How can I upgrade to the latest version of Xubuntu?

A new version of Xubuntu is released every 6 months; the Update Manager should inform you when a new version is available for download. To check for a new version:

  1. Navigate to Software Sources, by clicking (ApplicationsUbuntu Software CenterEditSoftware Sources).

  2. Type your password and press Enter.

  3. Select the Updates tab.

  4. Select Normal releases from the list labelled Show new distribution releases and press Close.

  5. Open Update Manager (ApplicationsSystemUpdate Manager), press Check and enter your password if prompted. Wait for the list of available updates to be downloaded.

  6. If a new version of Xubuntu is available, a box at the top of the window will appear saying that a new distribution release is available.

  7. To upgrade to the latest release, save all of your open documents and press the Upgrade button in Update Manager.

Upgrades usually take a while to complete. Typically, around 700MB of packages must be downloaded and installed, although the actual figure will depend on how many packages are already installed on your computer.

You can only upgrade to the latest Xubuntu release if you are running the second most recent release. If you have an older release, you must upgrade to the next release after that, and so on until you are running the most recent version. For example, users of version 9.04 would first have to upgrade to version 9.10 before upgrading to version 10.04. An exception to this rule is with Long Term Support (LTS) releases. You can upgrade directly from the previous LTS release to the current release.

Upgrading to a development release

If you would like to install and test the latest development version of Xubuntu before it is released, press Alt+F2, type gksudo "update-manager -c -d" into the box and press Run. This will allow you to upgrade to the current development release.

[Caution]

Development releases often suffer from package breakages and other problems. Only install a development release if you are prepared to attempt to fix these problems for yourself.