Kernel does not upgrade.

Techuser · 04-17-2017, 06:48 PM

Hi, my current kernel version is 3.19.0-32 and I am trying to upgrade it to 4.4.0-72 with Linux Mint 17.3

These are the issues:

-I have installed the new Kernel with Update Manager, but when I reboot it runs the old kernel.
-The output of "apt-get -y dist-upgrade" is:

Code:

0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded

In this post ( https://superuser.com/questions/7605...rade-my-kernel ), a user says that this output means that I have the latest available Kernel version, but I obviously don't. Plus, I have already upgraded to the 4.4.0-72 kernel before (and then downgraded it back).
-I thought of selecting the new kernel version via the grub menu, but Grub menu does not show up after booting, though I changed the parameter GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT from 0 to 10 in /etc/default/grub. Holding shift key when the computer is booting does not help.

Can You help me solve this?
Thank You in advance!

Shadow_7 · 04-17-2017, 06:57 PM

If using LiLo, re-install LiLo. Which is one of the most annoying things about lilo is needing to reinstall it every time the kernel changes.

For grub, make sure the grub.cfg is correct. If it's using a generic name like vmlinuz, then make sure that /vmlinuz and/or /boot/vmlinuz is a link to the kernel you want/expect to use. As well as the system map and initrd links. Or change it to be the actual file names in grub.cfg (gets overwritten by update-grub). Normally update-grub runs when a new kernel installs, but run it again to see if changes happen. You can use "e" while in grub to look at the entries before you boot them and F10 to boot it from "e". You can make changes while "e" is in effect and those will be used when you boot, but wont save to the grub.cfg. The down and dirty way to try things without bricking things (much).

hydrurga · 04-17-2017, 07:00 PM

I'm not sure whether the feature existed or has been backported to Mint 17.3, but do you have a View->Linux kernels option in the Update Manager?

jefro · 04-17-2017, 07:09 PM

Are the files for 4.x in /boot??

Techuser · 04-17-2017, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hydrurga

I'm not sure whether the feature existed or has been backported to Mint 17.3, but do you have a View->Linux kernels option in the Update Manager?

Yes, I have that option.

Techuser · 04-17-2017, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jefro

Are the files for 4.x in /boot??

Yes, they are.

hydrurga · 04-17-2017, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Techuser

Yes, I have that option.

Which of the kernels is listed as "active", and is 4.4.0-72 listed as "installed"?

Techuser · 04-17-2017, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shadow_7

If using LiLo, re-install LiLo. Which is one of the most annoying things about lilo is needing to reinstall it every time the kernel changes.

Not using LiLo.

Quote:

For grub, make sure the grub.cfg is correct. If it's using a generic name like vmlinuz, then make sure that /vmlinuz and/or /boot/vmlinuz is a link to the kernel you want/expect to use. As well as the system map and initrd links. Or change it to be the actual file names in grub.cfg (gets overwritten by update-grub).

Quote:

You can use "e" while in grub to look at the entries before you boot them and F10 to boot it from "e". You can make changes while "e" is in effect and those will be used when you boot, but wont save to the grub.cfg. The down and dirty way to try things without bricking things (much).

Sorry, my knowledge on Linux is very basic. How do I do all of this?

Quote:

Normally update-grub runs when a new kernel installs, but run it again to see if changes happen.

I ran it, rebooted the system and nothing happened.

Techuser · 04-17-2017, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hydrurga

Which of the kernels is listed as "active", and is 4.4.0-72 listed as "installed"?

3.19.0-32 is listed as "active". And yes, 4.4.0-72 is "installed".

Shadow_7 · 04-17-2017, 08:03 PM

$ ls -l /initrd.img
$ ls -l /vmlinuz
$ ls -l /boot/

When you get to the grub boot menu, move the selection to the one you want. Instead of pushing enter, press "e". Then either ESC to get back to the menu or F10 to boot this option.

$ sudo nano /boot/grub/grub.cfg

Code:

  echo    'Loading Linux 3.16.0-4-amd64 ...'
  linux   /boot/vmlinuz-3.16.0-4-amd64 root=UUID=11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111 ro  quiet
  echo    'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
  initrd  /boot/initrd.img-3.16.0-4-amd64

The above links to an actual file, the below links to a symlink.

Code:

  echo    'Loading Linux 3.16.0-4-amd64 ...'
  linux   vmlinuz root=UUID=11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111 ro  quiet
  echo    'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
  initrd  initrd.img

If you never see the grub menu, you might want to add a delay (timeout) other than 0 or -1.

FILE: /boot/grub/grub.cfg

Code:

set timeout=25

It's probably already in the grub.cfg, but set to a different value.

hydrurga · 04-17-2017, 08:28 PM

To see the grub menu at boot, try adding/setting the following lines in /etc/default/grub:

Code:

GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE="menu"

GRUB_TIMEOUT=10

After saving the file, run sudo update-grub

jefro · 04-18-2017, 03:53 PM

Seems some folks have other ways to access menu at boot time also. I was wondering about why shift didn't work. https://askubuntu.com/questions/1604...u-at-boot-time
Can try those or use the edits listed above.

This is what I might do but may not be right for you.
Might just download 4.10 or 4.11 kernel deb's and sudo dpkg -i *.deb and let dpkg fix it??? Three files are needed.