Upgrading KDE in Mint 13 KDE

[cartland]

I've successfully upgraded the Linux kernel to 3.13.0-46-generic based on instructions at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/1204_HWE_EOL. I did this mainly to get the Radeon Dynamic Power Management. Very happy with the results (I am using the standard radeon open source drivers).

I was wondering if it's ok/safe/advisable to update KDE from 4.8.5 to say 4.14.3 via backports

Code: Select all

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

or some other method?

thanks

[xenopeek]

If you don't need KDE 4.14.3, it's of course safer to not upgrade Don't fix it if it ain't broken, and all that... If there are features of 4.14.3 that you specifically need, it should generally be okay to use this PPA with Linux Mint 13 KDE. I say "generally", because it depends on what other software you have installed and what other repositories you have installed. Something may conflict or not work well together. Don't add the PPA if you're not comfortable using the terminal to recover from any problems, or if you're not willing to reinstall Linux Mint if things end up a mess.

It may be a better idea to just install Linux Mint 17 KDE?

[cartland]

Yeah! Good advice. Thanks. I have no real reason except to scratch an itch.

The kernel upgrade wasn't as smooth as i implied - a fair amount of hacking about in Terminal, mainly because I was using fglrx (which I now avoid).

Updating to Mint 17 looks painful given that the clean install method is strongly advised. http://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/1946

It's taken a fair effort to get things setup properly and the only time I really want to do it again, is on new hardware.

[Menak Vishap]

I think it is a good idea to update KDE in Mint 13 to 4.14.2 anyway (4.14.3 is not available in ppa yet). It is quite safe.
The main reason for such decision is that KDE 4.8.* has one extremely annoying and disgusting bug: the "Shutdown/Logoff/Reboot" dialog causes freezing of all interface for ~ half of minute (probably it tries darkening desktop corners). This bug does not depend on video drivers. I suppose it absolutely unacceptable.

Besides that, in KDE 4.13 and higher the Gwenview can show RAW files, and if you are photographer-enthusiast it is really helpful feature.

The only bad thing that can happen after such update is that mounting of Windows NTFS partitions in KDE begins asking user password. It can be cured with editing file /usr/share/polkit-1/actions/org.freedesktop.udisks2.policy . You have to find there section "<action id="org.freedesktop.udisks2.filesystem-mount-system">" and change string "<allow_active>auth_admin_keep</allow_active>" to "<allow_active>yes</allow_active>". By default it is line 118. Then everything will be OK.

[phd21]

Yeah! Good advice. Thanks. I have no real reason except to scratch an itch.

The kernel upgrade wasn't as smooth as i implied - a fair amount of hacking about in Terminal, mainly because I was using fglrx (which I now avoid).

Updating to Mint 17 looks painful given that the clean install method is strongly advised. http://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/1946

It's taken a fair effort to get things setup properly and the only time I really want to do it again, is on new hardware.

Hi cartland,

Assuming that your current hardware is capable of running Linux Mint (LM) 17.1 KDE, I think that upgrading to 17.1 KDE would be a really good thing to do, especially since it is supported until 2019. Obviously, you should have a really good backup first. A fresh install of LM 17.1 KDE would be best. You could use "Aptik" to backup, and or create, a list of all installed programs for reference. You could also create a live install version of Linux Mint 17.1 KDE on DVD or a USB flash drive and boot to it to test your system and make sure that it would work first.

Option: Just go through the Update Manager and update your system until you get to version 17.1. Or if there are other good suggestions for upgrading from 13 to 17.1, use those.

Option: If you have enough hard drive space, you could install the new version along side your current version (dual boot) into another partition. this has an advantage, in that all your stuff on the older version's partition is accessible from the new version. Then, when you have the new version just the way you want, you can delete the older version and it's partition, use the partition manager to move the new partition over and reclaim the space; there is more to this procedure, but it works and is pretty easy. I have done this before and if you choose this option, and ask, I'll give you detailed instructions on how to do this.

Most people are concerned about upgrading because of their files and data they need to keep, which can be copied to an external hard drive or USB flash drives and just copied back to the new version once that is installed. Web browser stuff, like bookmarks, saved passwords, etc... can easily be saved / exported to a file and re-imported whenever you want. There is a great plug-in for FireFox called "Febe" which backs up everything in FireFox that you have into a folder which you can then copy to an external place (drive) and when you bring up your new version's FireFox just install that "Febe" plug-in and restore all that easily. "Xmarks" is another great browser plug-in for most browsers to sync bookmarks and stuff even across upgrades. Programs and applications are another matter; that 's why getting a list of installed applications will make it easier to identify those that need to be re-installed in the new version of Linux Mint along with their new versions. The mint backup program or Aptik can help with that. Aptik is better, but I would not recommend restoring applications backed up using Aptik from a much older version like 13 to a much newer version 17.1. There could be big differences.

Keeping in mind, that once you have done this major upgrade, you won't need to be concerned with upgrading again until 2019.

[Menak Vishap]

I think that upgrading the entire distribution instead of upgrading KDE resembles cure of dandruff with guillotine. Mint 13 works perfectly with KDE 4.14.2, it is supported until 2017, and in 2016 the new LTS Mint will be released. So, IMO, upgrading KDE on Mint 13 will be the best decision.

Some time ago I tried to upgrade from Mint 12 to 17.1 (because former one in not supported now). As result, a had to install all system from DVD and reinstall all programs. It took a lot of time and caused a lot of inconveniences. IMHO, it is good idea to avoid upgrades of distribution as far as you can.

[Hoser Rob]

If you want a newer KDE then installing Mint 17 or 17.1 would be less trouble in the long run. A clean reinstall is more reliable.

[Dngrsone]

And that is where phd21's suggestion to install on the side works great. You get to learn the new OS, install what you want/need but still have a working OS with all your stuff when you need it now.

I've done this for years, and my current laptop is triple-booting Win 8.1, Mint 15 Cinnamon, and Mint 17 KDE.

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk