Upgrade to LMDE 6 from LMDE 5 [Tutorial]

Linux Mint Debian Edition 6 (LMDE 6) was recently released with the latest packages and updates. If you are running Linux Mint Debian Edition 5 (LMDE 5), you can upgrade to this latest version.

But before you upgrade, you need to do some housekeeping because major version upgrades always come with a fair amount of risk.

That said, make sure of the following before performing the upgrade.

Table of Contents

Things to do before the Upgrade Attempt

Open the Update Manager and make sure your system is up to date until the latest LMDE 5.
Use Timeshift to create a system restore point after you apply all the pending updates in the above step. If something happens, you can always restore it to this point in time.
Take a backup of all of your home, downloads, documents, pictures and video folders.
Make sure your system is plugged into the power source. This is mandatory.
Create a system restore point using Timeshift. This is mandatory.
Make sure you have a minimum of 5 GB of free disk space in the root directory.
(Optional) Disable any third-party PPA that you may have added in your Debian system. You can find those in the System Settings > Software Sources > PPAs or Additional Repositories tabs.
(Optional) Prepare a LIVE USB of LMDE 5 if you cannot boot it after a failed upgrade. It will help to restore via Timeshift.
(Optional) Finally, do a fresh reboot before you follow the steps.
Ensure you have a stable internet connection and have around 20 mins+ to give attention to the upgrade process.

Upgrade to LMDE 6 from LMDE 5

Open a terminal window and run the following to ensure you are up-to-date, i.e. up to the Debian 11 “bullseye” packages.
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
Once the above command is complete, open the terminal again. And run the following command to install the mintupgrade tool (if not installed).
sudo apt install mintupgrade
After the above command is complete, run the following to launch the LMDE 6 upgrader.
sudo mintupgrade
You should see the “Upgrade to LMDE 6 “Faye”” label. Click on “Let’s Go”.
In the next welcome screen, click Next and follow the on-screen instructions.
At the final screen, hit Apply and provide the admin password. The update process will download and apply the updates.
Wait for ~25 minutes for the update to complete.
After the process is done, reboot your system.
(Optional), you can remove the mintupgrade utility which you have installed above.

Things to remember during the Upgrade

Usually, the upgrade process is smooth and should not be an issue. This version takes around 25 minutes for base installation.
Do not force quit the upgrade process.
So, you need to wait until it completes all the steps.
If you end up with a broken upgrade system, you can boot from a LIVE Mint USB/CD and restore your system with Timeshift backup.

If the upgrade fails, you may try for a new upgrade via this official guide.

Post Upgrade Steps

Make sure you do a reboot before start using the upgraded system.
If you have disabled the third-party PPAs, enable them and do a system update check. You can find the third-party PPAs at the System Settings > Software Sources > PPAs or Additional Repositories tabs.
Verify the /etc/apt/sources.list file with the latest “bookworm” repositories.
Verify whether your documents, pictures and videos are present.
Also, check if your browser add-ons and cinnamon extensions are working fine.
Finally, you may want to check out the Best features of LMDE 6 “Faye” before you start using it.