Upgrading to Ubuntu 17.04

Jarret B

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Since Ubuntu 17.04 has been released some people may want to upgrade to the newer version. The process can be a simple one and I am going to cover upgrading from Ubuntu 16.04 and 16.10.

Ubuntu 17.04

Ubuntu 17.04 was released in April 2017. The codename is Zesty Zapus.

Ubuntu 17.04 uses Unity 8 for the desktop environment. Unity 7 is still installed but you can choose between the two at the log in screen.

Instead of using a Swap Partition Ubuntu now uses a Swap File. The use of a Swap File is similar to how Windows manages RAM. Since there is more RAM being installed in most Systems there is no need for a dedicated Swap Partition.

A newer version of FireFox, LibreOffice and other packages are also included in Ubuntu 17.04.

Support for Internet Protocol Printing (IPP Printing) will also be available. Printers are now implementing the IPP Protocol to allow for driver-less printing. With IPP there will be less issues with printing as there is now with Linux Systems.

Ubuntu 17.04 uses the Linux Kernel 4.10. There is also a newer version of Qt and GTK in version 17.04.

You can download Ubuntu Desktop 17.04 from https://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop.

Upgrading Ubuntu 16.04

Ubuntu 16.04 cannot be upgraded directly to 17.04 so it must first be upgraded to 16.10.

To start the process you need to update the Repository information and update all software on the system with the following commands:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade


NOTE: The ‘dist-upgrade’ is needed when updates are required to have older packages removed and not simply replaced.

At this point your Ubuntu system should be completely up-to-date.

Next, open ‘Software and Updates’. You may need to ‘Search’ and type in ‘Software & Updates’ as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 01.jpg

FIGURE 1

Select the ‘Updates’ tab and at the bottom of the window for the item ‘Notify me of a new Ubuntu version:’ change the selection to ‘For any new version’ as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 02.jpg

FIGURE 2

To make the new change you will be prompted for the ROOT password. Once the change is made click ‘Close’ for the ‘Software & Updates’ window.

For the upgrade to Ubuntu 16.10 you can open ‘Search’ and type in ‘Software Updater’. The program should look for updates and may require you to reboot your system for some updates to take effect as shown in Figure 3. If you need to reboot then after the system restarts you can perform the same command again, Software Updater’, and you should see a window similar to Figure 4.

Figure 03.jpg

FIGURE 3


Figure 04.jpg

FIGURE 4

Once you have Figure 4 appear you can simply click the ‘Upgrade’ button to install Ubuntu 16.10.

After clicking the ‘Upgrade’ button you may be prompted for the ROOT password. After entering it you should see a window like Figure 5 which are the Ubuntu 16.10 Release Notes. Click ‘Upgrade’ and the upgrade process will start as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 05.jpg

FIGURE 5

Figure 06.jpg

FIGURE 6

One more window, as shown in Figure 7, will appear to allow you to continue or cancel the upgrade. To continue the upgrade click on ‘Start Upgrade’. During the ‘Cleaning up’ phase you will be asked if you want to keep or remove unneeded files. The answer is up to you, but most likely you will want to remove them.

NOTE: The process may take awhile depending on your system and Internet speed.

Once the upgrade is completed you should be prompted to reboot your system. Reboot so the upgrade takes effect. Once the system restarts log into Ubuntu and open a Terminal. Use the command ‘lsb_release -a’ to see the current Ubuntu version as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 07.jpg

FIGURE 7

Upgrading Ubuntu 16.10

If you are already at Ubuntu 16.10 or have just upgraded from version 16.04 then you are now ready to upgrade to version 17.04.

To start the process you need to update the Repository information and update all software on the system with the following commands:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade


NOTE: If you have performed the upgrade from version 16.04 and the network is not working then you need to perform the following two commands before retrying the previous commands:

sudo rename /usr/lib/NetworkManager/conf.d/10-globally-managed-devices.conf /usr/lib/NetworkManager/conf.d/10-globally-managed-devices.conf.bak
sudo service network-manager restart

Now your Ubuntu 16.10 system is up-to-date and ready to go to version 17.04.

Next, open ‘Software and Updates’. You may need to ‘Search’ and type in ‘Software & Updates’ as shown in Figure 1.

Select the ‘Updates’ tab and at the bottom of the window for the item ‘Notify me of a new Ubuntu version:’ change the selection to ‘For any new version’ as shown in Figure 2.

To make the new change you will be prompted for the ROOT password. Once the change is made click ‘Close’ for the ‘Software & Updates’ window.

For the upgrade to Ubuntu 17.04 you can open ‘Search’ and type in ‘Software Updater’. The program should look for updates and may require you to reboot your system for some updates to take effect as shown in Figure 3. If you need to reboot then after the system restarts you can perform the same command again, Software Updater’, and you should see a window similar to Figure 4.

Once you have Figure 4 appear you can simply click the ‘Upgrade’ button to install Ubuntu 17.04.

After clicking the ‘Upgrade’ button you may be prompted for the ROOT password. After entering it you should see a window like Figure 8 which are the Ubuntu 17.04 Release Notes. Click ‘Upgrade’ and the upgrade process will start as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 08.jpg

FIGURE 8

One more window, as shown in Figure 7, will appear to allow you to continue or cancel the upgrade. To continue the upgrade click on ‘Start Upgrade’. During the ‘Cleaning up’ phase you will be asked if you want to keep or remove unneeded files. The answer is up to you, but most likely you will want to remove them.

NOTE: The process may take awhile depending on your system and Internet speed.

Once the upgrade is completed you should be prompted to reboot your system. Reboot so the upgrade takes effect. Once the system restarts log into Ubuntu and open a Terminal. Use the command ‘lsb_release -a’ to see the current Ubuntu version as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 09.jpg

FIGURE 9

NOTE: If you have performed the upgrade from version 16.10 and the network is not working then you need to perform the following two commands before retrying the previous commands:

sudo rename /usr/lib/NetworkManager/conf.d/10-globally-managed-devices.conf /usr/lib/NetworkManager/conf.d/10-globally-managed-devices.conf.bak
sudo service network-manager restart

Your system should now be upgraded and running on Ubuntu 17.04 as shown i Figure 10.

Figure 10.jpg

FIGURE 10
 
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