Years ago, maybe five?, I had a Lenovo laptop with a whopping 2 MB of memory. At the time, I wanted to try out Ubuntu in a dual boot situation. I already had purchased the Dell Netbook that came with Ubuntu and I really liked it. So, off I went to the Ubuntu website and downloaded Ubuntu and made the machine dual boot. One side was Windows XP and the other side was Ubuntu.
Of course, I had to download the 32 bit version of Ubuntu with the limited memory that I had in place. The computer was OK on the Windows side but just screamed on the Ubuntu side. It was just so fast; it was hard to believe that it was the same computer.
When that laptop died, I indulged myself with this computer. It has an i7 processor and 4GB of RAM. Windows 7 was OK but like most Windows installations slowed over time no matter how many times I tweaked it. I’m sure that it’s self-inflicted. So, I decided to make the computer dual boot to Ubuntu. Now, when you have the slow internet that I do, you really have to pick and choose your downloads wisely. I could go somewhere and download on their high speed – but I still had the Ubuntu DVD from my previous installation. I was just going to test for proof of concept anyway – so I installed it and started to use it. Darned if it didn’t make this computer fly.
I kept using it, and when updates came along, I would just apply the updates. I was totally happy. The last update was 14.04LTS and I was very, very happy with it.
Until I tried to install the Opera Browser.
Oh yeah. That other decision has come back to byte me.
Opera only comes in a 64 bit version so I couldn’t install it. I went online seeking advice and there was no natural path from the 32 bit version to the 64 bit version. It calls for brute force installation from scratch. Just backup your Home Directory after revealing hidden files so that you can resume Ubuntu life.
I looked at my face mirrored in the monitor. You dummy.
Right out of the box, Windows 7 was running 64 bit. That was only half a hard disk away.
The timing was right. Ubuntu, which updates itself every six months, has just released version 14.10. Why not?
So, I started the download and went to take the dog for a long walk. There’s no sense in sitting at the keyboard watching the download process inch along.
Sure enough, when we returned, there was a disk image sitting on my desktop. I just need to burn it to DVD, reboot from the DVD and then install. Wait! Do I have any DVDs? It’s been so long since I’d burned one. Fortunately, having a son in the television editing business means that there’s never a shortage of video stuff. I walked down the hall and got a blank. Of course, I needed to dig into the ol’ brain cells to remember how to burn a DVD…done!
I rebooted and was so impressed with the installation screen.
I could:
- Run Ubuntu from the DVD (nah, I’m here for the duration);
- Erase the entire hard drive and install Ubuntu 14.10 (goodbye Windows);
- Erase the petition and install Ubuntu 14.10 (yes, but that would remove everything and I’m not that radical);
- Do something else; (I was totally intrigued by this but passed…)
- or, the preferred solution – you have Windows 7 and Ubuntu 14.04LTS installed – upgrade Ubuntu to 14.10. Yes!
Half an hour later, I’m done. During the process, I noticed that Ubuntu had archived certain things and then restored them. On first boot, I hit Firefox to see that my theme (Puny Weakling) and all of my extensions save. It was just a matter of copying my Home Directory and I was back, good to go.
I had bookmarked a couple of upgrade advice resources:
- 10 Or 20 Things To Do After Installing Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr (the tweaks were still applicable)
- 10 More Tweaks To Make Ubuntu Feel Like Home
Some I had planned on doing anyway, some were new and some were ignored. After all, Ubuntu is all about open ideas and concepts – even in its installation.
I installed Ubuntu Tweak and messed about. I think we all have an idea of what our computer should look and act like.
And, I’m back in business. No stopping me from trying out Opera on Ubuntu now!
If this works out well, maybe I’ll buy more RAM.
I’m never completely computer happy.
doug --- off the record 