I've long thought Linux Mint is the best current Linux desktop. Its Cinnamon interface is easy to learn and use. It runs quickly on PCs that would choke on Windows 10. And, it's fast, secure, and works well. However, upgrading from one major release to another? That's not so easy. But you can do it if you follow these step-by-step instructions.
Note: If you've never used a Linux terminal and you've no clue what the shell command Advanced Packaging Tool (APT) is, this upgrade is not for you. But it's not a High skill required thing . learning Linux is not a dificult task. Even if you are very new to this you can do this if you clearly follow the stepd
Before upgrading, I recommend you download Linux Mint 20 and burn it to a bootable USB stick. You do this after downloading the ISO file by right-clicking it and selecting "Make Bootable USB Stick."
With your new Mint 20 USB stick in hand, place it in a USB port, reboot your system, and set its firmware to boot from the USB stick. Once you're up and running, make sure your PC will run Mint 20 without any trouble. For example, check your network connection, make sure you can still connect with your network drives, and that your printer still works.
You'll also want to give yourself plenty of time for this upgrade. The Mint 20 files themselves, in my case, came to over 1.5 Gigabytes. I suggest giving yourself at least two hours from start to finish. I did it in less than an hour, but I have a fast internet connection and I've been working with Linux for decades.
That understood, let's move on.
If you're running a 32-bit version of Linux Mint 19.3, you can't directly upgrade to Mint 20. That's because there is no 32-bit Mint 20. If you're still running a 32-bit PC, Mint 19.3 is as far as you can go with Mint. If you want to keep your old machine running a high-quality newer Linux distro, check out Bodhi Linux, Puppy Linux, or Peppermint.
Not sure which version you have? Run the following command from your terminal shell.
$ dpkg --print-architecture
If the command's result is "amd64" you're good to upgrade. If it says "i386" you're stuck with the 32-bit version. You can, of course, keep using Linux Mint 19.3. It's still an excellent choice for years to come. Mint will support 19.3 until April 2023.
Getting your Mint system ready to upgrade. That done. It's time to get your current Mint 19.3 PC up to date. You do this with the following steps:
- Launch the Update Manager with "Menu -> Administration -> Update Manager."
- Press the "Refresh" button to update the cache.
- Click the "Select All" button to select all updates.
- Press the "Install Updates" button.
- Follow the instructions from the Update Manager and install all updates until the manager tells you "Your system is up to date."
- Reboot the computer.
Next, let's create a system snapshot so if something goes wrong, you can restore your PC. You should have been doing this all along. Even if you have been good about making snapshots, it's a good idea to make one last snapshot before upgrading. You do this with the following commands:
- Launch Timeshift with "Menu -> Administration -> Timeshift."
- Follow the wizard to select a destination for your snapshots.
- In the toolbar, click on the "Create" button to make a manual snapshot of your operating system.
- Close Timeshift.
Besides making sure you have a way to step back in case something goes wrong, this is an important step for advanced users. When you update to Mint 20, the upgrade program overwrites your customized /etc/ configuration files with default configuration files. You can restore these files individually from your Timeshift snapshot. Most users won't need to bother with this.
Next, since I'm a belt-and-suspenders kind of guy, I suggest you backup your personal files and current software selection with the Backup Tool. You follow these steps:
- Launch Backup Tool with "Menu -> Administration -> Backup Tool."
- Select and backup your Personal data
- Select and backup your Software selection.
- Close Backup Tool.
Now, let's check to see if there are any obvious problems with upgrading your system. You do this by opening a terminal and installing the Mint 20 upgrade program with the command:
$ apt install mintupgrade
Once mintupgrade is installed, you test for possible trouble by running:
$ mintupgrade check
Follow the on-screen instructions. In particular, as mintupgrade will tell you, pay close attention to any conflicts, which might stop the upgrade. After the command runs, you're going to see some messages and a huge number of files listed. You can check them over by using your mouse to go up the terminal's display to its beginning and slowly scrolling your way down.
Next, if there are no showstoppers, it's time to download the Linux Mint 20 files. Do this by running: