Installing Updates

Once you have the software management settings configured, you’re ready to start working with the actual software updates. This section walks through how to use the graphical Update Manager tool to check on, retrieve, and install updates on your Ubuntu workstation.


The Update Manager
The Update Manager provides a quick interface for downloading and installing all updates for your Ubuntu workstation. You can start the Update Manager by selecting System -> Administration -> Update Manager from the Panel menu. The main Update Manager window.

If you configured the Software Source settings to automatically check for updates, the Update Manager may already have a current list of the updates available for your installed software packages, depending on when it last checked for updates. You can manually force Update Manager to check the configured repositories by clicking the Check button. The Update Manager connects to all of the remote repositories you configure in the Software Sources and checks for updates to all software packages installed on your specific Ubuntu distribution. If updates are available, they appear in the Update Manager main window.

From the main window you can view the title and summary for each update available for installation. Click on an individual update to highlight it, then click the Description of Update link at the bottom of the window to view a more detailed explanation of the update.

By default, all available updates are selected for download and installation. If there are any updates you don’t want to apply, just remove the check mark from the check box.
To begin the update process, click the Install Updates button. The Update Manager produces a progress dialog box, that indicates the download progress.

After the Update Manager downloads all of the updates, it processes each package update individually, applying the update to the installed software package.

Sometimes, certain updates are required to be installed before other updates can
process. Therefore, after you run an update you should manually check again
for additional updates. If additional updates are still available, install them, then
manually check again for more updates. Repeat this process until there are no
more updates available to install.


Using the Update Manager Applet
By default, Ubuntu installs the Update Manager Applet in the top panel. If you’ve configured the Update Manager to retrieve updates automatically, the Update Manager Applet monitors the status of the Update Manager as it works in the background on your workstation.
The Update Manager Applet icon displays a quick status of the Update Manager:
• Gray sun: Update Manager is checking for updates.
• Orange sun: Software updates are available to download and install.
• Gray down arrow: Update Manager is checking for security updates.
• Red down arrow: Security patches are available to download and install.
• Circling blue arrows: A reboot is necessary after an update installation.

If the orange sun or red down arrow icon appears, Update Manager has determined that updates are available for your installation. Clicking the Update Manager Applet icon in the top panel starts the Update Manager window and displays the updates available to install. As with the manual method, click the Install Updates button to begin downloading and installing the selected updates.

Source of Information : Wiley Ubuntu Linux Secrets