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[WARNING] Backup and restore Mint 8 -> 9 "Isadora" RC

Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 6:06 am
by ej64
Hi there!

Yesterday I've upgraded a Mint 8 32bit to a Mint 9 RC 64bit version. I followed the tutorial performing a fresh installation. Before I installed the new RC I made a backup of the data and the software selection.

Anything went fine until I restored the software selection, what left me with a system without mintmenu, without all the taskbar apps and with a big bunch of apps that do not start at all (eg. Firefox, Google Earth, Open Office ...).

Perhaps it's my fault since I made a cross upgrade 32->64 bit. But it's nowhere mentioned in the tut that there are issues making a cross upgrade this way. I thought Mint would recognize its version and would grab the appropriate software from the repos: the actual version of the softs and the matching bit-width. My guess: this is the problem. In this case the tutorial should include a warning.

But maybe I'm wrong and something else caused the trouble, since it was my 2nd and "test"-installation of Mint 8 and perhaps somewhat ill-configured (so no harm at this point). Anyway, tonight I will install Mint 9 RC 64bit again restoring my data but without restoring my software selection.

Alas, did I already mention my deep appreciation of Clem's and the team's work ... ? Thank you all! :D
Eberhard

Re: [BUG?] Backup and restore Mint 8 -> 9 "Isadora" RC

Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 11:28 am
by remoulder
Bug reports for isadora need to be posted on Launchpad https://bugs.launchpad.net/linuxmint

Re: [BUG?] Backup and restore Mint 8 -> 9 "Isadora" RC

Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 5:38 pm
by ej64
Well, I did a fresh install once more.

Restoring my data caused the problem again, NOT the software selection.

The reason seem to be all the hidden configuration folders and files of my previous installation that have been restored together with my data. Having nothing to loose, I deleted all the hidden files and folders within my home directory...

Surprise, surprise! It works. :D

So please, include a warning, that these hidden old configuration files may have a severe impact on the installation and may lead to a totally crippled and useless system!

Thanks
Eberhard

Re: [WARNING] Backup and restore Mint 8 -> 9 "Isadora" RC

Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 6:10 pm
by distro hopper
Yes, as software gets upgraded, occasionally, setup-file formats change, or different data is needed by a newer version. It's always a good idea to restore this information subjectively. Although it may seem nonsensical to backup a setup file/directory of a fresh install, it makes life a little easier if you need to revert.