The latest stable Linux Kernel has just been released and chances are you not running it and that’s just fine. This short guide is going to show you how to upgrade to it in Ubuntu 3.04 Raring Ringtail and previous if you need to.
It seems like every two to three weeks, there are updates to the Linux Kernel. Updates that enhance and fix issues that were discovered from the previous released versions. Upgrading to the latest Linux Kernel is a nice thing to do as long as your system supports it. Kernel updates are there to enhance, fix bugs, patch security holes, and sometime introduce new features.
So it’s a good thing to upgrade, but remember to always make sure your system supports it because upgrading to an incompatible kernel may render your system unusable.
Don’t do it if you’re not sure. On the other hand, if you’re experiencing hardware issues with your computer and think that upgrading may resolve it, then continue below to learn how to upgrade in Ubuntu.
To get started, press Ctrl – Alt – T on your keyboard to open the command console or terminal. Then run the commands below to update your system and remove any kernel that shouldn’t be there.
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade && sudo apt-get autoremove
After running the above commands, you may have to restart your computer. When you log back in, run the commands below to change into the /tmp directory because we want these downloaded packages discarded after installing.
cd /tmp
Next, run the commands below to download the 32-bit version of the Linux Kernel
wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.9.4-saucy/linux-headers-3.9.4-030904-generic_3.9.4-030904.201305241545_i386.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.9.4-saucy/linux-headers-3.9.4-030904_3.9.4-030904.201305241545_all.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.9.4-saucy/linux-image-3.9.4-030904-generic_3.9.4-030904.201305241545_i386.deb
To download the 64-bit version, run the commands below
wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.9.4-saucy/linux-headers-3.9.4-030904-generic_3.9.4-030904.201305241545_amd64.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.9.4-saucy/linux-headers-3.9.4-030904_3.9.4-030904.201305241545_all.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.9.4-saucy/linux-image-3.9.4-030904-generic_3.9.4-030904.201305241545_amd64.deb
When you download the version for your system, run the commands below to install the kernel.
sudo dpkg -i *.deb
Finally, run the commands below to update GRUB
sudo update-grub2
Restart your computer and you’re done.
More about this release can be found @ https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/ChangeLog-3.9.4
- a fix to get rid of pt_regs argument in vm86/vm86old’ got rid of the pt_regs stub for sys_vm86old and sys_vm86
- fixes issue with adding multiple ntb client devices to the ntb virtual bus
- fix for this as well ‘”the system will appear to lockup for long periods of time due to the NTB driver spending too much time in memcpy”
To uninstall the kernel you just upgraded to, run the commands below
sudo apt-get purge linux-image-3.9.4*
Enjoy!