Disclaimer

Important disclaimers about Ubuntu Portal content, accuracy, and use of technical instructions.

Technical Content Disclaimer

Ubuntu Portal publishes documentation, guides, and reference material related to Ubuntu and Linux system administration. While we take accuracy seriously and test our instructions on real hardware, the nature of Linux means that outcomes can vary significantly depending on your specific configuration.

Here is the reality: two machines running the same Ubuntu release with different hardware, different installed packages, or different kernel versions can produce different results from the same set of commands. A guide written and verified on a ThinkPad with Intel graphics may not behave identically on a desktop with an Nvidia GPU and a custom kernel. We document known variations where we can, but we cannot account for every possible system state.

Commands and System Modifications

Many of our guides include terminal commands that modify system configuration — editing files in /etc/, installing or removing packages, adjusting kernel parameters, modifying partition tables, or changing bootloader settings. These operations carry inherent risk.

Always back up before making system changes. This is not a disclaimer we include for legal protection and then expect you to ignore. It is genuine operational advice from people who have learned the hard way. A current backup of your home directory and a known-good system snapshot (Timeshift, rsync, or similar) should be in place before you start following any guide that touches system-level configuration.

Specific cautions:

  • Filesystem operations (formatting, resizing, mounting) can cause permanent data loss if a drive path is incorrect or a partition table is misread. Double-check device identifiers with lsblk before proceeding.
  • Driver installation (particularly proprietary GPU drivers) can render your display server inoperable if the wrong version is installed or if a dependency conflict goes unresolved. Know how to access a TTY console and revert changes.
  • Bootloader modifications (GRUB configuration, EFI entries) can leave a system unbootable. Keep a live USB drive handy for recovery.
  • Package management commands involving --force flags or manual .deb installation bypass dependency safety checks and can break your system in ways that are tedious to untangle.

We include warnings like these within individual guides where they are relevant. This page serves as a blanket acknowledgement that all technical content on this site should be approached with appropriate caution.

No Affiliation with Canonical

Ubuntu Portal is an independent publication. We are not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Canonical Ltd., the company behind Ubuntu. Our content reflects our own testing, opinions, and editorial decisions.

Ubuntu is a registered trademark of Canonical Ltd. All other trademarks, product names, and logos mentioned on this site belong to their respective owners. Our use of these names is for identification and informational purposes only and does not imply any association or endorsement.

No Professional Advice

The content on this site does not constitute professional IT consulting, managed services, or formal system administration guidance. If you are operating infrastructure where downtime has financial, safety, or compliance implications, you should engage qualified professionals for system changes rather than relying solely on any online reference — ours included.

Accuracy and Currency

We actively maintain our content and update guides when Ubuntu releases, kernel changes, or package updates affect the accuracy of published instructions. Our changelog documents these updates. However, there will always be a lag between upstream software changes and our documentation catching up. If something looks wrong or outdated, we encourage you to let us know so we can investigate and correct it.

Limitation of Liability

Ubuntu Portal, its contributors, and its operators are not liable for any damages — including but not limited to data loss, hardware damage, system downtime, or lost productivity — arising from the use of information published on this site. You assume full responsibility for any actions you take based on our content.

This is a documentation resource, not a warranty. Use it wisely, keep backups, and test changes before applying them to systems you depend on.