Cannot write to boot sector -- Solved

[fabien85]

Congrats !

In Mint there is a nice way to manage kernels : open the update manager, then View > Linux kernels.
The first time you will have to say ok to a screen warning that you have to be careful with kernels, then kernels are organised by series, at the moment 4.4 4.8 4.10 4.11 & 4.13 series. You can install kernel there and remove installed ones too.

To put solved on the topic, you need to edit your first post, and then modify the subject, in the field above the post typing area.

[Punkin]

I have updated the first entry to note you have walked me through this.

I have also downloaded the latest kernel. I assume i have the choice at Boot to select which kernel I want to use.

Thanks, again.

[deepakdeshp]

Newer versions of kernel have more security patches, drivers for more devicee etc.
You can remove and install kernels using ubuntu kernel update utility. Install and remove kernel versions which you don't need.

[fabien85]

Indeed you can choose your kernel at boot.
The default grub entry will boot you to the latest kernel you have, but you can boot previous kernels by going to "Advanced options for Linux Mint ...".
Note however that DKMS modules (including third-party driver for the graphic card, e.g. nvidia, or for wifi etc) are normally compiled only for the latest kernel, so they wont work on previous kernels.
Personally, I always have at least 2 kernels : a fallback kernel, the one that was shipped with the Mint ISO when I installed, and a daily one which is more up to date. For me the daily one is the latest possible because my CPU is recent and not well supported by the default 4.4 series. If your hardware is supported by 4.4, I recommend to stay on that series because it's simpler and the series has long time support (LTS) from Ubuntu.
When a new kernel comes around, I install it and test it as my daily one for a day, then I remove the previous "daily" kernel. Each kernel together with the initrd image and System.map weighs >60M so they can fill up space if you never uninstall them. For instance there have been 28 kernel updates in the 4.4 series since the default one shiped with LM 18, if I count correctly. That can be an issue if you have a separate /boot partition and/or space is restricted. In your case space is not an issue so you could disregard this and never remove kernels if you want.

[Punkin]

Thanks for that.

Please understand, I have been around Linux for about 20yrs and understand its general functioning. What I am not familiar with is the Command Line usage and when to use what. A friend says he identifies me as an advanced user. I toyed with getting into the bowels of the beast, back when I first got started, but, to be honest, it never really appealed to me. Oddly enough, the reason was that Linux is so stable, I simply began to forget what I knew by the time I needed it again.

That being said. I have another question, which I will address under another thread. But I was wondering if you would walk me through it on that thread ? The problem is with a kernel update on my other machine. Its running the 32bit version and I use it to play some older games or do a quick look at the weather, if I am watching a stream on this one?

The problem is, when I updated to the 4.13.0-19, or the 4.13.0-17, Cinnamon crashes.

Thanks again.