This tutorial have been made compatible with Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) desktop installation. Desktop installation means that your system have a graphic desktop environment called Gnome. This tutorial will show two ways for installing updates. One with graphic update manager included in desktop installation and one with just command line package managing interface called APT. The command line way can be used with server installation (no graphic desktop environment) but it's written for Gnome, so you need to think and change few steps. Commands in the tutorial will be the same in Gnome, server installation and any other graphic desktop environment.
This tutorial doesn't include any figures about the process. I expect, that you can survive without.
This tutorial requires that you have permissions for using gksu and sudo (admin or root).
Getting updates using Update Manager
- Find the ”System” menu. It's next to orange-blue Firefox icon at the upper left corner.
- Click the ”System” menu.
Menu appears and you will see it.
- Find the ”Administration” menu and move your cursor on it
- Find the ”Update Manager” icon. Click it.
You wait a little while, depending the performance of your computer.
- Click ”Check” button in the window you got
You wait a while, when the ”Update Manager” downloads the update list for you. This time depends on the speed of your Internet connection. You have to be connected to the Internet to get updates.
- Click ”Install Updates” to install updates
You wait a while, when the ”Update Manager” downloads all the updates. After that it installs them. It might ask you questions depending the packages your updating. You can watch the indicator and see, how the update process goes. After the update, it will close the installation process window and show the same ”Update Manager” window again. Click ”Close” to close the ”Update Manager”.
Getting updates using APT
This way is not the easiest, but can be fastest when you learn it.
- Find the ”Applications” menu. This menu is the first menu in the upper left corner. Click the menu.
Menu will appear.
- Move your cursor on the ”Accessories” menu
A new menu will appear.
- Click the ”Terminal” icon
Terminal window will be opened. This window can be very dangerous if you don't know what you're using. I'm not responsible if something happens.
- Write ”sudo apt-get update” string to the Terminal and hit enter
Let's analyze this command. The first word called ”sudo” means that you're wanting to run this command as the root (=the admin). It's an acronym from ”superuser do”.
The next word called ”apt-get” means the program that provides an easy command line interface for managing packages.
The last word, ”update” means that you are updating your package list for downloading updates for your system.
- Insert your password and hit enter
Password is required to do different kind of operations as root.
It will start downloading updates. You may see the percentage of the part of the download process done. It might vary during the download process. After it ends and you will see the $ mark at the last row you can continue.
Be sure, you're connected to the Internet. This and the next step requires the Internet connection.
- Write ”sudo apt-get dist-upgrade” and hit enter
This command will download you all these updates. It might ask you to confirm that you want to download these update. Confirmation can be done by hitting the Y-button. After download process it will install these updates. The time it takes depends on the amount of updates, the speed of your Internet connection and the performance of your computer.
It might ask you question and you can navigate in the settings forms using TAB button (next to Caps Lock and Q buttons).
When you see the $ mark at the end of the last line, you may close the Terminal. Update process has been completed.
