The Linux Kernel has just been updated to a stable version 3.8.5 of the 3.8 mainline, and this brief tutorial is going to show you how to upgrade your current kernel in Ubuntu to take advantage of some of the newest features and bug fixes that are included.
Before upgrading the current kernel on your system, please make sure to back it up because issues that may result from this upgrade could render your system inoperable.
This kernel version adds support for Richland APUs, which are a new version of the Trinity APUs with performance and power management improvements.
For more about this maintenance release, please visit the Linux Kernel changelog page
Below are some of the features and bug fixes that are included
- ARM: DMA-mapping: add missing GFP_DMA flag for atomic buffer allocation
- usb: musb: da8xx: Fix build breakage due to typo
- USB: garmin_gps: fix memory leak on disconnect
- USB: serial: fix interface refcounting — Make sure the interface is not released before our serial device.
- USB: xhci: correctly enable interrupts
- clockevents: Don’t allow dummy broadcast timers
- watchdog: sp5100_tco: Remove code that may cause a boot failure
To get started with upgrading, press Ctrl – Alt – T on your keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run the commands below to change into your Downloads folder.
cd ~/Downloads
Next, run the commands below to download either the 32-bit or 64-bit version of the kernel.
32-bit Download
wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.5-raring/linux-headers-3.8.5-030805-generic_3.8.5-030805.201303281651_i386.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.5-raring/linux-headers-3.8.5-030805_3.8.5-030805.201303281651_all.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.5-raring/linux-image-3.8.5-030805-generic_3.8.5-030805.201303281651_i386.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.5-raring/linux-image-extra-3.8.5-030805-generic_3.8.5-030805.201303281651_i386.deb
64-bit Download
wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.5-raring/linux-headers-3.8.5-030805-generic_3.8.5-030805.201303281651_amd64.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.5-raring/linux-headers-3.8.5-030805_3.8.5-030805.201303281651_all.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.5-raring/linux-image-3.8.5-030805-generic_3.8.5-030805.201303281651_amd64.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.5-raring/linux-image-extra-3.8.5-030805-generic_3.8.5-030805.201303281651_amd64.deb
After downloading, run the commands below to upgrade your system’s kernel.
sudo dpkg -i *.deb
Finally, update Grub by running the commands below
sudo update-grub2
Restart your computer and you’re done. You may go back to your Downloads folder and delete the kernel archives you downloaded.
Enjoy!
