Upgrading from 20.04 LTS to 21.04 / GNOME 40

Hi there,

This is my first post here, and I am also a Linux newbie, so please be merciful! :smiley:

I originally installed Budgie 20.04 LTS, figuring that since it is a long-term support version it was submitted to the greatest scrutiny, and thus is most stable of them all.

However, recently I’ve developed this itch for GNOME 40 and other desktop layouts, so I’ve been wondering if it is possible:

  1. First, to upgrade from my 20.04 LTS to regular 21.04 while keeping a bunch of stuff; and also,

  2. To install GNOME 40 on either 20.04 LTS or 21.04?

A sidequestion as well:

  1. Is GNOME 40 planned to be included with Budgie 21.10 anyway? In that case I might just wait it out.

I saw something about adding support for GNOME 40 in 21.10, but I wonder if I could install it now anyway?

Feel free to teach / show me anything if what I’m asking is epically stupid. :slight_smile:

  • A

Let’s answer your side question first.

Yes various gnome 40 components are already in 21.10. There is likely to be a few gnome 41 apps as well.

No you cannot install any gnome 40 components on 20.04 LTS.

In terms of upgrading you will need to follow the upgrade manager prompts … it is likely to ask you to uplift to 20.10 first, fully update and then install 21.04.

That prompt is only seen if you open update manager, click settings and then choose from the drop down to see prompts not only for lts to lts upgrades.

If you have an itch, personally scratch it via dual booting or via a live USB boot or using a virtualbox type solution… or just use a spare piece of hardware/laptop etc.

Normal releases are really just for the Linux enthusiasts who don’t mind a few bugs and are prepared to get stuck in to resolve matters/investigate stuff via command line etc.

For a beginner stay well clear…

… and of course, do a full hard disk backup first before upgrading. Use clonezilla or similar solution to make a full hard disk image.

1 Like

Heheh, thanks @fossfreedom for the comically-spiced answer. :smiley: Alright, I’ll ponder on and decide what I’ll do. Thanks again.