Should I run upgrade from v19.2 to v19.3 ?

[Arius]

I'm a new Linux Mint user that just installed and configured v19.2 on a laptop.
In the panel there is a system report that Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia has been released.

In v19.2 I have install all software manager updates then installed the Vivaldi browser, MEGA cloud service, and configured Thunderbird
Should I run the upgrade to v19.3?
Is it likely that anything will break? What should I expect?
I have no previous experience with upgrading Linux Mint.
Thanks in advance for any guidance.

[gittiest personITW]

Hi,
As with all your data (docs/pics etc) anyway, it should all be copied onto an external drive (at least one).
Also you should have Timeshift installed.
Make a snapshot before you update.

As with ANY upgrade/change of software, there is a chance that something can go wrong but if you look on the forums you'll see there aren't that many problems with the upgrade - although I'll admit to holding my breath for most of it.

Any problems, post back and someone will be along shortly....... probably.

[absque fenestris]

Hi,
As with all your data (docs/pics etc) anyway, it should all be copied onto an external drive (at least one).
Also you should have Timeshift installed.
Make a snapshot before you update.

As with ANY upgrade/change of software, there is a chance that something can go wrong but if you look on the forums you'll see there aren't that many problems with the upgrade - although I'll admit to holding my breath for most of it.

Any problems, post back and someone will be along shortly....... probably.

100% what I would have guessed. Timeshift is really good ... I use it manually - just before any major update or version upgrade - 2 or 3 versions are kept.

[sleeper12]

Unless 19.3 offers you something you really want or need, you don't have to upgrade. I'm on 19.0 myself & don't plan to upgrade until support ends.

See what's new in 19.3:
https://linuxmint.com/rel_tricia_cinnamon_whatsnew.php

[karlchen]

Hello, Arius.

As has just been mentioned, all Mint 19.x releases are supported until April 2023. Cf. here. So there is no need to decide in a hurry.
You may check "What is new in Mint 19.3 Cinnamon" compared to previous Mint 19.x releases and decide whether the improvements and changes make you wish to switch Mint 19.3 or not.
In case you do not have LM 19.2 Cinnamon, but LM 19.2 Mate, see "What is new in Mint 19.3 Mate".
If you use LM 19.2 xfce, see "What is new in Mint 19.3 xfce"

Cheers,
Karl

[missmoondog]

the point release updates usually go very well with no problems. i've upgraded all 7 of my machines without a single issue as soon as it was released. 19.2 to 19.3 isn't really that big of an upgrade and is done in almost no time.

now, when the next major LTS release comes out, you will want to back up any personal files to an external drive and do a complete clean install of mint. when upgrading from 19 to 20, doing it via the update manager will generally screw things up then.

[Konaan]

As someone that doesn't keep data on local drives (immediately goes to cloud storage) and I don't worry about local save games, I like seeing new versions come out and usually upgrade immediately. Going from 19.2 to 19.3 was flawless for me and really didn't take long. Granted there were some things that had to be fixed like apps that no longer existed, or more than had to be downloaded. Those were minor. All in all the upgrade was great.

[Arius]

I went ahead to upgrade to 19.3.
Did a system snapshot and ran the update.
Everything looks good.

The Update Manager now shows a Linux kernel update 5.3.0.26.95.
I saw some posts about problems after that update.
Should I hold off or go ahead with it?

[Schultz]

Arius wrote:
The Update Manager now shows a Linux kernel update 5.3.0.26.95.
I saw some posts about problems after that update.
Should I hold off or go ahead with it?

I think before anybody should answer this, we need to know what kernel you currently are using. If you are currently on the 4.15 kernel series my advice would be to not install 5.3. If you are currently on the 5.0 kernel series, you need to either choose the 4.15 or 5.3 series. 5.3 has been causing a lot of issues with a lot of users, so I would say go with 4.15.

The reasons are: 1) The 4.15 kernel series is an LTS kernel supported till April 2023. 2) The 5.0 series is an HWE kernel with support ending in February 2020. 3) The 5.3 kernel series is also an HWE kernel with support ending in Aug 2020 (I think).

[missmoondog]

Arius wrote:
The Update Manager now shows a Linux kernel update 5.3.0.26.95.
I saw some posts about problems after that update.
Should I hold off or go ahead with it?

I think before anybody should answer this, we need to know what kernel you currently are using. If you are currently on the 4.15 kernel series my advice would be to not install 5.3. If you are currently on the 5.0 kernel series, you need to either choose the 4.15 or 5.3 series (which has been causing a lot of issues with a lot of users).

The reasons are: 1) The 4.15 kernel series is an LTS kernel supported till April 2023. 2) The 5.0 series is an HWE kernel with support ending in February 2020. 3) The 5.3 kernel series is also an HWE kernel with support ending in Aug 2020 (I think).

best reply you could've received!

[Arius]

My system info shows:
Linux Mint 19.3 Cinnamon
Cinnamon Version 4.4.8
Linux Kernel 5.0.0-32-generic

[Arius]

Schultz recommends going back to kernel 4.15.
That surprised me, and how to go back?
I don't see that in the Update Manager.

[smurphos]

You can manage kernels via Update Manager > View > Linux Kernels. You can choose which of the installed kernels you want to boot into from the GRUB menu.

As to whether to proceed to 5.3 or revert to the LTS 4.15 you should be guided by your hardware. Those having problems with 5.3 have Nvidia GPUs. It looks like the problems can be worked around.

On the other hand if you are not Nvidia, but your hardware is quite new you might have problems with 4.15.

If you post the output of the command inxi -Fxxxz run in a terminal folks can give more informed advice.

[Arius]

Here's the inxi info on my system:

Code: Select all

System:    Host: MySys Kernel: 5.0.0-32-generic x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: Cinnamon 4.4.8 Distro: Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia 

Machine:   Type: Laptop System: Acer product: V5-171 v: V2.21 serial: <root required> 
                 Mobo: Acer model: Mimic v: Type2 - Board Version serial: <root required> UEFI [Legacy]: Acer v: 2.21 
                 date: 11/26/2013 

CPU:       Topology: Dual Core model: Intel Core i3-2377M bits: 64 type: MT MCP L2 cache: 3072 KiB 
                Speed: 798 MHz min/max: 800/1500 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 798 2: 798 3: 798 4: 798 

Graphics:  Device-1: Intel 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics driver: i915 v: kernel 
               Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.19.6 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa resolution: 1366x768~60Hz 
               OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel Sandybridge Mobile v: 3.3 Mesa 19.2.1 

Drives:    Local Storage: total: 223.57 GiB used: 42.89 GiB (19.2%) 
               ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: PNY model: CS900 240GB SSD size: 223.57 GiB

[gm10]

The 5.0 series is an HWE kernel with support ending in February 2020.

Without want to create confusion in the thread but a little background info for you and others that may be interested: 5.0 is already end-of-life, it's the Ubuntu 19.04 kernel and that release has reached end-of-life. That's why users were upgraded to 5.3 already.

The reason I show the February date in Update Manager is simply to be on the safe side in case there are delays with upgrading users to the next series, I didn't want users to ever see an end-of-life tag on their current kernel despite having applied all available upgrades. Just like 5.3 displays August but support really ends in July.

[Arius]

Since my Acer laptop doesn't have a Nvidia GPU then
it seems I should be safe to upgrade to Linux kernel 5.3

[smurphos]

You should be OK with either route. In your shoes I'd go with the offered update in the knowledge that if there any issues in future you always have the option to switch to 4.15.

[karlchen]

<Personal side note on sticking to LTS kernel 4.15>

Before in-place upgrading to LM 19.3, my LM 19.1 and LM 19.2 systems had all been running happily and - more important - hassle-free on the LTS (long term support) kernel series K4.15.0. K4.15.0-72 at the time of really upgrading to LM 19.3 in-place.
By that time the crucial packages linux-kernel-generic and kernel 4.15.0-20 / kernel 4.15.0-54 had already been cleaned up from my systems.
As a lucky consequence, neither Update Manager nor Mint Report tried to fool me into replacing my LTS kernel series by STS (short term support) kernel series 5.0.0 after having upgraded to LM 19.3.
Only once I have replaced an LTS kernel series by an STS kernel series and that was on a machine, which was newer than the LTS kernel and which needed the newer STS kernel in order to function properly.

Update Manager / Mint Reporter should really not urge users to replace an LTS kernel series by an (eol) STS kernel series, in particular not without clearly telling them that switching only makes sense on brand new hardware, which is not fully supported by the LTS kernel series.

</Personal side note on sticking to LTS kernel 4.15>

[gm10]

Update Manager / Mint Reporter should really not urge users to replace an LTS kernel series by an (eol) STS kernel series, in particular not without clearly telling them that switching only makes sense on brand new hardware, which is not fully supported by the LTS kernel series.

Yes, they should. I'm already playing tricks with Update Manager by adding a meta-package for an installed kernel and masquerading it as an update, and that meta package will then lead to that kernel instantly being replaced by a still supported one. But that's the extent of what I can reasonably do without taking too much control away from the user. I can hardly ignore linux-kernel-generic when it's a default package in Linux Mint.

But the problem is exactly that package as well as the lack of the pre-installed kernel meta package (which is the reason I've had to get inventive in Update Manager in the first place - but that only helps those users actually using it - people updating from the command line never receive kernel updates in a default Mint install...). Mint is the only distribution that I know which works that way, probably every other distro on the planet does it properly.

[pbear]

Since my Acer laptop doesn't have a Nvidia GPU then
it seems I should be safe to upgrade to Linux kernel 5.3

Conversely, as your firmware dates to 2013, it's almost certain 4.15 will work fine on your machine and, if so, is more stable. I follow the practice karlchen describes of staying with an LTS kernel unless I have good reason to use a more recent one.

OTOH, there are many paths through the forest and no answer is necessarily the correct one for everyone.