Won't boot after upgrading kernel to 2.6.27-11

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rivenought

Re: Won't boot after upgrading kernel to 2.6.27-11

Post by rivenought »

I think you are updating your system via Synaptic, which is not the suggested way to upgrade due to the possibilities of breakage. You will probably get much better results from upgrading via mintUpdate.

In mintUpdate, Levels 1 and 2 are safe. You can pick and choose the level 3 updates depending on what you actually need. Levels 4 and 5 are not recommended unless you are more experienced with Linux.

Welcome to Linux Mint, by the way. Have fun.
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
rivenought

Re: Won't boot after upgrading kernel to 2.6.27-11

Post by rivenought »

Writing this as I am installing Mint on a system, the first thing I noticed in a brand-new install is the little padlock flashing in the panel. I opened mintUpdate and saw only levels 1, 2, and 3. None of those packages had a kernel update. I looked in the Level 4 and 5 packages, which are not enabled by default, and saw the kernel update in there. So, a new user would not have those updates enabled by default and would have to actually enable those packages for installation via mintUpdate.

Yes, Mint is compatible with Ubuntu repositories, but you must also remember that Mint is NOT Ubuntu.

I have always found the Mint User Guide to be extremely helpful. You can get your copy from http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php by clicking on the User Guide hyperlink. You can then read the PDF whenever you have time. You should find the information starting around page 57 to be educational in regards to updating and package management. The guide explains everything much better than I can. Have fun.
calibre97

Re: Won't boot after upgrading kernel to 2.6.27-11

Post by calibre97 »

I mentioned this in the Other thread, but this is on-topic so here goes. While on vacation I saw kernel updates available from MintUpdate but I canceled because, well, I was on vacation and didn't want to bork my laptop. I haven't seen the kernel updates again. I'm on 2.6.27-7-generic. I ran MintUpdate and ticked the visible boxes for levels 4 and 5 and saw some new things that don't quite jibe with expectations. For level 4, I see radeon and ati xserver items, but I have an NVidia chip so don't know why those are available. Oh, Intel xserver is there as well so I guess everything shows up, not just what you've got. Interesting. Anyway, as for kernel stuff, I see restricted modules for 2.6.27-11.16, but linux-headers for 2.6.27-7.16. Then there's libc-dev for 2.6.27-11.27, and linux-image-2.6.27-7-generic for 2.6.27-7.16. See the mismatch with -7 and -11 kernel things? Which kernel would I wind up with if I selected all the non-video-related stuff, and what would it mean since GRUB didn't install properly back when I did the install from the released live CD? (I got my menu.lst entries from Hesse and I get GRUB from my Kubuntu partition.)
calibre97

Re: Won't boot after upgrading kernel to 2.6.27-11

Post by calibre97 »

Weird behavior with the forums just now. Triple posted without any confirmation other than a server error. So I'm removing the duplicate text here.
rivenought

Re: Won't boot after upgrading kernel to 2.6.27-11

Post by rivenought »

calibre97,

I noticed your other post about the new kernel showing up in mintUpdate. I do not think that is the default behavior for mintUpdate since you verified you did not have level 4 or 5 updates enabled. I have no idea why it did that.

From what I have gathered, sticking with the default kernel will give you the most stable experience. Though, if you are more adept with Linux, the kernel updates should not be as problematic. Me, well, I use the default kernel and update a few of the level 3 packages that I feel are necessary. That method works best for me. Have fun.
kwisher

Re: Won't boot after upgrading kernel to 2.6.27-11

Post by kwisher »

I ran into this same issue and after booting into the previous kernel I looked at the /boot/grub/menu.list and noticed there was a line missing from the new kernel option. I added the following line so that it was like the older kernel listing.

Code: Select all

initrd		/boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-7-generic
Just make sure the kernel number matches to the correct version.
Fred

Re: Won't boot after upgrading kernel to 2.6.27-11

Post by Fred »

rivenought wrote:
I have always found the Mint User Guide to be extremely helpful. You can get your copy from http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php by clicking on the User Guide hyperlink.
This is very good advice. Trying not to sound too harsh, but why would you expect to be able to install a new OS that you know nothing about without reading and learning a little bit about it. Randomly clicking on things and trying to guess what the results might be seems to me to be an obvious prescription for breakage. Having said that, upgrading a kernel is a big step and should not be undertaken lightly. As a general rule of thumb, never upgrade a kernel without a good reason, ie. to fix a specific problem or gain a function that you need.

Fred
Fred

Re: Won't boot after upgrading kernel to 2.6.27-11

Post by Fred »

digininja,

I am not saying you don't have a valid point, because you do. It is just that Mint is in an unusual situation. Mint is not Ubuntu, but it does use the Ubuntu repos. Not all the packages, especially meta-packages, in the Ubuntu repos are always compatible with Mint. In fact, not all the packages in the repos are always entirely stable in Ubuntu either, for that matter. Mint has attempted to mitigated this problem by using MintUpdate and pining packages in specific risk levels. By keeping the update levels allowed low, maximum stability can be had. Allowing higher level updates may not always be trouble free and may require some additional Linux skills to get working properly. It is an attempt to provide for everybody's needs. New users should stay with the lower level updates but it provides the more experienced users the opportunity to live on the cutting edge, so-to-speak. Living on the cutting edge always entails the risk of some breakage and loss of stability, regardless of the distro. At least that has been my experience.

Synaptic is a very useful tool for the more experienced user. But as you have pointed out it does allow the new user an opportunity to break things. Reading the users manual, looking through the wiki, or even skimming through the forums would have saved many a new user from themselves. :-)

Fred
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