Linux Mint: how to upgrade quickly and safely to 22 Wilma


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From 21.x to 22: before you start: is it wise to upgrade at all, yet?

1. Linux Mint 21.x is still supported until May, 2027. So if you're running 21.x now, it's wise to consider if you really want to upgrade at all, yet.... After all, you can afford to wait for some time. It's safest to upgrade before May, 2025 though.

From 21.x to 22: a fresh clean upgrade is best, so avoid an in-place upgrade

2. The best way to go from the older Mint 21 series to the newer Mint 22 series, is to apply a fresh clean upgrade. Which means a fresh installation: format the hard disk partition on which the older version resides, and install the later version cleanly on that empty partition.

This reduces pollution, diminishes the risk of complications and is undoubtedly the fastest way to do it.

Only in-place upgrading within a particular Mint series is safe and easy. Within a series, you can simply and safely upgrade the older version to the later one by selecting the upgrade option in Update Manager...

The reason for this distinction is, that Linux Mint uses only LTS versions of Ubuntu as codebase. Within a Mint series that's always the same Ubuntu LTS version, so the upgrade to a later Mint within the same series is technically no big deal. Most of the codebase remains the same then. But an entirely new Mint series also means an entirely new underlying Ubuntu codebase. Which is a major leap.

Explanation in more detail:

The Linux Mint 21 series contains 21, 21.1, 21.2 and 21.3. They all have the same base, namely Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. Which makes in-place upgrading within that series, swift and safe.

But the Mint 22 series (which starts with Mint 22 Wilma) is based on an entirely new Ubuntu, namely Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. This is a major leap in code base, which increases the upgrade risks considerably.

On the basis of my own rather negative experiences with Ubuntu release upgrades, I consider it too big a step for too many systems. Because system tweaks and/or (manually installed?) drivers which were right for 21.x, may be wrong or even disastrous for 22.x.

The only way to make sure that no such deleterious leftovers are inherited in 22.x, is a fresh clean installation. So a fresh clean installation of Mint 22.x is definitely better than upgrading Mint 21.x to 22.x in-place.

With a clean installation, with previous formatting of the target partition, you have the least chance of troubles afterwards. This old wisdom is valid for every operating system under the sun.....

Furthermore, a clean installation of Mint 22.x will probably be a lot quicker than an in-place upgrade, because it doesn't require the complicated replacement of a tweaked and running system. It can't be compared in any way to an in-place upgrade within the 22 series, which leaves most of the codebase intact.

So I advise to avoid doing an in-place upgrade from 21.x to 22. The best way to do a clean upgrade instead, is as follows:

Optimal situation (most common): no separate home partition

3. By default, the Mint installer doesn't create a separate home partition. Which is good, because I discourage creating a separate home partition.

Among other things, it makes upgrading more simple. Proceed as follows:

Backup your important files

3.1. You will probably want to save some things from the old installation. For this, keep a USB memory stick or an external USB hard drive at hand.

a. Backup your documents, pictures and music (duh).

b. Backup your bookmarks.

The easiest way to backup your Firefox bookmarks is from within Firefox itself: 

Bookmark button - down below: Show All Bookmarks - change "Import and Backup" to "Export...."

Copy the exported .json file  to your USB memory stick. After you've installed the new Mint, you can use the Import function in Firefox to, well, import your old bookmarks.

c. Save e-mails and some application settings.

First, make the hidden files visible.

Launch your file manager.

Use the shortcut (key combination) Ctrl h to make the hidden files visible, or do it like this:

In the task bar of the file manager: View - check: Show hidden files

Now close the file manager and open it again.

Now you can see the hidden files and folders in your user folder (with a dot before the name, such as .config/google-chrome). They contain application settings.

Some of those you'll want to keep. For example: if you use Thunderbird as e-mail application, then the e-mails are in the hidden directory .thunderbird (as well as the account settings of Thunderbird and its address book).

If you want to save your e-mails and settings, copy this directory onto the USB memory stick.

Same goes for other specific application settings that you want to keep.

The rest is easy

3.2. The next things to do are easy.

a. Boot your computer from the new Mint USB stick or DVD. Select Start Linux Mint 22.

b. Establish internet connection and launch the installation by clicking the desktop icon of the installer.

c. During its course, the installer will detect an existing older Linux Mint on your hard disk. It'll ask you what to do with it. Select the first option (example with an existing Mint 21.3):

Erase Linux Mint 21.3 Virginia (21.3) and reinstall

After you've confirmed that, the installer will take automatically care of the rest. Easy as pie!

Separate home partition (less common)

4. I advise against creating a separate home partition.

However, if you already have a separate home partition, and want to keep it, this is a safe and easy way to upgrade to Mint 22. Proceed as follows:

Backup your important files

4.1. Create a backup.

a. Boot the old Mint version for the last time and backup your documents (duh) and your Firefox bookmarks.

The easiest way to save your Firefox bookmarks is from within Firefox itself: Bookmark button - down below: Show All Bookmarks - change "Import and Backup" to "Export...."

Copy the .json file to your USB memory stick. After you've installed the new Mint, you can use the Import function in Firefox to, well, import your old bookmarks.

b. Boot your computer from the new Mint USB stick or DVD and choose "Start Linux Mint 22".

c. Mount the home partition: launch your file manager and click on the home partition of the hard disk.

d. Then launch a terminal window and open your file manager with root authority, namely with "pkexec".

e. File manager toolbar: View - tick "Show Hidden Files". In all user accounts on the home partition, delete all hidden files and directories with configurations (all directories and files that start with a dot, such as .mozilla and .mplayer).

Notable exception: if you use Thunderbird as an e-mail program, then the e-mails and account settings are in the hidden directory .mozilla-thunderbird. If you want to save your e-mails, copy this directory to the USB memory stick.

f. Reboot anew from the USB stick or DVD and let it check itself for errors.

g. When no errors are found, boot your computer from the new Mint USB stick or DVD. On modern computers with UEFI, you'll get to see the boot menu of the USB stick or DVD: choose "Start Linux Mint 22".

h. Establish internet connection and start the installation by clicking the desktop icon of the installer.

Install the new Mint

4.2. During installation, the best choice is now manual partitioning. Mint itself will be placed on the root partition: give it the mount point "/" (without the quotation marks). It should be reformatted, so make sure that the format box is ticked.

If you have an existing separate home partition, then give that the mount point "/home" (without the quotation marks). Normally you won't want to reformat it: so don't tick the format box.

An existing swap partition will automatically be mounted as Linux-swap. No action needed.

See this page (with screenshots).

Complete your new Mint

5. Done? Now finish your shiny new Mint installation with some polishing (10 things to do first).


Want more tips?

Do you want more tips and tweaks? There's a lot more of them on this website!

For example:

Speed up your Linux Mint!

Clean your Linux Mint safely

Avoid 10 fatal mistakes


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