Downgrade 18.10 to 18.04

[xargs]

Would it be safe to do this procedure on Kubuntu?

https://linuxconfig.org/how-to-downg...evious-version

I have an 18.10 installation (not an upgrade) that I'd like to switch to 18.04 without doing a reinstall.

[claydoh]

I would not touch that with a ten foot pole, a hazmat suit and a vacuum chamber out beyond Pluto, be tbh. But it is in an article on the 'net,. so it must be safe, right?

There will probably be to many package differences, in terms of naming and content, particularly with the Plasma stuff, that I don't see a good outcome.
You *might* be able to install 18.04 on top of 18.10, ie using the custom install option, and NOT formatting any partitions after they have been assigned. I have not done this myself to downgrade, but have to reinstall the same version.

I don't recommend it as a fresh install is safer, after backing up your data in your $HOME. Then you can create a separate home partition, and installs won't touch your personal files in the future.

[Snowhog]

Your linked pages own warning:

WARNING

Please be aware that downgrading the Ubuntu system is not recommended nor it is guaranteed to succeed. The chances of the successful downgrade are incredibly slim and highly dependent on the number of packages installed on your system. If you have upgraded your Ubuntu system and now facing some issues due to this upgrade, the chances are very high that the downgrade procedure only amplifies your problems further.

Most of the time it is safer and recommended to invest time to troubleshoot your current issues with the upgraded system or reinstall the entire system instead of hoping that the Ubuntu downgrade makes your problems go away. You have been warned!

Personally, I wouldn't try it, not unless I had a FULL backup of my system and the means to restore said backup if this attempt became FUBAR.

[WWDERW]

I'm one of those that prefers to do total installs versus trying to do upgrades/downgrades.

While it may seem like it's less time consuming on the front end to try to upgrade/downgrade, in my experience it's always taken more time on the back end to try to do that.

Any configs that I need for individual programs are backed up, so it's a simple drag and drop. Plus all my programs that I would need for content creation production are portable, so those are just drag and drop as well (most are AppImages, the rest binary archives). That's really the only thing that goes into my /home directory. Everything else and from already a plain jane install.

[xargs]

Thanks for the replies...that's what I was afraid of.

[oshunluvr]

My 2¢ : Much easier to reinstall and keep your home - assuming you have a separate /home partition or subvolume.

Here's a thought - I wonder if booting to a USB, deleting an install at the file level rather than reformatting, keeping the home folder, and reinstalling would leave your home intact? I don't see why not. Your home folders and files are created when you log in if they don't already exist. It would be a worthy experiment, AFTER backing up of course.