Score:1

Running a persistent USB, trying to upgrade from 21.04 to 21.10

bd flag

I've done this successfully using the same box with mkusb disk creator. Now when I attempt upgrade the system generates a msg

"EFI System Partition (ESP) not usable: Your EFI System Partition (ESP) is not mounted at /boot/efi. Please ensure that it is properly configured and try again."

I cannot for the life of me work out how to configure it correctly. Please and thank you

24601 avatar
in flag
Your question isn't really clear on what you are trying to achieve, but if all you want to do is **upgrade** an existing instance then [this reference](https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2021/10/upgrade-ubuntu-21-04-ubuntu-21-10/) will be of help.
sudodus avatar
jp flag
Which computer is it (brand name and model? In which Linux distro do you run mkusb? Which Ubuntu flavour do you want to run persistent live? Did you check the iso file with sha256sum or md5sum? Did you use mkusb-dus or mkusb-plug? Has the persistent live system worked before, or has it never worked? What are you trying to upgrade? How (which commands) are you running to upgrade? -- Please edit your original question to answer the questions from us who try to help you. (We need this information, otherwise we can only guess and not really help you.)
sudodus avatar
jp flag
I'm guessing now, that you try to do-release-upgrade like an installed system: You cannot upgrade a persistent live system from one version to another one (staying within the same flavour of Ubuntu). What you can do is keep `/home` and use it in the next version. See [**this link**](https://help.ubuntu.com/community/mkusb/persistent#Backup_.26_restore_of_the_home_directory_in_a_casper-rw_partition)
Andrew avatar
bd flag
@sudodus I am using mkusb-dus on an old Acer Gigabyte with Intel® Core™ i5-4590 CPU. 16GB ram. I have successfully upgraded from 20.04 to 20.10 and 21.04 using the persistent drive. I'll look into the link you shared. Thanks
sudodus avatar
jp flag
@Andrew, Are you upgrading an installed system or upgrading a persistent live system?
Andrew avatar
bd flag
@sudodus. I've successfully upgrade a persistent system. Twice from 20.04 to the most recent releases. It seems that there is something wrong with the way that 21.10 installs in my particular instance where the software center will not load. Using gdebi as a work around which is acceptable.
sudodus avatar
jp flag
@Andrew, This is new and interesting for me. In test that I did some years ago upgrading within a version is possible, when there is enough drive space in the partition for persistence, but not from one version to another. But still, I don't think that Ubuntu is testing or planning for 'do-release-upgrade' of persistent live systems, so I am not surprised that it fails with 21.10. Probably too much have changed compared to previous versions.
sudodus avatar
jp flag
@Andrew, If you want a fully up to date external system, I recommend an installed system, installed like into an internal drive, but in this case into an external drive, connected via USB or eSATA. See [this link and links from it](https://askubuntu.com/questions/1367302/how-to-make-a-portable-ubuntu-server/1367303#1367303) near the end of the answer.
Andrew avatar
bd flag
@sudodus I splashed out and bought a PNY 1TB usb key and agree that Canonical aren't likely to support a persistent live version. TBH was surprised I could get to 20.10 from LTS. Thanks so much for your insight.
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