If you’ve been waiting for this I’d like to thank you for your patience.

It is now possible to upgrade the Cinnamon edition of LMDE 2 to version 3.

The upgrade instructions are available at: https://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/2419

Take your time

Read all the instructions and take the time to understand them, ask for help if you’re stuck.

The instructions will ask you to make backups and to prepare system snapshots. Don’t rush into upgrading and do not take shortcuts.

Don’t panic

If you’re stuck or wondering about something don’t hesitate to ask for help:

• You can post here in the comments section.
• You can ask for help in the forums.
• You can connect to the IRC (from within Linux Mint, launch Menu->Internet->Hexchat). If you’re new to IRC, please read this tutorial.

If you’ve been waiting for this I’d like to thank you for your patience.

It is now possible to upgrade the Cinnamon, MATE and Xfce editions of Linux Mint 18.3 to version 19.

The upgrade instructions are available at: https://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/2416

Upgrade for a reason

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

Linux Mint 17, 17.1, 17.2 and 17.3 are supported until 2019 and Linux Mint 18, 18.1, 18.2 and 18.3 are supported until 2021.

You might want to upgrade to Linux Mint 19 because some bug is fixed or because you want to get some of the new features. In any case, you should know why you’re upgrading.

As excited as we are about Linux Mint 19, upgrading blindly for the sake of running the latest version does not make much sense, especially if you’re already happy and everything is working perfectly.

Make sure to read the release notes and to know about the new features so you have all the information you need before deciding whether you want to upgrade.

Make sure also to try Linux Mint 19, in live mode, to know if it works well with your hardware.

Take your time

Read all the instructions and take the time to understand them, ask for help if you’re stuck.

The instructions will ask you to make backups, to prepare system snapshots and to try Linux Mint 19 in live mode. Don’t rush into upgrading and do not take shortcuts.

Don’t panic

If you’re stuck or wondering about something don’t hesitate to ask for help:

• You can post here in the comments section.
• You can ask for help in the forums.
• You can connect to the IRC (from within Linux Mint, launch Menu->Internet->Hexchat). If you’re new to IRC, please read this tutorial.

It is now possible to upgrade Linux Mint 18, 18.1 and 18.2 to version 18.3.

If you’ve been waiting for this we’d like to thank you for your patience.

1. Create a system snapshot

Timeshift was backported to Linux Mint 18, 18.1 and 18.2. You can use timeshift to make a system snapshot before the upgrade.

If anything goes wrong, you can easily restore your operating system to its previous state.

To install timeshift, open a terminal and type:

apt update
apt install timeshift

Launch Timeshift from the application menu, follow the instructions on the screen to configure it and create a system snapshot.

2. Prepare for the upgrade

• Disable your screensaver
• If you installed Cinnamon spices (applets, desklets, extensions, themes), upgrade them from the System Settings

3. Upgrade the operating system

Upgrading to Linux Mint 18.3 is relatively easy.

In the Update Manager, click on the Refresh button to check for any new version of mintupdate and mint-upgrade-info. If there are updates for these packages, apply them.

Launch the System Upgrade by clicking on “Edit->Upgrade to Linux Mint 18.3 Sylvia”.

 

Follow the instructions on the screen.

 

If asked whether to keep or replace configuration files, choose to replace them.

Once the upgrade is finished, reboot your computer.

Commonly asked questions

• Although Linux Mint 18.3 features a newer kernel, this upgrade does not change the kernel on your behalf. This is a decision only you should take.
• Same goes for the choice of display manager or the software selection. Applications won’t be removed or switched on your behalf. You can decide to make these changes, but you certainly don’t have to.
• After the upgrade, you can install newly introduced applications such as redshift-gtk and mintreport from the repositories.
• If the upgrade is not available to you, check that you have the latest versions of mintupdate and mint-upgrade-info installed. If the latest versions are not yet available in your mirrors, switch to the default repositories.
• This happens rarely, but if you ever got locked and were unable to log back in, switch to console with CTRL+ALT+F1, log in, and type “killall cinnamon-screensaver” (or “killall mate-screensaver” in MATE). Use CTRL+ALT+F7 or CTRL+ALT+F8 to get back to your session.