What happens after 2021 with 18.x?

[SnuffGear]

Have 17.2 MATE running quite well. Happy with it and see no reason to upgrade. So, what happens after 18.x runs out in 2021? Any ideas?

[Pierre]

well - - it's then becomes Obsolete

Note: that LinuxMint 13 is Obsolete - Now: 2017.
viewtopic.php?f=143&t=241166

same thing happens to Mint 17.x in 2019
- that is - the Repository goes Off-line.

and it's usually recommended that you Upgrade with a Clean Install - -17x -> 18x -> 19x -> 20x .. ..

[richyrich]

Mint 19 or maybe even 19.1 will probably already be out.

So, what happens after 18.x runs out in 2021?

Ubuntu will mothball the servers, developers will stop providing updates, upgrades, and security fixes.

[Pjotr]

It'll join the dodo and the floppy disk.

[Pierre]

It'll join the dodo and the floppy disk.

Nah - - Dodo is still alive:
https://www.dodo.com/

[skywalker89]

HI, lets say I have many Sarah installations at once...

is there a way to update then from 18 to the newest version softly or is it a "format hard disc and install from ISO"?

Thx

Dan

[jimallyn]

is there a way to update then from 18 to the newest version softly or is it a "format hard disc and install from ISO"?

As long as you stay within the 18.x series, updating is easily done through the Update Manager. When 19 comes out, it will probably mean a fresh install.

[skywalker89]

thank you!!!

but 18.x is a LTS till .. 2021?

After that, it immediately dies? No more security updates, so it can get hacked? Or can the terminals keep running on 18.x for much longer?

Thx a lot

Dan

[jimallyn]

After that, it immediately dies? No more security updates, so it can get hacked?

Yep, that's pretty much the way it goes. At that point, you will want to install Mint 19.

[Cosmo.]

After that, it immediately dies? No more security updates, so it can get hacked?

Yep, that's pretty much the way it goes. At that point, you will want to install Mint 19.

... or Mint 20.

Or can the terminals keep running on 18.x for much longer?

What do you mean?

[SnuffGear]

So......, every time I do a major update, 17 > 18 or 18 > 19 etc..., I have to redo my whole setup? Seems like a real PITA every few years.

[MintBean]

So......, every time I do a major update, 17 > 18 or 18 > 19 etc..., I have to redo my whole setup? Seems like a real PITA every few years.

Basically, yes. You only have two real options here:
-Baselined releases as you have with Linux Mint. You will have to reinstall from time to time, but with LTS (Long Term Support) releases such as Linux Mint this is only ~once every 5 years.
-Rolling releases. Install once, then get updates through the software manager for ever more. No more reinstalls, but generally these distributions are considered less stable. 'Starting from scratch' with a new baselined version allows the developers to put more testing time into one fixed configuration of the system so bugs are more likely to be hammered out before you experience them. Rolling releases also tend to be more aggressive in receiving the latest and greatest applications and components, which while 'fun' effectively makes you an early adopter/guinea pig.

There's a bunch of stuff you can do to make new installs less painful. Many of us have basic scripts that install our favourite software and apply a few configuration options. Here's mine; maybe you could tailor it to your needs - simply paste it into a text editor, make your changes and save it as my_config.sh and run it from the command line.

Code: Select all

#!/bin/bash

#enable firewall
sudo ufw enable

#stuff i don't use
apt uninstall -y rhythmbox

#fave apps
apt install --install-recommends -y asunder puddletag audacious xfburn steam whatsie uget cheese unison thunar pavucontrol radiotray

#Home dirs and shortcuts
rmdir ~/Music
rmdir ~/Movies
mkdir ~/Rips
ln -s /mnt/Data/Music ~/Music
ln -s /mnt/Data/Movies ~/Movies

Keeping your home directory between releases takes a lot of work out of upgrading. For example user themes, applets, desklets, thunderbird and firefox configurations will be maintained.
I keep most of my data on a separate disc installed in my machine, so it's just plug and play in any new OS. This could be achieved with a separate partition if you don't have an extra disc.

Hope this helps.

[Rocky Bennett]

So......, every time I do a major update, 17 > 18 or 18 > 19 etc..., I have to redo my whole setup? Seems like a real PITA every few years.

This is funny. How long do you keep your computers? If you keep every computer 15 years, then yes you have to do this 3 times. Doesn't sound like a PITA to me.

For me, I only keep computers about 7 years, so there is no issue.

[Petermint]

After that, it immediately dies?

Your computer disk bursts into flames. No, that is the lithium battery. Your disk shatters and throws shards of disk everywhere.

Five years is a good run for rotating disk. Replace it. Do the clean install of LM 19. That way you avoid a disk failing in the middle of the meeting where your customer is thinking of signing a million dollar contract because you are reliable.

For an SSD, the need for an upgrade will be space. The "affordable" SSD limit will no longer be one terabyte.

Plus you will have $1872 in the bank that you did not spend on Windows updates.

[Bolle1961]

Five years is a good run for rotating disk.

Serious? The HD in my desktop is at the moment 11,5 years old and running / spinning fine.

[Petermint]

11 years from a disk is good. I have used 10 year old disks. The problems are the limited capacity, slow performance, and sudden failure. I prefer to remove an older disk from daily use before failure.
* My time is worth more than the slow performance of old disks.
* My photographs and wildlife videos are expanding too fast to use a disk more than a couple of years old.
* I do not want a disk crashing when three days drive into the outback.

Older disks are cheap sources of fridge magnets.

[Hoser Rob]

So......, every time I do a major update, 17 > 18 or 18 > 19 etc..., I have to redo my whole setup? Seems like a real PITA every few years.

That's why I use a separate partition for /home. I wish it was the default in mint/ubuntu but I suppose they don't want to scare off beginners. Even though it's not hard to do when you install.

I've always installed LTS versions except for hardware support reasons. And I've always intended to keep them until EOL, but I never seem to,

[Petermint]

LM 18.3 will have two backups included. https://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=3340
One should backup your user data. The backup application should backup your home directory and, perhaps, leave out junk like the .cache directory. That should make a clean install easier.

[Rocky Bennett]

So......, every time I do a major update, 17 > 18 or 18 > 19 etc..., I have to redo my whole setup? Seems like a real PITA every few years.

Wow, how long do you keep your computers?

[Moem]

That's why I use a separate partition for /home. I wish it was the default in mint/ubuntu but I suppose they don't want to scare off beginners. Even though it's not hard to do when you install.

I don't care for it to be the default, but I do wish it was offered as an 'automated' option on large enough disks (which is pretty much all of them).