I installed a new clean installation of Zorin 18 Core. In the original version of Zorin 17.3 Core, I made a backup of my data in Evolution and wanted to restore it in Evolution in Zorin 18. However, restoring the backup fails. I found on the Internet that the Evolution developers made some changes in the new version and restoring data from the old version simply does not work. I had to reinstall Zorin 17.3 and restore the data in the original version of Evolution. Does anyone have any ideas? Will launching "Upgrade" directly from the menu in Zorin 17.3 help, so that the data from Evolution would somehow be converted to the new version automatically? I would like Zorin 18, but I have data in Evolution that I need to keep.
Using Brave search you could try manual backup per this guide:
" To export data from an older version of Evolution for import into a newer version on Ubuntu 22.04 to Ubuntu 24.04, the most reliable method is to use Evolution's built-in backup feature. This approach ensures that all mail, calendar entries, contacts, and account settings are preserved in a single archive file.
Begin by opening Evolution on the old system and navigating to File > Back up Evolution Data. This creates a compressed .tar.gz file containing all your data, including mailboxes, calendar entries, contacts, and configuration settings. Save this file to a secure location such as an external drive or cloud storage.
On the new system running Ubuntu 24.04, install Evolution if it is not already present. Then, open Evolution and go to File > Restore Settings . Select the .tar.gz file you created earlier to restore your data. This process will import all your emails, calendar events, contacts, and account configurations into the new version.
Alternatively, if you prefer a manual transfer, you can copy the relevant directories from the old user's home directory to the new one. The primary data directories are located at:
~/.local/share/evolution(stores mail, calendar, and contacts)~/.config/evolution(contains configuration settings)~/.cache/evolution(temporary cache files, optional to copy)
Before copying, ensure Evolution is completely shut down on both systems using evolution --force-shutdown or by killing related processes with pkill evolution . Copy the directories while logged out or using a root session to avoid conflicts. After copying, log back in and launch Evolution. Note that IMAP account passwords may need to be re-entered, as they are not included in the data transfer.
It is important to note that Evolution versions may have different data structures, especially when upgrading significantly. Using the built-in backup and restore function is the safest method to avoid compatibility issues. If you encounter problems, ensure that the backup was created with a version of Evolution compatible with the new installation, and consider using the evolution --force-shutdown command to fully close the application before transferring data.
AI-generated answer. Please verify critical facts."
You could then run a VM of 18 in 17 and see if you can import backed up manual data via external storage connected to VM.
Thanks for the response. But I wrote that I made a backup in the old version of Evolution in Zorin 17.3 Core, and then restored in the new version of Evolution in Zorin 18 Core. Evolution does not start at all after restoring the data. So option #1 does not work.
When I installed the older version of Zorin 17.3 instead of Zorin 18, and restored the data from the backup, Evolution in Zorin 17.3 works normally.
I also consulted ChatGPT and tried to unpack the archive manually and transfer the data directories manually, which I did, unfortunately Evolution kept crashing with the "SIGSEGV" error, or something like that.
GPT wrote to me:
Zorin 17 to Zorin 18 brings a jump in the Evolution version (3.50 to 3.54) and between these versions there were changes in the databases and configuration structure - so when Evolution 3.54 loads an old backup from 3.50, it often crashes with a SIGSEGV error... in Zroin 17.3 I have an Evolution version even older than 3.44.4.
That's why I started this thread and ask for help from someone experienced, I'm a more experienced amateur who switched from WIN10 to ZORIN a few months ago. I would like to get help from someone step by step, the AI ​​sometimes invents or suggests commands to execute that don't work. Zroin 18 is very user-friendly, and I would like to switch to it, but I need data from Evolution - about 1.2 GB. Thank you.
Having looked again at this you might need to use that other OS and fork out for this:
I have to say I am disappointed that this has occurred. It would appear the developer is becoming more like Gnome Devs, deciding what they think is good for users ... well it is known as Gnome Evolution.
You may try https://pkgs.org/download/evolution version 3.52 or 3.44 from the Ubuntu *.deb files at the end of the page, but inside Zorin 18, ideally you would install evolution 3.50 in Zorin OS 18, while version 3.44 is the one showing up in Zorin-17.3 apt search evolution repositories.
I think 3.44 would run in ZO 18.
In software, it's often the case that two programs only work together within a narrow band of specific versions, I had have those quite often, where I tried combinations of versions, just like you did with
| _ | {ZO 17.2/3; EV 3.50 } | {ZO 18; EV 3.56 } | {ZO 18; EV 3.44 } | {ZO 18; EV 3.52 } |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| runs | yes | yes | ? | ? |
| import from EV 3.50 | yes | no | ? | ? |
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So do you advise me to do a fresh install of Zorin 18, uninstall Evolution from Zorin 18, download Evolution 3.44.4 from the given address and install it in Zorin 18? Then restore the data from the backup I made in Zorin 17.3 in Evolution 3.44.4 to Evolution in Zorin 18?
If so, could you please write me step by step instructions on how to download the evolution_3.44.4-0ubuntu2_amd64.deb package from the given address. And then instructions, again step by step, on how to install that package in Zorin 18?
I also had the same problem with restoring an old backup. The restore only started after 14 mouse clicks. I don't understand why this is happening.
Oh, I see, my error. I'll take a look at this, because I'd like to know, too, but not now. At the moment, it's conceptual—if you want to press ahead, the likeliest candidate would be snap, because dependencies are baked into it. You could look for "how to install specific versions with snap" and adapt. Excuse my hesitation, as long as it's running with 17 and there are not must-haves in 18, I'd suggest to stick with 17. I do, too, until 18.1 or so has fixed most of the current problems.
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Today I installed Zorin on another computer. When I restored Evolution backup I had to press the Wait button 11 times. Everything went well after that and restoring the backup was successful. Could someone tell me what is causing this?