Mint13 to Mint17? Solved

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wolseley2
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Mint13 to Mint17? Solved

Post by wolseley2 »

After an extended loan, my daughter has just returned to me my Toshiba Satellite A200-1YO running Mint 13.
Before I begin to try to get the hang of it again, I'm wondering if it might be possible to upgrade to Mint 17. The laptop has an Intel duo core cpu, 1.66 GHz, 2GB RAM and loads of free hard drive. I think it also has PAE.
Could someone advise if it's OK to try to install Mint 17.
Many thanks.
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wolseley2
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Re: Mint13 to Mint17?

Post by wolseley2 »

Thanks gmilo.
It's the Mate version of Mint13 that I've got just now so it's interesting that you suggest Mate again for 17. I was toying with the idea of trying the cinnamon version of 17 - but you suggest staying with Mate?
wolseley2
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Re: Mint13 to Mint17?

Post by wolseley2 »

Hi gmilo your comments certainly encourage me to have a go with 17. At my age there's no rush so I'll probably download several versions and see how it goes.
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Re: Mint13 to Mint17?

Post by wolseley2 »

Installed Mint 17 cinnamon alongside Mint13 but it seems rather slow and in case simply crashes when I try to open a 2nd tab in Firefox.
I can only assume that this Satellite A200-1YO is not capable of running 17.
I could perhaps try to install the xfce version?
How might uninstall Mint 17 first?
Hoser Rob
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Re: Mint13 to Mint17?

Post by Hoser Rob »

"Installed Mint 17 cinnamon alongside Mint13 but it seems rather slow and in case simply crashes when I try to open a 2nd tab in Firefox.
I can only assume that this Satellite A200-1YO is not capable of running 17."

No, you can only assume it won't run Cinnamon.

Whether it'll run cinnamon or not depends as much on the video card and whether it supports 3D hardware acceleration in linux. Cinnamon, like unity, needs that just by itself with no apps running.

You haven't specified the actual video card so it's hard to say.

Before installing try to run the DE from a live iso USB stick (preferably) or DVD.

I run Mate on my 1Gb netbook (I booted a Cinnamon mint 17 live iso on Usb one time for a laugh, I'd never install that on it). I used to use XFCE but I don't really think the newer version you get with ubuntu 14.04 or mint 17 is all that fast anymore. Mate is as fast and I think it's more reliable.

Frankly I've seen releases of XFCE where I simply could not believe it got released like that. Like the one where if you plugged in an external drive the desktop icon would appear twice. I like XFCE in a lot of ways but that didn't give me confidence.

Mate is rather plain Jane but it's been a reliable performer for me.

Cinnamon is nice ... I use it on my i3 based laptop ... but it's for more modern hardware. Like Unity, it has similar hardware requirements to Windows 7 or 8.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong - H. L. Mencken
Hoser Rob
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Re: Mint13 to Mint17?

Post by Hoser Rob »

gmilo2 wrote:Do yourself a favor, and don't do an upgrade install, install it fresh.
And ditto that. A clean reinstall is just more reliable. I used to use ubuntu (and mint of course is mostly ubuntu based) and their support sites are massive. There are tons of threads there about failed release upgrades.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong - H. L. Mencken
wolseley2
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Re: Mint13 to Mint17?

Post by wolseley2 »

Thanks Hoser Rob for your comments.
However, the stage I'm at now is with 17.1 cinnamon installed alongside Mint13, so I think my options are restricted until I get rid of Mint17.1 - ie uninstall it.
There would be no point in trying to install Mint 17.1 Mate until I free up some hard drive.
So, how do I uninstall Mint17 and leave Mint 13 in place, that's the question!
With hindsight it would obviously have been better to try to run Mint17 from the DVD - but too late now.
psimon

Re: Mint13 to Mint17?

Post by psimon »

just gone mint13 xfce to mint 17 xfce (fresh install), quite surprised by a big slow down, particularly boot time, am investigating, came here first, just thought i'd post a common experience.
wolseley2
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Re: Mint13 to Mint17?

Post by wolseley2 »

Just for the record, I'm happy to say that I have now installed Mate 17.1 on this Satellite A200 all seems OK.
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