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Ubuntu 24.04’s release in April 2024 followed the biannual Long-Term Support (LTS) schedule for the popular Linux distro. Despite the new release, I’m holding off a bit on upgrading. Here are several reasons why.
You Can Only Upgrade to Ubuntu 24.04 After the First Point Release
Canonical, Ubuntu’s developer, has never seemed to want existing users to upgrade out of the gate. It’s not exactly clear why, but that may be due to the company recognizing that OSes aren’t perfect, especially just-released ones.
Ubuntu’s built-in tools, including the do-release-upgrade command-line tool, will only let you upgrade from an existing LTS version of Ubuntu once the first point release comes out. For Ubuntu 24.04, that will be 24.04.1. A point release is roughly equivalent to what Microsoft used to call a “service pack” for Windows, offering incremental improvements.
Canonical expects to release 24.04.1 in August 2024. Then, users of 22.04 or Ubuntu 23.10 will be able to upgrade using the built-in upgrade tools.
New OSes Have Bugs, Even Ubuntu
While a new OS release brings some improvements, it also tends to introduce new bugs, as you can see on Ubuntu’sLaunchpad bug-tracking system. There isn’t much advantage in upgrading to the new Ubuntu 24.04 release just yet. If the version you’re using works for you, it’s much better to stick with it.
24.04’s new features, including a revamped settings menu,are more incrementalthan revolutionary. This goes double for the command-line-oriented Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) version.
Ubuntu’s stable releases mean that a release is largely “frozen” and won’t change that much over its lifetime, except for mainly security updates. When you do upgrade, the changes can be substantial. That’s why you may run into trouble with the new OS.
This is also likely the reason that Ubuntu’s upgrade tools make you wait a bit before you can upgrade to the new version. The point release is an attempt to iron out any last-minute bugs that crept in.
A Clean Install Would Be Too Much Trouble
When a new Ubuntu release comes out, you might be tempted to just wipe your system and start fresh, but is that a really practical solution?
First, you have to completely reinstall your OS. The upgrade will likely do the same thing in place, rather than wiping your hard drive completely.
You’ll then have to completely reinstall any programs that didn’t come with the default installation. And then you’ll have to copy over any files you backed up. You did make backups, didn’t you?
It will be a lot easier to wait a while and upgrade your existing Ubuntu installation when you can. You’ll be able to keep all your music, documents, and cat pictures without having to copy them.
Reading Linux forums, you’ll notice that some users have imported bad Windows habits like reinstalling the OS from scratch unnecessarily. You should only really do this if you have to—if you’re running an older version of Ubuntu, for example.
Whatever You Do, Backup Before You Upgrade
As I mentioned before, things can go wrong when you update.
Years ago, when I was upgrading a desktop Ubuntu installation, the desktop activated the screen saver utility. The screen saver was configured to ask for my password before letting me back in, but the utility was being upgraded. I was effectively locked out of my machine! Since I hadn’t backed up anything, I really had no choice but to reinstall.
While that story might be fodder for the “clean upgrade” crowd, the moral is that whatever happens, you shouldback up anything you don’t want to lose. This applies to any OS, and it’s something you should make a habit of doing. You can use a USB stick or an external hard drive. Or you might want to break out that spindle pack of DVD-Rs that’s been gathering dust on your desk.
