Upgrading from Linux Mint 21.3 to 22: failure and success
I upgraded my System76 Merkaat mini PC from Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon to Mint 22 “Wilma”. It didn't go as hoped but some extra effort eventually made Mint 22 run fine.
I began by starting the upgrade process from Mint 21.3.
I didn't get a good feel for the upgrade tool, with a confusing user interface that labels some buttons Fix when “proceed” is actually meant. But it didn't matter as the tool aborted with this error that, while totally obscure, made it very clear I'd face an uphill battle if I dared to proceed and troubleshoot the issue.
I didn't want to stay on 21.3, so the only option was a full install of Mint 22.
The Merkaat initially reported a media error when booting the Mint 22 USB stick, which is unexpected since it's a Philips unit bought less than a month ago and used only a few times. A restart of the Merkaat resolved the issue and the Mint 22 installer finished smoothly.
With a backup of the Mint 21.3 user data handy, it took me about three hours to reconfigure the system. But I'm finally writing this from Mint 22.
I originally intended to do full installs only for major Mint releases, and go through the upgrade process for point releases. But, since I'm new to Mint, I was curious to try the upgrade tool now.
The failure of the tool is surprising because I ran it under the most favourable conditions, i.e. on hardware designed for Linux, under a Linux system installed less than a month earlier with minimal changes or bitrot. However, since it's so unreliable I will always upgrade via full installs.
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