimize conflicts.  While it's undergoing changes (GTK3 from GTK2), they're not radical, all-at-once changes that throw newbies and technophobes for a loop.