[HowTo] Update your kernel to the latest

[vandykmarsu]

How to upgrade the kernel to the latest via backports sources.


addition of necessary sources:

#stable

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echo "deb http://ftp.fr.debian.org/debian/ buster-backports main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list
echo "deb-src http://ftp.fr.debian.org/debian/ buster-backports main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list

#non-free

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echo "deb http://ftp.fr.debian.org/debian/ buster-backports main contrib non-free" >> /etc/apt/sources.list
echo "deb-src http://ftp.fr.debian.org/debian/ buster-backports main contrib non-free" >> /etc/apt/sources.list

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apt update

To know how kernel are installed:

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uname -a

Good news LMDE4 already has backports repository activated by default, we use later the backports sources to update our kernel.


To search a newest kernel:

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apt search linux-image

In the output we will see a lot of kernels, but we have interest to the latest, at this time the kernel 5.7:




Lets do it and install the latest kernel:

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apt install linux-image-5.7.0-0.bpo.2-amd64 linux-headers-5.7.0-0.bpo.2-amd64 -t buster-backports -y

A reboot is needed to boot on the new kernel:

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reboot

We can check now:

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uname -a

The output:

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Linux my-pc 5.7.0-0.bpo.2-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 5.7.10-1~bpo10+1 (2020-07-30) x86_64 GNU/Linux

let's take it a step further by removing the old kernels, in general it is advisable to keep 2 kernels in case there is a problem with one of them.

To view the installed kernel:

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dpkg --list 'linux-image*'

In the output you will see how kernel you can purge, in my case i keep the 4.19 and the 5.7 and purge the 5.6.


Example to purge a kernel:

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apt autoremove --purge linux-image-5.6.0-0.bpo.2-amd64 linux-headers-5.6.0-0.bpo.2-amd64 -y

We need to upgrade the grub with the changes we made:

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update-grub2

After an reboot in the boot menu, select advanced options, you can also check the kernels who are usable.

[SwampRabbit]

Thank you for making a HowTo.

But, why not use the MX Package Installer and Debian Backports tab?
For a new and novice user we already have a much simpler way.

You don't have to mess with your sources.list and you don't have to use the Debian mirror in France, not everyone lives in France.
I lived in Grenoble France in the early 2000s, I enjoyed my time there, but still not everyone needs to use the Debian mirror in France.

If you want to make HowTos, it would be great if you did them using all the amazing tools that make it easy for new and novice users, which is the preferred MX way.

[sunrat]

Apart from doing it the hard way instead of the easy MX way as SwampRabbit posted,

addition of necessary sources:

#stable

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echo "deb http://ftp.fr.debian.org/debian/ buster-backports main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list
echo "deb-src http://ftp.fr.debian.org/debian/ buster-backports main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list

#non-free

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echo "deb http://ftp.fr.debian.org/debian/ buster-backports main contrib non-free" >> /etc/apt/sources.list
echo "deb-src http://ftp.fr.debian.org/debian/ buster-backports main contrib non-free" >> /etc/apt/sources.list

You only need one of those 4 lines and you don't need the deb-src lines to install a new kernel.

We need to upgrade the grub with the changes we made:

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update-grub2

No you don't, apt will do that automatically.

[asqwerth]

re: update-grub2, the only 2 distros I've seen in the past few years still using "grub2" are Fedora and PCLinuxOS, both rpm-based distros.

When I installed PCLOS in 2015 on my machine, it was still on legacy grub when most other distros were already using grub2. For PCLOS, 'grub' was legacy grub with the menu.lst grub menu. So its /boot/grub folder held all the legacy grub stuff. WHen I subsequently installed their grub2, it installed all the grub2 stuff in the /boot/grub2 folder.

But Debian and Ubuntu had long moved to grub=grub2 by then, and grub.cfg was just stored in /boot/grub folder. And AFAIK, the update command has simply been "update-grub" for a long time. (probably a shortcut or alias, but still.... it's been that for yonks)

[Huckleberry Finn]

Thank you for making a HowTo.

But, why not use the MX Package Installer and ...

Literally agree.

[sunrat]

And AFAIK, the update command has simply been "update-grub" for a long time. (probably a shortcut or alias, but still.... it's been that for yonks)

It's still in Debian as a symlink, didn't check MX right now.

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$ file /usr/sbin/update-grub2
/usr/sbin/update-grub2: symbolic link to update-grub

[andyprough]

re: update-grub2, the only 2 distros I've seen in the past few years still using "grub2" are Fedora and PCLinuxOS, both rpm-based distros.

When I installed PCLOS in 2015 on my machine, it was still on legacy grub when most other distros were already using grub2. For PCLOS, 'grub' was legacy grub with the menu.lst grub menu. So its /boot/grub folder held all the legacy grub stuff. WHen I subsequently installed their grub2, it installed all the grub2 stuff in the /boot/grub2 folder.

But Debian and Ubuntu had long moved to grub=grub2 by then, and grub.cfg was just stored in /boot/grub folder. And AFAIK, the update command has simply been "update-grub" for a long time. (probably a shortcut or alias, but still.... it's been that for yonks)

'update-grub2' is a valid command on Debian-based distros, as it is a "stub for running grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg to generate a grub2 config file" according to the update-grub manpage. Both 'update-grub2' and 'update-grub' do the same thing, they invoke the same stub.

[Stevo]

In my experience, it doesn't matter what command you use to update GRUB, because you don't need to issue one at all--adding, upgrading, or removing a kernel updates the menu automatically. So it's a non-issue.

It's also missing the warning that third party drivers like Nvidia, virtualbox-dkms, or broadcom-sta may not build with a new kernel, though we try to stay ahead of that in the AHS repo, at least. These instructions get a D- grade at best.

[asqwerth]

Per my post above, I did guess that update-grub and update-grub2 do the same thing due to shortcuts or aliases (so now I know that in fact update-grub2 is a symlink to update-grub) , but the point was that it hasn't been necessary to include the '2' in Debian in ages.

I still use :

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grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg

In my fedora install to update grub.

ADDED: and Stevo is right that these instructions aren't the most appropriate and there are caveats/cautions attached.