The Linux Kernel 3.8.3 has just been released and this brief tutorial is going to show you how to easily upgrade to it in Ubuntu. Upgrading your kernel is not recommended as it has the propensity to break stuff. It is recommended to always upgrade the Linux Kernel along with the OS after it has been proven and tested to work with your systems.

With that being said, sometimes upgrading your kernel can fix issues you’re currently experiencing with your computers, and if you just can’t wait for it to be tested and released, go ahead and upgrade.

This is a maintenance release that’s part of the Kernel 3.8 mainline that fixes several issues including, a fix for issue that prevents booting OS with SD card inserted, a fix that cleanup orphan reservation if truncate fails.

For more about this release, check out the changelog here.

Below are some of the changes that were added:

  • USB: Fix connected device switch to Inactive state.
  • USB: Don’t use EHCI port sempahore for USB 3.0 hubs.
  • powerpc: Apply early paca fixups to boot_paca and the boot cpu’s paca
  • ARM: mxs_defconfig: Make USB host functional again
  • crypto: user – fix info leaks in report API

To get started, run the  below commands to update your system first before upgrading the kernel.

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade && sudo apt-get autoremove

 

After running the commands above, run the commands below to download the 32-bit version of the Linux Kernel for Ubuntu.

cd ~/Downloads

Change into the Downloads folder and download the Kernel by copying and pasting the link below

32-bit Download

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.3-raring/linux-headers-3.8.3-030803-generic_3.8.3-030803.201303141650_i386.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.3-raring/linux-headers-3.8.3-030803_3.8.3-030803.201303141650_all.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.3-raring/linux-image-3.8.3-030803-generic_3.8.3-030803.201303141650_i386.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.3-raring/linux-image-extra-3.8.3-030803-generic_3.8.3-030803.201303141650_i386.deb

 

64-bit Download

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.3-raring/linux-headers-3.8.3-030803-generic_3.8.3-030803.201303141650_amd64.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.3-raring/linux-image-3.8.3-030803-generic_3.8.3-030803.201303141650_amd64.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.3-raring/linux-image-extra-3.8.3-030803-generic_3.8.3-030803.201303141650_amd64.deb

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Next, run the commands below to install the kernel.

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

 

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Finally, update grub by running the commands below.

sudo update-grub2

 

Restart and you’re done.

 

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