Honestly, forget it.
Backup and re-install. 11.2 uses ext4 as well so it’s even more complicated, although you can use ext3, but if you want to upgrade don’t do half a job.
It might sound mammoth, but I guarantee it will be quicker in the long run !
Well, in the case of this particular workstation, this is the first time I have updated it since 11.0 first came out. It hasn’t seen 1 update since it was configured so long ago.
I have read that ext3 will be converted to ext4 in the upgrade.
I have the system updated from 10.3->11.0->11.1->11.2.
I see when running mount command i am at ext3 still
The installer does not magically change format. You can not reformat a partition without destroying the information on it. The only way to change format is to backup the data reformat then restore. The installer will default to ext4 on a new install.
Upgrading to 11.2 is not recommended since there are major changes. Upgrading leaves configuration files from the previous install which may not be entirely correct for the new.
I have read this and other guides.
But i am afraid than since i have no separate partition for the os.
all are in one, even /home, it is a no-go such a convertion
My 2 cents worth, I also would do a fresh install, in your case even more so.
If I had ext3 I would not convert it to ext4, I would instead install with ext4, If your situation better suits having a separate /home, and it appears to, doing this for a new install also is simple, also consider all of the config files that may have conflicts from previous upgrades.
I would however test with a liveCD to check hardware detection etc first.
Of course, you have anything that you may want to keep saved.
Copy your entire /home to an external drive, perform a clean install, creating separate partitions for / and /home. Take care that the /home partition should be larger than the backup /home folder on the external disk. After install, restore the contents of the backup /home folder on the external disk to the /home partition. You may have to reset some permissions, but this would give you a working 11.2 with your /home kept. Mind: if you have webfolders in /srv, or mysql databases backup those first. Restore after install