Best Way to Upgrade/ Move to New Computer & Drive

[kellyv]

Hi

I am migrating from my desktop setup to a laptop. The desktop is MXL21 with a 2.5 SSD harddrive, the laptop has a 2tb M.2 2280 SSD and I plan to install MXL23 on it. I was going to jsut install MXL23 on the laptop and then re-install everything that is on the desktop (I can keep the desktop installation running as is until I finish the migration). However, I read the official migration info and thought it might be a good idea to keep as much of the configuration from my current setup as possible.

So my next thought was to take a snapshot of the current system, install that on the new drive and then upgrade to MXL23 on the laptop. I would then have the User Installed Packages list available and could go from there. Or should I upgrade my current desktop installation, take a snapshot and install that on the laptop? Or is there a better method?

I have already migrated my current installation to another different laptop via snapshot and an external drive, so I know that part works easily. Just not sure what the best & most efficient method to migrate and upgrade at the same time is. There may be some 'gotchas' that aren't apparent to me at this time.

Thanks for any advice



FWIW, here is the QSI

Code: Select all

Snapshot created on: 20241221_1706
System:    Kernel: 6.0.0-6mx-amd64 [6.0.12-1~mx21+1] x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 10.2.1 
           parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.0.0-6mx-amd64 root=UUID=<filter> ro splash 
           Desktop: Xfce 4.18.1 tk: Gtk 3.24.24 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm 4.18.0 vt: 7 
           dm: LightDM 1.26.0 Distro: MX-21.3_ahs_x64 Wildflower January 15  2023 
           base: Debian GNU/Linux 11 (bullseye) 
Machine:   Type: Desktop Mobo: ASRock model: A88M-ITX/ac serial: <filter> 
           UEFI-[Legacy]: American Megatrends v: P1.00 date: 01/20/2016 
CPU:       Info: Quad Core model: AMD A10-7860K Radeon R7 12 Compute Cores 4C+8G bits: 64 
           type: MCP arch: Steamroller family: 15 (21) model-id: 38 (56) stepping: 1 
           microcode: 6003106 cache: L2: 2 MiB 
           flags: avx lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm bogomips: 28749 
           Speed: 2006 MHz min/max: 1400/3600 MHz boost: enabled Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1493 
           2: 1923 3: 1398 4: 1399 
           Vulnerabilities: Type: itlb_multihit status: Not affected 
           Type: l1tf status: Not affected 
           Type: mds status: Not affected 
           Type: meltdown status: Not affected 
           Type: mmio_stale_data status: Not affected 
           Type: retbleed mitigation: untrained return thunk; SMT vulnerable 
           Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl 
           Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization 
           Type: spectre_v2 
           mitigation: Retpolines, STIBP: disabled, RSB filling, PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected 
           Type: srbds status: Not affected 
           Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected 
Graphics:  Device-1: AMD Kaveri [Radeon R7 Graphics] vendor: ASRock driver: radeon v: kernel 
           alternate: amdgpu bus-ID: 00:01.0 chip-ID: 1002:130f class-ID: 0300 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.14 compositor: xfwm4 v: 4.18.0 driver: 
           loaded: ati,radeon unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,vesa display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1 
           Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1080 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 508x285mm (20.0x11.2") 
           s-diag: 582mm (22.9") 
           Monitor-1: DVI-0 res: 1920x1080 hz: 60 dpi: 92 size: 531x298mm (20.9x11.7") 
           diag: 609mm (24") 
           OpenGL: renderer: AMD KAVERI (LLVM 14.0.5 DRM 2.50 6.0.0-6mx-amd64) v: 4.5 Mesa 22.0.5 
           direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: AMD Kaveri HDMI/DP Audio vendor: ASRock driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel 
           bus-ID: 00:01.1 chip-ID: 1002:1308 class-ID: 0403 
           Device-2: AMD FCH Azalia vendor: ASRock driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:14.2 
           chip-ID: 1022:780d class-ID: 0403 
           Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k6.0.0-6mx-amd64 running: yes 
           Sound Server-2: PulseAudio v: 14.2 running: yes 
Network:   Device-1: Intel Wireless 3160 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel modules: wl port: f100 
           bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 8086:08b3 class-ID: 0280 
           IF: wlan0 state: down mac: <filter> 
           Device-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: ASRock 
           driver: r8169 v: kernel port: e000 bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:8168 class-ID: 0200 
           IF: eth0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
           IF-ID-1: wg0-mullvad state: unknown speed: N/A duplex: N/A mac: N/A 
Bluetooth: Device-1: Intel Bluetooth wireless interface type: USB driver: btusb v: 0.8 
           bus-ID: 8-5:2 chip-ID: 8087:07dc class-ID: e001 
           Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 rfk-id: 4 state: down bt-service: N/A rfk-block: 
           hardware: no software: no address: <filter> 
           Info: acl-mtu: 1021:5 sco-mtu: 96:6 link-policy: rswitch hold sniff 
           link-mode: slave accept 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 2.53 TiB used: 1.53 TiB (60.5%) 
           SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required. 
           ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Inland model: SATA SSD size: 953.87 GiB block-size: 
           physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 3.0 Gb/s type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: 8B0 
           scheme: MBR 
           ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 model: SATA SSD size: 223.57 GiB block-size: 
           physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: 21.1 
           scheme: MBR 
           ID-3: /dev/sdc maj-min: 8:32 model: SATA SSD size: 476.94 GiB block-size: 
           physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: 61.5 
           scheme: MBR 
           ID-4: /dev/sdf maj-min: 8:80 type: USB vendor: Seagate model: ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB 
           size: 931.51 GiB block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B type: HDD rpm: 5400 
           serial: <filter> scheme: MBR 
Partition: ID-1: / raw-size: 468.93 GiB size: 460.5 GiB (98.20%) used: 194.48 GiB (42.2%) fs: ext4 
           dev: /dev/sdc1 maj-min: 8:33 
Swap:      Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default) 
           ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 8 GiB used: 866.3 MiB (10.6%) priority: -2 
           dev: /dev/sdc2 maj-min: 8:34 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 9.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: radeon temp: 3.0 C 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Repos:     Packages: 3068 note: see --pkg apt: 3058 lib: 1705 flatpak: 10 
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
           1: deb https://www.bchemnet.com/suldr/ debian extra
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/brave-browser-release.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] https://brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave.com/ bullseye main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list 
           1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye-updates main contrib non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list 
           1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye main contrib non-free
           2: deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bullseye-security main contrib non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/megasync.list 
           1: deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/meganz-archive-keyring.gpg] https://mega.nz/linux/repo/Debian_11/ ./
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list 
           1: deb http://mirrors.rit.edu/mxlinux/mx-packages/mx/repo/ bullseye main non-free
           2: deb http://mirrors.rit.edu/mxlinux/mx-packages/mx/repo/ bullseye ahs
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/opera-stable.list 
           1: deb https://deb.opera.com/opera-stable/ stable non-free #Opera Browser (final releases)
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vivaldi.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] https://repo.vivaldi.com/stable/deb/ stable main
           No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/extrepo_librewolf.sources 
Info:      Processes: 272 Uptime: 3d 2h 20m wakeups: 55 Memory: 10.65 GiB used: 2.96 GiB (27.8%) 
           Init: SysVinit v: 2.96 runlevel: 5 default: 5 tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 10.2.1 
           alt: 10 Client: shell wrapper v: 5.1.4-release inxi: 3.3.06 
Boot Mode: BIOS (legacy, CSM, MBR)

[j2mcgreg]

Our recommended method is to back up your data to an external location, install MX from the latest snapshot available here:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/mx-lin ... Snapshots/
and then restore your data from the backup.

[kellyv]

When you say restore data, that is not clear enough to me in that, most of my 'data' is on other drives except the data in the home folder, which is mostly browser, email and program/ app configurations. What data can I copy over to keep configurations of already installed programs intact? Can I just copy the home folder over to the new installation? Will that keep my browser configurations and sessions intact? Configuration data for my music players? Email?

To me, your instructions make it seem like I would be starting from zero but the instructions for migration seem to suggest that most of my configuration should remain intact. If you could give me a slightly more specific outline of how exactly to upgrade to a new release that would be helpful. Are there reasons why I should not follow the migration instructions here detailed here - https://mxlinux.org/migration/?

Thanks

[j2mcgreg]

When you say restore data, that is not clear enough to me in that, most of my 'data' is on other drives except the data in the home folder, which is mostly browser, email and program/ app configurations. What data can I copy over to keep configurations of already installed programs intact? Can I just copy the home folder over to the new installation? Will that keep my browser configurations and sessions intact? Configuration data for my music players? Email?

To me, your instructions make it seem like I would be starting from zero but the instructions for migration seem to suggest that most of my configuration should remain intact. If you could give me a slightly more specific outline of how exactly to upgrade to a new release that would be helpful. Are there reasons why I should not follow the migration instructions here detailed here - https://mxlinux.org/migration/?

Thanks

The hidden .config files in your existing MX 21 /home can play havoc with the new .config files that will be created when the new versions of those packages are installed in MX 23. Tracking down why the new packages are misbehaving can be a nightmare. So backup any data you have in Documents, Pictures, Music etc as well as Bookmarks, Address Books and leave the rest of /home alone.
What email client do you use?

[DukeComposed]

If you could give me a slightly more specific outline of how exactly to upgrade to a new release that would be helpful. Are there reasons why I should not follow the migration instructions here detailed here - https://mxlinux.org/migration/?

That depends. Do you expect any help?

The best outline for upgrading is documented on the page called Upgrading from MX-21 to MX-23 without reinstalling. Pay particular attention to this part at the top of the page, emphasis added:

DISCLAIMER: This how-to is for the benefit of advanced users who are comfortable with the command line and willing to research and fix things if things go wrong, it’s not guaranteed to work and is not supported in any way by the dev team.

In short, the best way to upgrade from MX-21 to MX-23 has been given: backup your configs, do a clean install, and move over your configs by hand. Attempting to do an in-place upgrade is something this forum will not help you un-break if and when something goes wrong. I hear the success rate for an in-place upgrade is about 50%, so take that into consideration when making your choice.

[kellyv]

I seem to be reading conflicting information from both responses. this method

The best outline for upgrading is documented on the page called Upgrading from MX-21 to MX-23 without reinstalling. Pay particular attention to this part at the top of the page, emphasis added:

is not recommended from the way I am reading it

Let me ask another way - Is this information from https://mxlinux.org/migration/ - correct? It says this is the best way to do a clean installation but also mentions keeping the original home folder - at least that's how I understand it - which would mean .config files as well

Sorry to be thick about it but I am an experienced linux user, no fear of the command line, I am just trying to avoid problems of my own creation. BTW, I backup my backups and backup even more when I make system changes. I'll be making a snapshot and backing up my home folder to an external drive, while keeping my current installation alive.

Thanks again


From MX-21.x to MX-23
Because of the change in the base from Debian 11 (Bullseye) to Debian 12 (Bookworm), there can be no official upgrade option. A clean install is highly recommended for most users, most easily done by following these steps:

1) in case there is a problem, save any critical data (settings, documents, pictures, music etc.) from your existing installation away from your target site; or make an image with MX Snapshot.

2) run MX User Installed Packages (HELP here) to get a list of all the extra applications you added to your previous installation.

NOTE: Some MX-21 users may not have the package (“user-installed-packages”) by default but it is in the repos. Use Package Installer or Synaptic to install it, or open a terminal (F4) and paste in this command: sudo apt install user-installed-packages.

Opening screen of the app migration tool User Installed Packages that is used before and after installation
3) install MX 23 OVER your current installation as you proceed:
a) at the beginning, select to make a “Custom” installation
b) choose the same user name that you used before
c) select to re-use the existing home directory

Note that if you have multiple users, their homes will be preserved but you will need to use MX User Manager to recreate the users after you boot into the new system.

Installer
Installer: selecting to re-use the existing Home folder that has the same user name
4) once installation is finished, run MX User Installed Packages again to get back the applications you had installed; note that a few may no longer be available in the new Debian Stable.

[asqwerth]

1. in-place upgrade from 21 to 23 - not officially supported and the disclaimer is there for good reason. Instructions are provided for experienced users but they need to solve issues themselves. Not saying there won't be users here willing to help, but don't expect or demand it.

2. Recommended way of upgrading is as you have listed in the bottom half of your post above. Fresh install of MX23 over the existing root partition but choose to preserve /home. However, I would advise that you backup your configs (especially for your apps other than for xfce) and data in /home anyway.

If XFCE behaves in a wonky manner, be prepared to delete all your xfce configs from home and re-customise XFCE. in MX23.5, the XFCE version is 4.20, which is much newer than the one in MX21. Things may not work exactly the same now in XFCE.

3. A better way if you can spare the disk space on your machine - make a totally fresh install of MX23 in a separate partition. Make sure you know which MX install is controlling grub so that you can update it to include both MX installs. Then boot into the new MX23, and manually copy over your MX21 configs for your various apps. CHeck the apps one by one. If the configs work with the new versions of the apps, great. If not, delete them again.

I try to avoid importing old configs for desktop environments so I customise from scratch. I mean, it's not difficult to reconfigure XFCE.

[DukeComposed]

I seem to be reading conflicting information from both responses.

"Upgrading" can mean switching from MX-21 to MX-23 through a clean install, which is unambiguously the recommended method, or it can mean "hacking an MX-21 install into an MX-23 install in-place", which is unambiguously not recommended.

[kellyv]

Hi

Thanks to everyone for your assistance and suggestions. I plan to make a snapshot of my current desktop, install that on the new laptop/ drive and then upgrade the laptop as per the migration instructions. I understand that there may (will) be some programs that will not work immediately and some re-configuration will be required.

[kellyv]

Hi

I still have some questions/ issues regarding installing and upgrading

I made a snapshot of my current MX21 desktop and installed it on the laptop, went ok some things not there but for the most part seemed fine. I then tried to upgrade to upgrade to MX23.4, I used the same user name as the desktop when prompted but never got the window asking about using the existing home directory. The install finished but it was just a new install, there was none of my previous MX21 info, the list of User Installed Packages was not there, the home folder was just the new install.

What should I expect to happen when I upgrade from 21 to 23 as per the migration instructions? What info should remain from the previous install?

Thanks