[SOLVED] Install A Newer Version of the Kernel

Ztcoracat · 03-04-2014, 10:57 PM

Hi:

I read about the newest stable kernel 3.13 and the fixes for AMD and Radeon.
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag...tem&px=MTU2NDE

http://news.softpedia.com/news/AMD-C...t-423025.shtml

Sometimes with hardware and performace issue's installing a newer version is the answer but I don't know what version of the kernel is the right one for what I have going on.

This distro (Voyager) that I would like to install a new kernel is just for testing and learning so if it crashes I have my Fedora machine.

-At start up it doesn't recognize the keyboard and I have to reboot.
Sometimes the keyboard is recognized on the second boot but the wireless mouse is not.
-Generally the screensaver pictures cycle but they stopped and now sometimes they work and other times just a plain blue screen.
-On certain websites with lot's of graphics and HD pictures the page will lag and the picture will show as a window with a boarder the screen will flash and than the picture eventually appears.

I have the AMD driver installed (13)but it is not the most current (14)Beta-

Code:

	Identifier   "aticonfig-Monitor[0]-0"
	Option	    "VendorName" "ATI Proprietary Driver"
	Option	    "ModelName" "Generic Autodetecting Monitor"
	Option	    "DPMS" "true"
EndSection

Section "Device"
	Identifier  "aticonfig-Device[0]-0"
	Driver      "fglrx"
	BusID       "PCI:1:0:0"

Voyager 12.04 is running:

Code:

└─> uname -r
3.2.0-59-generic

Now before I go installing another version of the kernel & headers that I have never performed before I wanted to find out what members here that have experience with this have to say.

How do I know what kernel would suit the performace issues & etc?

Do headers have to be installed with each new installation of the kernel?

Should Grub be updated as well upon installing a newer kernel?

evo2 · 03-04-2014, 11:14 PM

Hi,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ztcoracat

How do I know what kernel would suit the performace issues & etc?

This seems to be a pretty general question, so a general answer would be to read the changelogs and/or summaries about what's new online.

Quote:

Do headers have to be installed with each new installation of the kernel?

No you don't _have_ to install the headers. If you want to build some module against that kernel you'll need them though.

Quote:

Should Grub be updated as well upon installing a newer kernel?

Yes, but this should be done by the package post install script (assuming a sane distribution and a sane package).

How exactly are you planning to do this? Presumably it is not yet packaged for your distro. I'm not familiar with the distro you are using, but give the version number "12.04" I assume it is derived from Ubuntu. If so I would suggest using make-kpkg from the kernel-package package.

Evo2.

rokytnji · 03-04-2014, 11:15 PM

Code:

harry@biker ~/Downloads $ ls
asus_micro.jpg
conkyrc-jc-mate
conky.zip
content.php.jpg
linux-headers-3.13.5-031305-generic_3.13.5-031305.201402221823_amd64.deb
linux-image-3.13.5-031305-generic_3.13.5-031305.201402221823_amd64.deb
linux-image-3.13.5-031305-generic_3.13.5-031305.201402221823_amd64.deb.part

Code:

$ inxi -G
Graphics:  Card: Intel Mobile 4 Series Integrated Graphics Controller 
           X.Org: 1.13.0 drivers: intel (unloaded: fbdev,vesa) Resolution: 1366x768@60.0hz 
           GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Mobile Intel GM45 Express GLX Version: 2.1 Mesa 9.0.3

Code:

$ uname -a
Linux biker 3.12.0-7-exton #15 SMP Mon Dec 9 10:23:02 CET 2013 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Quote:

How do I know what kernel would suit the performace issues & etc?

Try it. Experiment like I do.

Quote:

Do headers have to be installed with each new installation of the kernel?

Yep. refer to my readout above.

Quote:

Should Grub be updated as well upon installing a newer kernel?

Always yep or it won't show in grub screen or boot.

Code:

 $  apt-cache search linux-headers-$(uname -r)
linux-headers-3.12.0-7-exton - Linux kernel headers for version 3.12.0 on x86/x86_64

Code:

$ dpkg --list | grep linux-image
ii  linux-image-3.12.0-7-exton                  3.12.0-7.15                                   amd64        Linux kernel image for version 3.12.0 on x86/x86_64
ii  linux-image-3.5.0-17-generic                3.5.0-17.28                                   amd64        Linux kernel image for version 3.5.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-image-extra-3.5.0-17-generic          3.5.0-17.28                                   amd64        Linux kernel image for version 3.5.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-image-generic                         3.5.0.17.19                                   amd64        Generic Linux kernel image
harry@biker ~ $

My 3.5 is my backup if things go south on a new kernel instal.

Code:

sudo update-grub

gives me the menu options to decide which kernel I am gonna boot.

rokytnji · 03-04-2014, 11:47 PM

Done and Done

Code:

$ inxi -Fxz
System:    Host: biker Kernel: 3.13.5-031305-generic x86_64 (64 bit, gcc: 4.6.3) 
           Desktop: MATE 1.4.2 (Gtk 3.6.0-0ubuntu3.2) Distro: Linux Mint 14 Nadia
Machine:   Mobo: SAMSUNG model: RV410/RV510/S3510/E3510 Bios: Phoenix version: 02UC.P026.20100916.LX date: 09/16/2010
CPU:       Dual core Pentium CPU T4500 (-MCP-) cache: 1024 KB flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 ssse3) bmips: 9176.56 
           Clock Speeds: 1: 1600.00 MHz 2: 1200.00 MHz
Graphics:  Card: Intel Mobile 4 Series Integrated Graphics Controller bus-ID: 00:02.0 
           Display Server: X.Org 1.13.0 drivers: intel (unloaded: fbdev,vesa) Resolution: 1366x768@60.0hz 
           GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Mobile Intel GM45 Express GLX Version: 2.1 Mesa 9.0.3 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio:     Card: Intel 82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio Controller driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1b.0 
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture ver: k3.13.5-031305-generic
Network:   Card: Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) driver: ath9k bus-ID: 06:00.0 chip-ID: -1
           IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>
           Card: Marvell 88E8040 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller driver: sky2 ver: 1.30 port: 3000 bus-ID: 04:00.0 chip-ID: -2
           IF: eth0 state: down mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 320.1GB (28.5% used) 1: id: /dev/sda model: SAMSUNG_HM321HI size: 320.1GB 
Partition: ID: / size: 18G used: 5.4G (33%) fs: ext4 ID: /home size: 163G used: 80G (52%) fs: btrfs 
           ID: swap-1 size: 4.19GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap 
RAID:      No RAID devices detected - /proc/mdstat and md_mod kernel raid module present
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 46.0C mobo: 46.0C 
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A 
Info:      Processes: 187 Uptime: 4 min Memory: 516.9/3886.2MB Runlevel: 2 
           Gcc sys: 4.7.2 Client: Shell (bash 4.2.37) inxi: 1.9.19

Code:

$ dpkg --list | grep linux-image
ii  linux-image-3.12.0-7-exton                  3.12.0-7.15                                   amd64        Linux kernel image for version 3.12.0 on x86/x86_64
ii  linux-image-3.13.5-031305-generic           3.13.5-031305.201402221823                    amd64        Linux kernel image for version 3.13.5 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-image-3.5.0-17-generic                3.5.0-17.28                                   amd64        Linux kernel image for version 3.5.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-image-extra-3.5.0-17-generic          3.5.0-17.28                                   amd64        Linux kernel image for version 3.5.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-image-generic                         3.5.0.17.19                                   amd64        Generic Linux kernel image

Code:

 # update-grub
Generating grub.cfg ...
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-3.13.5-031305-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-3.13.5-031305-generic
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-3.12.0-7-exton
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-3.12.0-7-exton
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-3.5.0-17-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-3.5.0-17-generic
Found memtest86+ image: /boot/memtest86+.bin
Found Windows 7 (loader) on /dev/sda1
done

Ztcoracat · 03-04-2014, 11:49 PM

Thank you for a quick reply.

I have linux-headers-3.13.3-0 and the generic kernel 3.13.3-0 amd64.deb

Just use dpkg to install or go get the tar ball from The Linux Kernel Archives?
Not sure what the preferred method is-:-

evo2 · 03-05-2014, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ztcoracat

I have linux-headers-3.13.3-0 and the generic kernel 3.13.3-0 amd64.deb

Just use dpkg to install or go get the tar ball from The Linux Kernel Archives?
Not sure what the preferred method is-:-

Depends: where did you get the packages from? Are they really for your distro?

Evo2.

Ztcoracat · 03-05-2014, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by evo2

Depends: where did you get the packages from? Are they really for your distro?

Evo2.

I downloaded the kernel directly from the Linux Kernel Archives from https://kernel.org/

Code:

linux-3.13.5.tar.xz

The .deb packages for the kernel and headers came from Ubuntu Kernel Developers on this page-
http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa...3.13.3-trusty/

This distro is Xubuntu and Ubuntu based and a large portion of the pkg's that make up this distribution are .deb files.
No, I'm not sure if these 2 kernels that I downloaded are ok for this distro.

How do I find out?

evo2 · 03-05-2014, 12:37 AM

Hi,

the kernel from the ppa seems to be for "trusty" which according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ubuntu_releases is ubuntu 14.04, where as you are using 12.04... so I'm not sure, but I know I wouldn't use it. Better to find a backport for 12.04, or compile from source yourself.

Please note that you seem to be a bit confused about installing from source and installing packages.

Evo2.

Ztcoracat · 03-05-2014, 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by evo2

Hi,

the kernel from the ppa seems to be for "trusty" which according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ubuntu_releases is ubuntu 14.04, where as you are using 12.04... so I'm not sure, but I know I wouldn't use it. Better to find a backport for 12.04, or compile from source yourself.

Please note that you seem to be a bit confused about installing from source and installing packages.

Evo2.

If you wouldn't use it I most certainly am not going to either.
I trust your wisdom evo.

I'll look for a backport that's suitable for 12.04.

I am not the best at compilation from source (tarball)-
I can do it if I have to but not without help. It's hard for me because I don't always know when compilation is complete
and when it's time to move on to "make" and "make install"

Installing packages is easy for me.
Installing from source is not my favorite thing. This area is where I need to increase my skill and learn more.

Ztcoracat · 03-05-2014, 01:48 AM

It doesn't look like I will be able to install kernel 3.13--
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...x/+bug/1270215

https://lists.launchpad.net/kernel-p.../msg43846.html

TobiSGD · 03-05-2014, 05:31 AM

In your situation (getting better support for your videocard) installing a newer kernel will not help much, since you are using the proprietary drivers anyways. You may get better performance in some games with kernels >3.12 due to a solved bug with power management, but that is all what you can expect.
This would be different if you would use the free radeon driver, in that case 3.13 will give you huge improvements, but only if you also install the latest Mesa (preferably 10.1RC), libdrm, LLVM and xf86-video-ati (which will in turn also need GLAMOR in the newest version).
It would be much easier for you to just use a newer version of your distribution, if possible, or switch to a different distribution which has these things by default.

Ztcoracat · 03-05-2014, 09:35 PM

I have decided to go ahead and switch to another distribution.

I have been looking a Mangeia and started reading the documentation associated with Slackware.
I plan to decide on one of these distro's once I have more knowledge & understanding.

Thanks TobiSGD!-

enorbet · 03-06-2014, 10:10 AM

Greetz
I'd just like to mention that way back, nearly 15 years ago, I tried Slackware because the people I respected most on IRC Linux channels did and one told me when I asked why - "I dunno....stuff just compiles right on it"

He was right even if a little functional in the description of the advantages of Vanilla. It's still true and I still vastly prefer Slackware even though the only software I still regularly compile from source is The Kernel.

It's not that hard. It tells you when it's done with any given step and even tells you what is the next step, whether you have errors that need attention or everything you did worked perfectly. Errors are rare when you compile a kernel on a running system using "make oldconfig" which makes sure any options on your running kernel are included on your new build. As long as you keep the old kernel as a backup still in your bootloader as an option, really, very little can go wrong, and you learn a lot.

Ztcoracat · 03-06-2014, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by enorbet

Greetz
I'd just like to mention that way back, nearly 15 years ago, I tried Slackware because the people I respected most on IRC Linux channels did and one told me when I asked why - "I dunno....stuff just compiles right on it"

He was right even if a little functional in the description of the advantages of Vanilla. It's still true and I still vastly prefer Slackware even though the only software I still regularly compile from source is The Kernel.

It's not that hard. It tells you when it's done with any given step and even tells you what is the next step, whether you have errors that need attention or everything you did worked perfectly. Errors are rare when you compile a kernel on a running system using "make oldconfig" which makes sure any options on your running kernel are included on your new build. As long as you keep the old kernel as a backup still in your bootloader as an option, really, very little can go wrong, and you learn a lot.

Wow, that's very encouraging; Thank You-

I'm thinking I will learn more with Slackware because I can invest the time to look up what I don't understand.

evo2, rokytnji, & TobiSGD Thank you all for teaching me about the kernel and other practices I hadn't knowledge of.

Emerson · 03-06-2014, 07:47 PM

You can build modules against kernel sources (no headers needed).
You can use symlinks pointing to your kernel image, since GRUB can read the filesystem (unlike LiLo) it will happily follow the symlink and load the kernel. So no, if using symlinks you do not need to update GRUB.