Old Linux Kernel Residues

bendipa · 07-15-2020, 05:18 AM

In the directory var/lib/dpkg/info I've noticed lots of files that reference old kernel versions going back months/years. Eg here are some files that reference a version that goes back several months. But there are plenty more that go back a few years.

Is it safe to delete all these old kernel reference files?

pan64 · 07-15-2020, 05:30 AM

if you don't need them yes.

hazel · 07-15-2020, 05:31 AM

When you're dealing with an advanced package management system, it's never a good idea to delete files by hand. These files form part of dpkg's database and if it gets corrupted, your updates could start misbehaving. The command sudo apt-get clean or sudo apt-get autoclean should clear out the old files. Autoclean clears out files that are out of date and no longer available. Clean is more drastic and cleans out the whole cache.

shruggy · 07-15-2020, 07:50 AM

@hazel. True in principle, but apt-get clean/autoclean will clear up /var/cache/apt/archives, not /var/lib/dpkg/info. The files there stay until the package in question gets purged. On my systems, I've defined this alias:

Code:

alias dlc='dpkg-query -Wf'\''${Status} ${Package}\n'\''|awk '\''$3~/config-files/{print$4}'\'''

This will show what packages were removed, but not purged, i.e. still have residual (config) files on your system.

Another way to show them is aptitude search \~c which also gives a convenient way to purge them:

Code:

sudo aptitude purge \~c

hazel · 07-15-2020, 08:09 AM

You learn all the time! I thought that purge only removed configuration files from /etc.