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Wise to upgrade from 19.4 to 21?
Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2022 3:21 am
by FrSu
First of all a big "thank you" to the developers. Using Linux since 2008 and after trying a lot of other distro's MXLinux became my favorite.
On my older Asus Vivobook ( and other PC's) I use MXLinux 19.4 and it works fine. Is it wise to do an upgrade (clean install) to 21?
Reasons for me could be:
- Security better
- Running faster
- Lower system load
On other features I have no wishes.
What could be your recommendation?
Re: Wise to upgrade from 19.4 to 21?
Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2022 3:37 am
by xaol
mx 19's full support ends in june. i plan to upgrade in the next couple of months for that reason, though according to this thread that doesn't mean your 19.4 install will stop working
viewtopic.php?p=668803#p668803
Re: Wise to upgrade from 19.4 to 21?
Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2022 3:47 am
by Solon
I can't answer your question, but I can tell you the first thing that those who can will request is that you put your "
Quick System Info" into your post.
This gives them not only a full readout of your OS, but also shows them the state of your hardware, and its capabilities.
To do this:
- Click on your Application Menu button and bring up your basic menu of everything.
- Click on the icon of a monitor, with a blue screen containing a white circle with the letter "i" inside. (Or search under: MX Tools for "Quick System Info" (may have to scroll down) and click upon it.)
- At that point a black pop-up window will show all of your computer/OS data.
- It will state at the bottom that it is copied to your clipboard, ready for use at the forum. You can close out the pop-up window since the info is on your clipboard at this point.
- Come back here and either Edit your first post, or start a new one with the box at the bottom.
- Once Editing your first post, or in a new one, just select a good location within the text, and use "Paste" (Cntl "V", or right click and select "Paste"), and all that Information will be entered into a useful "window" within the posting.
And you are done, and your query will be addressed shortly, by the experts!
Re: Wise to upgrade from 19.4 to 21?
Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2022 6:03 am
by baldyeti
xaol wrote: Sat Mar 12, 2022 3:37 am
mx 19's full support ends in june. i plan to upgrade in the next couple of months for that reason, though according to this thread that doesn't mean your 19.4 install will stop working
viewtopic.php?p=668803#p668803
As mentioned in the linked thread, debian LTS support for their v10 "buster" upon which MX19 is based is extended until 2024-06, so no rush upgrading.
I skipped MX19/buster myself and kept using MX17/stretch as it worked so well, then upgraded to MX21/bullseye.
A newer release will not magically run faster or use les resources.
When it comes to security, i would advise running the stock debian kernel if it supports your HW well. This is the linux-image-amd64 package, which gets regular security patches and fixes (whilst remaining on 4.19-x for buster)
Re: Wise to upgrade from 19.4 to 21?
Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2022 9:08 am
by FrSu
My system now:
Code: Select all
System: Kernel: 4.19.0-6-amd64 x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 8.3.0
parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-4.19.0-6-amd64
root=UUID=<filter> ro quiet splash
Desktop: Xfce 4.14.2 tk: Gtk 3.24.5 info: xfce4-panel, plank wm: xfwm 4.14.0 vt: 7
dm: LightDM 1.26.0 Distro: MX-19.4_x64 patito feo October 21 2019
base: Debian GNU/Linux 10 (buster)
Machine: Type: Laptop System: ASUSTeK product: X202E v: 1.0 serial: <filter>
Mobo: ASUSTeK model: X202E v: 1.0 serial: <filter> BIOS: American Megatrends
v: X202E.206 date: 11/06/2012
Battery: ID-1: BAT0 charge: 20.6 Wh (97.2%) condition: 21.2/38.0 Wh (55.7%) volts: 7.4
min: 7.4 model: ASUSTek X202-51 type: Li-ion serial: N/A status: Unknown
Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 model: Logitech Wireless Mouse M315/M235 serial: <filter>
charge: 55% (should be ignored) rechargeable: yes status: Discharging
CPU: Info: Dual Core model: Intel Core i3-3217U bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Ivy Bridge
family: 6 model-id: 3A (58) stepping: 9 microcode: 21 cache: L2: 3 MiB
flags: avx lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 14367
Speed: 799 MHz min/max: 800/1800 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 799 2: 954 3: 806 4: 805
Vulnerabilities: Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: Split huge pages
Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion; VMX: conditional cache flushes, SMT vulnerable
Type: mds mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
Type: spec_store_bypass
mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl and seccomp
Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Full generic retpoline, IBPB: conditional, IBRS_FW,
STIBP: conditional, RSB filling
Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics: Device-1: Intel 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics vendor: ASUSTeK driver: i915
v: kernel bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:0166 class-ID: 0300
Device-2: IMC Networks type: USB driver: uvcvideo bus-ID: 1-1.2:4 chip-ID: 13d3:5188
class-ID: 0e02 serial: <filter>
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.4 compositor: xfwm4 v: 4.14.0 driver:
loaded: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1
Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1366x768 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 361x203mm (14.2x8.0")
s-diag: 414mm (16.3")
Monitor-1: LVDS-1 res: 1366x768 hz: 60 dpi: 136 size: 256x144mm (10.1x5.7")
diag: 294mm (11.6")
OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel Ivybridge Mobile v: 4.2 Mesa 18.3.6 compat-v: 3.0
direct render: Yes
Audio: Device-1: Intel 7 Series/C216 Family High Definition Audio
vendor: ASUSTeK VivoBook X202EV driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1b.0
chip-ID: 8086:1e20 class-ID: 0403
Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k4.19.0-6-amd64 running: yes
Sound Server-2: PulseAudio v: 12.2 running: yes
Network: Device-1: Qualcomm Atheros AR9485 Wireless Network Adapter vendor: Lite-On
driver: ath9k v: kernel modules: wl port: f040 bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 168c:0032
class-ID: 0280
IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>
Device-2: Qualcomm Atheros AR8162 Fast Ethernet vendor: ASUSTeK driver: alx v: kernel
port: e000 bus-ID: 03:00.0 chip-ID: 1969:1090 class-ID: 0200
IF: eth0 state: down mac: <filter>
Bluetooth: Device-1: Lite-On Atheros Bluetooth type: USB driver: btusb v: 0.8 bus-ID: 1-1.1:22
chip-ID: 04ca:3005 class-ID: e001 serial: <filter>
Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 rfk-id: 9 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 2.1 lmp-v: 4.0
sub-v: 1 hci-v: 4.0 rev: 102
Info: acl-mtu: 1022:8 sco-mtu: 183:5 link-policy: rswitch hold sniff
link-mode: slave accept service-classes: rendering, capturing, object transfer
Drives: Local Storage: total: 465.76 GiB used: 16.22 GiB (3.5%)
SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Seagate model: ST500LT012-9WS142 size: 465.76 GiB
block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 3.0 Gb/s type: HDD rpm: 5400
serial: <filter> rev: SDM1 scheme: MBR
Partition: ID-1: / raw-size: 97.66 GiB size: 95.62 GiB (97.92%) used: 16.22 GiB (17.0%) fs: ext4
dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1
Swap: Alert: No swap data was found.
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 60.0 C mobo: N/A
Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 3300
Repos: Packages: note: see --pkg apt: 2006 lib: 1009 flatpak: 0
No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list
1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian buster-updates main contrib non-free
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list
1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian buster main contrib non-free
2: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian-security buster/updates main contrib non-free
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list
1: deb http://mxrepo.com/mx/repo/ buster main non-free
No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/various.list
Info: Processes: 221 Uptime: 19h 46m wakeups: 9 Memory: 3.74 GiB used: 1.53 GiB (40.8%)
Init: SysVinit v: 2.93 runlevel: 5 default: 5 tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 8.3.0
alt: 8 Shell: quick-system-in default: Bash v: 5.0.3 running-in: quick-system-in
inxi: 3.3.06
Re: Wise to upgrade from 19.4 to 21?
Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2022 11:14 am
by j2mcgreg
I've got an Acer Aspire of that era and MX 21 runs like a champ. If the Seagate ST500LT012-9WS142 is the laptop's original HDD, I think that you should access the bios and determine it's SMART status there. Nine years of age is ancient for a hard drive and if the SMART utility says anything but 'good', I advise you to replace it and then install MX 21. If the HDD is OK, go ahead and install MX 21
Re: Wise to upgrade from 19.4 to 21?
Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2022 11:26 am
by baldyeti
Again: you do not have to upgrade unless you want to, there is no huge benefit when MX19/buster is supported for another 2+ years. But in buster the kernel is
currently at 4.19.0-19,
not 4.19.0-6. Security-wise, it would a good idea to stick to the default.
Re: Wise to upgrade from 19.4 to 21?
Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2022 11:49 am
by MadMax
I'm in a similar situation with 19.4 on my main system, but I'm in no rush to update and it runs like a champ. As stated, Debian LTS will provide security updates until 2024. The MX team will also provide updates for critical software like the browser at least until Debian LTS ends.
If you are ok with your system and have no need for newer versions of certain software (for features) or a newer kernel (e.g. due to a hardware upgrade, which you won't do on a laptop), there's no imminent need to upgrade.
Re: Wise to upgrade from 19.4 to 21?
Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2022 12:20 pm
by uncle mark
I'm firmly in the "If it ain't broke don't fix it" crowd. There really isn't any reason I can think of that would push me to moving from my current MX19KDE install to v21. But that's just me. It certainly wouldn't do any harm.
You've got a dual core with 4G RAM and a slow spinner drive. Without upgrading your hardware, no performance related improvements could be expected from any software/OS updating. And even with bumped RAM and an SSD, that processor is going to be a bottleneck. I'd suggest you start planning on getting new(er) hardware and then go with the most recent MX on that kit.
Re: Wise to upgrade from 19.4 to 21?
Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2022 4:15 am
by FrSu
Thx everyone for the feedback. I will keep my current 19.4 as it works just fine on my Asus Vivobook. Very happy with it. Thx again!