<SOLVED> netbook UPGRADE - howto? (9.04 desktop to 9.10 netbook)

[tomcloyd]

Not a problem for most people, I realize, but an interesting one, still.

I'm following the wonderful info. re: desktop upgrades at KarmicUpgradesKubuntu - https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Ka...grades/Kubuntu - but I cannot see how to upgrade my Netbook to the 9.10 netbook version.

Is the idea of this upgrade wrong (i.e., it's NOT an upgrade but something else)?

If not, how might I do it?

Thanks for any thoughts...

[Zorael]

Re: netbook UPGRADE - howto? (9.04 desktop to 9.10 netbook)

It should work if you just upgrade normally, then install the kubuntu-netbook package. You'll probably get both plasma-desktop and plasma-netbook to start on login until you remove the plasma-desktop.desktop file from /usr/share/autostart/ though.

edit: To explain, it's not a "remix"; a remix is a flavor which contains packages not available from the repos (or containing non-FLOSS software). As such, Ubuntu Netbook Remix is a misnomer - it used to be a remix at the test stages as far as I remember, but then the packages were included in main and the name just (erroneously) stuck.

Making your Kubuntu desktop installation into a Kubuntu Netbook Edition installation merely entails installing the needed packages (and removing ones you no longer need), much like migrating from Kubuntu to Ubuntu would. I don't know the real GUI solution to stop plasma-desktop from starting at startup, but editing/removing said plasma-desktop.desktop file certainly does the trick.

[tomcloyd]

Re: netbook UPGRADE - howto? (9.04 desktop to 9.10 netbook)

Thanks. Will give it a try.

[kitterma]

Re: netbook UPGRADE - howto? (9.04 desktop to 9.10 netbook)

You shouldn't have to remove anything. The autostart script is supposed to notice if plasma-netbook is installed and start that when you restart KDE. If it doesn't, please file a bug against kubuntu-netbook-default-settings in kubuntu-meta.

[andybleaden]

Re: netbook UPGRADE - howto? (9.04 desktop to 9.10 netbook)

Aye and let us know how you get on. I am just about to drop on a net book but do not know whether to go for kubuntu or kubuntu netbook remix which I saw came out yesterday as well. Would like to get one preinstalled to support the community a little and do what I did with my desktop and put my money where my mouth is.

Been looking at this for a while and wondered about the upgrade facility with netbooks with these new remixs ( or what ever they actually are)

[tomcloyd]

Re: netbook UPGRADE - howto? (9.04 desktop to 9.10 netbook)

I got the network upgrade to 9.10 finally to work on my HP Mini netbook. Looks/works great.

Now, I'm trying to do the install of the netbook version of 9.10. My understanding is that I just do an install, and it'll upgrade (I do NOT want it to be a fresh install, as that would wipe out my application program installs - my acct. data is safely tucked into it's own /home partition, as it always is, so no concern there...)

The problem I'm having is the same I got when I tried to do the 9.0.4 to 9.10 upgrade using the alternate IOS, copied to a flash drive using NetBootIn. For this (failed attempt), I did the following:

* checked the checksum of my netbook 9.10 ISO. It checked.
* Reformatted first partition (1.4 GB) of a flashdrive to ext2, and set its boot flag.
* Used NetBootin to put the netbook 9.10 ISO onto that partition. No errors. Looks good.
* Plugged it into my netbook, set the BIOS to boot from a USB drive, and it tried to do just that, with this by now familiar message (I've seen it five times now - 2 failed previous netbook 9.10 install attempts + plus this one, and two failed earlier 9.0.4 to 9.10 upgrade attempts):

EXTLINUX 3.63 Debian ...{etc.}
Could not find kernal image: linux
boot:

So at this point, I'm out of ideas, and could truly use some help. Why isn't this working, and what do I need to do about it

[andybleaden]

Re: netbook UPGRADE - howto? (9.04 desktop to 9.10 netbook)

Well after a few glitches at my end I decided to abandon my upgrade from 9.04 to 9.10 which was ..ok but not 100%

Needless to say fresh install = now I am 100% happy

Just need to put all my stuff back on my home folders

[tomcloyd]

Re: netbook UPGRADE - howto? (9.04 desktop to 9.10 netbook)

Yeah. Sometimes the upgrade works. The rest of the time it doesn't. Which is why...

I STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you redo the OS installation using a separate /home partition (use gparted to set it up). Then your OS adventures will leave your user account files untouched. Life is SO much better since I started doing this, some time ago. Once you do it, you'll never put everything in a single partition again. Just not clever, even though it IS the standard way of doing things in *buntu land. I guess they think that handling multiple partitions is just to difficult for most folks. I don't get this. If you can mess with Linux, you can certainly "get" partitions and their management, I would think.

As for my netbook, I'm still trying to transition from the standard 9.10, which is running just fine, to the netbook version. Haven't got part the initial boot into the ISO yet. UNetBootin doesn't seem to be creating a bootable Flash drive. Odd. I'm close to filing a bug report on this, as I don't see why this shouldn't work.

[tomcloyd]

Re: netbook UPGRADE - howto? (9.04 desktop to 9.10 netbook)

Due to the underwhelming response to my request for aid with an apparently non-functioning UNetBootin Live Flash disk, I come up with the solution of trying a different Live disk creation program: the old standby USB Startup Disk Creator. Clearly a less sophisticated program and UNetBootin, yet...

* The flash disk It created booted on my netbook just fine; for the first time I could see the Karmic Netbook Desktop. Looked promising.
* I requested a system install. having been assured by multiple posts in the Kubuntu forums that this will function as an upgrade, not a true fresh install. I want this 'cause I don't want to have to reinstall my large suite of application programs just because I'm going from 9.10 to 9.10-netbook.
** Since I'm running a dual boot box, I set up the system mount point where it presently is for my 9.10 installation,...
** and defined the /home partition to be right where it is now (I keep this in a separate partition).
** I did NOT authorize any partition formatting. The install proceeded, with warnings that certain system files would be overwritten, since I was not formatting the system partition, and that the swap partition would be formatted (fine).

The install proceeded without incident. I now have a functioning Karmic netbook OS. Nice.

Nicer yet is that all my applications installed on 9.10 (several by compilation) are still there. Very nice.

The netbook desktop looks very usable - more than the standard 9.10 one, and I'm eager to see what the netbook team continues to come up with. This is good work.

Over and out...