Upgrade to 5.0.2 or stay with 4.3.30?

[Tracey Lowndes]

I have 4.3.30 on a Windows 7 host, with Ubuntu, Ubuntu Mate, Linux Mint Cinnamon and Linux Mint Mate as guests.

I see that 5.0.2 is available, but according to the Virtualbox website the 4.3 series is still being actively maintained.

So do I upgrade to 5.0.2, or stay with 4.3.30?

[Brutalizer]

Yes.

[Perryg]

4.3.30 is the latest of the stable version in the 4.* series.
5.0.* is the first release in the 5.* series that includes new features and code which makes it not that stable. The decision is of course yours to make. If you want/need the new features then it is obvious, but if you do not then stick with the stable release for a while longer.

[Tracey Lowndes]

Thank you for your answers.

I see that the 5.0 series supports USB 3.0, which I have on my physical computer (as well as USB 2.0). That seems to be the only reason to upgrade for me, but is it a good enough reason?

Another question - how will this affect my VMs? Is there anything special I should do with them?

And finally, I've read elsewhere that you have to uninstall the previous version before installing the new one - is this true? If so, what about my VMs?

[Perryg]

Thank you for your answers.

I see that the 5.0 series supports USB 3.0, which I have on my physical computer (as well as USB 2.0). That seems to be the only reason to upgrade for me, but is it a good enough reason?
Only you can answer that question

Another question - how will this affect my VMs? Is there anything special I should do with them?
It should not affect them in any way

And finally, I've read elsewhere that you have to uninstall the previous version before installing the new one - is this true? If so, what about my VMs?
I find it best to always remove the one that is installed. Some don't within the same major version but I like to be sure.

[Brutalizer]

You just remove the previous version of VB 4.3.30 and install the newest v5.0.2 version. You dont have to touch the VMs, just let them be. Everything should work. If it does not work, just remove the latest VB version and go back to the old VB version.

It is recommended that you backup your VMs before upgrading, but i never do that and I have never had problems.

[Tracey Lowndes]

I've decided not to upgrade to the latest version, mainly because I'm thinking of getting a new computer. I may upgrade later, but for now I'm staying with what I have.

Thank you for all the replies to my original question.

[BrianG61UK]

Yes.

You do realise that "Yes" is a useless answer to a question of the form "Should I do A or B"?

[mpack]

Yes.

You do realise that "Yes" is a useless answer to a question of the form "Should I do A or B"?

Or, it can be seen as a facetious way of saying that either one can be the correct answer, depending on circumstances which only the questioner can know. Later posts dealt with this.