After the release of Linux Mint 6 RC1 (Release Candidate) last month and the announcement that Linux Mint 6 Final is almost out the door, lead developer of Linux Mint, Clem Lefebvre has come out and announced the release of Linux Mint 6 Final and the availability of a software tool that should make upgrading from Elyssa to Felicia a pretty trivial matter. There are a few risks involved in the upgrade process though, making it a rather dangerous task to perform.

“The recommended way to install Linux Mint is to perform a fresh install. We’re planning to release Linux Mint 6 tomorrow so I personally recommend you wait until then and go the safe way, try the ISO, see if it works well with your computer and then decide to upgrade, or even better, to perform a fresh install,” explains Clem Lefebvre. The “tomorrow” he was taking about refers to the 15th of December, the current year.

Why would the lead developer of Linux Mint go ahead and write such a software tool if he was going to advice people now to use it? The simple answer is that numerous Linux fans demanded just such a tool, so one had to be provided to them. People need to have options; need to be free to choose, even though it is between a trouble free install from the live CD, and a potentially harmful upgrade from Linux Mint 5, codename Elyssa, to Linux Mint 6, codename Felicia. As Clem Lefebvre puts it, the tool “has been properly tested, it works well but it still presents a risk.”

The bottom line is this: use the upgrade tool if you are willing to accept the risks; do not use the upgrade tool if losing your current system is something you cannot live with.