Still running 17.1, although I manage to compile tarballs and not break everything, kernel question ahead

[fruitkiller]

I have ukuu installed. I'm running kernel 3.16.42, for now, I'm being cautious, as the proprietary AMD driver for my graphic adapter (Radeon HD 7870), I managed to get it to work just fine, fglrxinfo returns what it should. Although, maybe the Mint 17.3 partition I used to be running, it's still on a partition I have hidden because I was uncertain it was even wise for the system to see it, either in here (LM 17.1 with manually done updates, careful ones, as not to wreck the install, such as VLC 2.2., got some packages that seem to be for Mint 17.2, I would upgrade to it, as 17.2 did not cause issues, but anyway as I was saying, I think the whole thing might have been a quality but, gettin' old 500w PSU, I had to buy a new one yesterday when pressing power although ethernet cables plugged in the onboard and a pci network adapter, both provided a light and flashing, and turning the on/off button at the back, if turned off and on, the motherboard would show the light saying current is going just fine with. I asked if I needed something bigger, watts-wise, since this is an AMDFX-8350 Black Edition octocore, got one hell of a large EVO cpu cooler. I'll look into that later.

As for now, ukuu keep pestering me about how the very last 3.16 kernel is available, 3.16.54. Should I install it? I don't see it doing any fixes at all. If someone can find a list of these for that kernel, well, that'd help, I tried for a couple hours and didn't find anything much.

The desktop is so extremely quiet and cool now, I can likely mess around with the OC'ing, but I prefer to make everything right in 17.1 before going back to 17.3, and there's a step before that, using the last 3.16 kernel, then end up with the Recommended kernel, as I remember in 17.3, 3.19.0-32. Just asking because ukuu is bring up the box every 2 hours or so, I know I could disable it. Just don't want any unwarranted trouble here.

Thanks for reading, hope someone can help!

[jimallyn]

I have ukuu installed.

Why? As I understand it, that is just going looking for trouble. From Pjotr's Easy Linux Tips Project:

UKUU (Ubuntu Kernel Update Utility) is intended for one goal only: testing new kernels. Which is of course OK. But don't abuse it: the kernels it offers are not supported and are not appropriate for production use.

UKUU's kernels aren't reliable enough for everyday use. Furthermore: as these are pure upstream kernels, they do not include any Ubuntu/Mint-specific drivers or patches, nor any proprietary modules or restricted binary drivers.

Even if you know how to boot from an older kernel in case of kernel failure: you risk losing important work because of an unstable and unreliable kernel.

And from OMGUbuntu:

Ever wondered how to install new kernel releases on Ubuntu?

Using Ukuu (which stands for ‘Ubuntu Kernel Update Utility’) is one way to do it. This straightforward desktop app help you install a new kernel in Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and other Ubuntu-based distributions, using the “mainline” kernels published by Canonical.

But before you jump ahead in pursuit of shiny new things, a quick proviso is required because, generally, this is not something you want to do.

What is a mainline kernel?
Mainline kernels may be provided by the Ubuntu Kernel Team but they’re intended for testing purposes only.

Mainline kernels are not supported in the same way that a regular, run of the mill rep versions offered through the regular update channels or via the LTS HWE process.

These kernels are unmodified upstream kernels and are built using Ubuntu kernel configuration files.

You should not assume these kernels will be reliable enough for everyday use. You install them at your own risk. Be aware that as these are pure upstream releases they do not include any Ubuntu-specific drivers or patches, nor any proprietary modules or restricted binary drivers.

And from ubuntuhandbook.org:

The mainline kernels are provided by Ubuntu Kernel Team for testing and debugging purposes. They are not supported and are not appropriate for production use. You should only install these if they may fix a critical problem you’re having with the current kernel.

So, what I hear you saying is, basically, "I'm doing something that everybody warns could cause problems, can somebody help me with the problems I have created for my self?"

[fruitkiller]

Well, don't assume I am installing anything further, 3.16.42 is the last one with "trusty" next to it, the others have no name. You speak like I've done anything with ukuu, the only way this would happen is if the kernel I had to run, with important security fixes, when I first installed 17.1 on another drive, one of the first few updates in Update Manager, contained such krtnrl, but it was 3.13, literally the very last 3.13.x. But then many apps thought 3.13.x was too old. So I installed this 3.16.42 through the Update Manager, then I installed ukuu as it was showing much more kernels than my non-updated yet to 17.3 install. I'm aware of all the problems one can get when installing kernels, but I've installed a bunch of older 3.16.x and had to delete some and nothing wrong happened because, I'm not a neophyte, to be polite.

[BG405]

Which programs are causing issues on the 3.13 series? I have that series on one of my machines so can test a few of them.

As far as I know, for the Mint 17.x series, only the 3.13 and 4.4 kernels are maintained and (going to be) patched for Meltdown & Spectre. I'd recommend trying the latest kernel from the 4.4 series.