Cannot import Apps to new setup

Support and Help
1

Ubuntu Version:
24.04, 25.10

Problem Description:
I’ve installed Xubuntu on a second system, to try it out (as I am searching for a smoother running version of Ubuntu on an older system)
I would like to transfer my various Apps over to this system
I have followed what I think are the steps.

  • exporting the app data
  • moving it over to the new system

but when I try to import that App data (“ sudo dpkg --set-selections < installed-packages.txt
sudo apt-get dselect-upgrade”)

I get an error:
”E: Unable to satisfy dependencies. Reached two conflicting decisions:

  1. cloud-init-base:amd64=25.3-0ubuntu1~25.10.1 is not selected for install

  2. cloud-init-base:amd64=25.3-0ubuntu1~25.10.1 is selected as an upgrade
    E: Internal error, problem resolver broke stuff

    can anyone talk me through this?

1 Like
2

I think the issue is caused by version mismatch between your systems.

Your installed-packages.txt likely includes specific package versions (e.g. from 25.10), while your new system (Xubuntu) may be on a different release or has different repositories. This can confuse apt and lead to dependency conflicts like the one you’re seeing.

You can try this instead:

sudo apt install $(awk '{print $1}' installed-packages.txt)

This installs only package names (without forcing exact versions), which is usually safer across different Ubuntu flavors or versions.

Also, some packages may not exist or may differ on Xubuntu, so a few failures are normal.

4 Likes
3

thank you.

I tried that command but seem to just get a very long string of Errors such as the below (and attached):

Package libswscale5 is not available, but is referred to by another package.
This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
is only available from another source

Error: Unable to locate package acpi-support
Error: Unable to locate package gcc-12-base:i386
Error: Unable to locate package gcc-14-base:i386

app install errors
app install errors660×460 109 KB

4

i’ll probably just install the various apps manually.

5

That kind of side-loading Windows habit is generally unnecessary and confusing on an Ubuntu system, as you have discovered.
It tends to cause as many problems as it solves.

For most new users, the typical recommendation is to adopt the habit of using App Center (or apt or snap). When you discover a need, use App Center momentarily to satisfy that need.

In the Free Software ecosystem, applications come and go with different versions of Ubuntu. Be open to substitutes if a favored application wanes.