Recently, it was recommended that I upgrade to a higher stable kernel so that I could get the xserver-xorg-video-nouveau video driver that my new video card badly needs. So I did it today. I went from 2.6.28.5-1-i686-dream which is Debian 5.0 to 2.6.32-5-686 which, apparently, is 5.0 too!

Is it possible I did something wrong and I'm not really upgraded? Or is 2.6.32-5-686 5.0 I don't know where on the web to research this. I chose the highest available kernel.

Btw, I used the terminal to download and install.

You upgraded the kernel but nothing more. Debian Lenny just runs fine with this new kernel.

This is not bad practice. However as Lenny is being phased out it is recommended to upgrade to the next stable Debian which is Squeeze. Run apt-get dist-upgrade and after downloading about 1.5 GB worth of packages you'll install the new version.

When performing a dist-upgrade it is recommended to first upgrade the kernel, boot into it and then continue with upgrading everything else. With just upgrading the kernel you were on the right track.

jlinkels

Thank you! Since I have already upgraded the kernel I guess all I have to do is run # apt-get dist-upgrade ?
And what exactly do you mean by "boot into it and then continue with upgrading everything else"? I rebooted my computer after I installed the new kernel, does that mean I'm set to run # apt-get dist-upgrade?

Also, I have read that kernel upgrades take hours, sometimes 24hrs, When I upgraded the kernel it took less than 30 mins. Is that a bad sign.

This is what I did:

1st-Logged in as root I ran "apt-cache search linux-image" to find which kernel images were available in the software repository.
2nd-I ran "apt-get install linux-image-2.6.32-5-686" to install the new kernel.

Was that enough? Did I skip a step? It's very hard to find good directions online, and some are a bit contradictory or don't make sense.

Debian-lenny (aka 5.0) used the 2.6.26 kernel.
the 2.6.32 kernel was available form the lenny-backorts.
The actual Debian-stable ( 6.0 aka Squeeze) also uses a 2.6.32 kernel.
The actual Debian-testing ( 7.0 aka Wheezy) also uses a 2.6.32 kernel.
At the top of this page:
http://packages.debian.org/search?ke...le&section=all
you can click on the different flavors (lenny, squeeze, wheezy, sid) and see what kernel they use.

Without knowing your source list it is not clear if you did only install a newer kernel (for example from the lenny-backports), or if you did a dist-upgrade.

If you did a dist-upgrade, the usual procedure is to first install a new kernel. Boot into that one.
Then run "apt-get upgrade" and then run "apt-get dist-upgrade".
To do that you must edit your sources list (first of all).
If you did not do that, you still run the debian-version you ran before you installed the new kernel.
All is fine.
If you did that, you should or could run the upgrade now.
Usually one is getting advice to read the upgrade notes before that.

It might be an idea to post your /etc/apt/sources.list.
Else everyone is shooting in the dark.

http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/de...e/ch02.en.html

PS:
Where did you read that?

A bit less than one minute and 30 seconds.

Well, here is my source.list:

#DREAMLINUX PROJECT

#DEBIAN STABLE/LENNY
deb-src http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ stable main contrib non-free
deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ lenny main contrib non-free

#DEBIAN MULTIMEDIA
deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ squeeze main
# deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ testing main
deb-src http://www.debian-multimedia.org/ lenny main

#DREAMLINUX
deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org/ lenny main
deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org/ squeeze main
deb http://dl.google.com/linux/deb/ stable non-free
# deb http://ngsys.eti.br/debian/ dream/
# deb http://ngsys.eti.br/debian/ generic/



deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ squeeze main contrib non-free

deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ squeeze (stable) non-free



# deb http://backports.debian.org/debian-backports/ squeeze-backports main <--This I installed manually after the kernel upgrade in synaptic. Was told it was needed in another set of instructions. With this I still could not get nouveau driver.



On yet another web site where I was seeking info on how to upgrade my kernel. Only learned that it can take a really long time... for some people.

I appreciate your assistance.
you should also know, that since I had trouble with grub menu.lst from the very beginning and had to manually configure it, I did the same after I rebooted the computer and the menu.lst still said old kernel. After that, maybe because of it, when I run $ uname -r it comes up as 2.6.32-5-686
Should I restore the original menu.lst? I saved it to my desktop, just in case it was a very bad idea (ie. couldn't boot up).

It might also be helpful to know that whenever I try to run # apt-get update I'm told "signatures couldn't be verified because the public key is not available". I have no idea why. This is a recent development. Or at least I hadn't noticed till recently because i haven't run #apt-get update in a very long time prior.

****

I just deleted deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ squeeze (stable) non-free and unchecked
deb http://dl.google.com/linux/deb/ stable non-free in Synaptic and now when I run apt-get update it does. Thought you should know.