Linux mint 19.3 Tara to Linux mint Ulyana

If you are running Linux Mint 19.3 “Tara”, then here you have to take necessary steps to upgrade the latest Linux Mint 20.

*Better go with fresh installation

Before renewing, remember the following points:

You can only upgrade to Linux Mint 20 from the Linux Mint 19.3 64-bit version.
The following upgrade process will not work for the Linux Mint 19.3 32-bit version.
Check your system architecture through the command “dpkg –print-architecture”. If the output says i386, you should not attempt an upgrade. If it’s amd64, you’re good to go.

Steps to follow before the upgrade

Keep a LIVE USB of Linux Mint 19.3, if the upgrade fails and you can always boot from it and restore through the timeshift.
Open the update manager and make sure that you apply all pending updates. Your system must be up to date before attempting the upgrade process.
Use Timshaft to take a system snapshot or create a restore point. This will ensure that you can bring your system back to this point in case something breaks during the upgrade process.
Also, I would recommend that you take a backup of your files from home/home to separate physical or cloud storage.

Upgrade Linux Mint 20 to Linux Mint 19.3

For this upgrade, you need the Linux Mint upgrade tool. Install upgrade tools via

“apt install mint upgrade”

The Mint Upgrade Tool can check the status of your system before attempting an actual upgrade. It can simulate the upgrade process and gives you a report with details about the current state of your system in terms of the package, repo. Run under the command to simulate upgrades and carefully review the output.

“Check mint upgrade”

Then subsiquently use Mint upgrade download then Mint upgrade upgrade

Upgrade notes

The upgrade process can freeze up to 10 minutes in a given time and you cannot see any visible progress on the screen. It is therefore recommended that you wait and this is normal for the upgrade process.
It is advised to utilise the default Linux Mint mirror before the upgrade, to assure that you continue using the latest version of the mint upgrade.
If you end up with a broken upgrade system, you can boot from the LIVE Mint USB / CD and restore your system with a timeshift backup.
If the upgrade fails, you can try for a new upgrade through this guide.

As always, it is better to have a fresh installation.