Linux Mint 18.0 with 4.8.1. Kernel - works well...

[mingle]

Hi Guys,

After having reasonable results upgrading my Linux Mint 18.0 64-bit xfce system to the 4.7 kernel a few months back, I thought I'd try the same with the 4.8.1 kernel.

Previously I'd followed the instructions on Ubuntu Manic, so I found the following page and gave it another try:

http://www.ubuntumaniac.com/2016/10/upd ... buntu.html

However, I had some fairly major issues on the desktop, so much so that I had to restore the system from a backup.

Not to be discouraged, I thought I'd try another method, instructions located here:

http://www.yourownlinux.com/2016/10/how ... linux.html

They seemed to work fine and after the reboot, everything seems to be working fine.

Just thought I'd share, in case anyone else wants to give it a shot.

(Disclaimer: Please take suitable precautions before attempting a Kernel upgrade and don't blame me if you feck-up your box!)

Cheers,

Mike.

[Moem]

I'm glad to hear that it works well with your hardware. Enjoy!
And if you want your report to be potentially useful to others, you could give us some information about your machine.

[mingle]

Good point!

My box is a Dell Optiplex 960, Intel Q9400 Core-2 Quad @2.66GHz, 8GB DDR2 RAM, integrated Intel Q43/Q45 GFX.

Cheers,

Mike.

[FreedomTruth]

So far, it's working for me except for virtualbox. I'll do a little research on that...

Screenshot at 2016-10-17 11-32-28.png

Code: Select all

 ~ $ inxi -Fxz
System:    Host: xxxxx.xxxx.xxx Kernel: 4.8.1-040801-generic x86_64 (64 bit gcc: 6.2.0)
           Desktop: MATE 1.14.1 (Gtk 3.18.9) Distro: Linux Mint 18 Sarah
Machine:   Mobo: ASRock model: Z77 Extreme6
           Bios: American Megatrends v: P1.90 date: 07/13/2012
CPU:       Quad core Intel Core i5-3350P (-MCP-) cache: 6144 KB
           flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 24801
           clock speeds: max: 3300 MHz 1: 1599 MHz 2: 1627 MHz 3: 1599 MHz
           4: 1618 MHz
Graphics:  Card: NVIDIA GK107 [GeForce GTX 650] bus-ID: 01:00.0
           Display Server: X.Org 1.18.3 drivers: nvidia,vesa,nouveau (unloaded: fbdev)
           Resolution: 1680x1050@0.00hz
           GLX Renderer: N/A GLX Version: N/A Direct Rendering: N/A
Audio:     Card-1 Intel 7 Series/C210 Series Family High Definition Audio Controller
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1b.0
           Card-2 NVIDIA GK107 HDMI Audio Controller
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 01:00.1
           Card-3 Logitech G430 Surround Sound Gaming Headset
           driver: USB Audio usb-ID: 003-002
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.8.1-040801-generic
Network:   Card-1: Broadcom NetLink BCM57781 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe
           driver: tg3 v: 3.137 bus-ID: 04:00.0
           IF: enp4s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
           Card-2: Realtek RTL-8100/8101L/8139 PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter
           driver: 8139too v: 0.9.28 port: c000 bus-ID: 0b:01.0
           IF: enp11s1 state: unknown speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full
           mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 2250.5GB (21.7% used)
           ID-1: /dev/sda model: ST2000DL003 size: 2000.4GB
           ID-2: /dev/sdb model: WDC_WD2500KS size: 250.1GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 147G used: 9.4G (7%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb5
           ID-2: /home size: 99G used: 66G (71%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda8
           ID-3: swap-1 size: 4.86GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/dm-0
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 46.0C mobo: N/A
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 193 Uptime: 24 min Memory: 1036.8/32138.5MB
           Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 5.4.0
           Client: Shell (bash 4.3.421) inxi: 2.2.35 

[EDIT] Well I "solved" the virtualbox problem -- after trying a couple other "fixes" that didn't work, I uninstalled virtualbox-dkms and virtualbox (I had 5.0.24), then installed 5.1.6 from .deb download on virtualbox site, also had to download extension pack for this version.
No other issues (yet) with this kernel.

[2nd Edit] After (too much) attempting to get NVIDIA driver running in this kernel without success, I gave up for now...

[mingle]

@FreedonTruth,

I has similar issues with VirtualBox. Uninstalling and then reinstalling the latest version (5.1.8.) seemed to fix it for me too.

Also, had success installing the 4.8.4 kernel - no warning /errors at all...

Cheers,

Mike.

[FreedomTruth]

Well after downgrading kernel back to 4.4 line, I initially left virtualbox at 5.1 but had a weird issue with mouse scrolling in virtual machines (even after updating the guest vbox additions) so I ended up downgrading that back to 5.0 line as well. I spend too much time breaking things that worked fine to start with, think I'll spend some time being productive for a change

[felemur]

I am not trying to discourage anyone from experimenting with other kernels, but just for those that are new to Linux, I'm going to commit the sin of quoting myself from another thread on the issue:

I wish someone had explained the issue to me this way when I was new to Linux:

Even though there are newer kernels coming all the time like the 4.6 you mention, it does NOT mean you are lacking in security updates if you stay with the 4.4 series of kernels.

Each time there is a security issue found, the 4.4 kernel gets the updates - this is why you have 4.4.0-31, 4.4.0-42 and up to (as of now) 4.4.0-45.66 which included the "Dirty Cow" exploit. That is why it is called a LTS kernel - LTS means Long Term Support.

So, what that means is that if your system is working properly you do not need to go to the latest kernel like 4.6 - just update to the latest version of the 4.4 series and you have all the kernel security issues up to date.

The reason it might cause problems if you go to a different kernel series (ie - 4.6, etc) is that Mint 18 (and its base Ubuntu 16.04 LTS) was built around the 4.4 LTS kernel, and since each time there is a new series there is code added and removed from the kernel, and that may cause unexpected issues with Mint or any other Ubuntu 16.04 based distro.

Why is this done this way? Stability. By building around the code in a specific LTS kernel, you have the peace of mind knowing that things have a very high probability of working day after day. I need this for my desktop - I work from it.

If you are into experimenting and want the latest kernel in your distribution of Linux and are willing to deal with issues that may come up from time to time, you need to go to what is known as a "Rolling Release" type of Linux. The one I have used in my computer I experiment with is Manjaro xfce. You update to the latest kernel series when it comes out, or a few days later, as part of the normal updates - but again, be prepared for an issue now and then.

[mingle]

Well after downgrading kernel back to 4.4 line, I initially left virtualbox at 5.1 but had a weird issue with mouse scrolling in virtual machines (even after updating the guest vbox additions) so I ended up downgrading that back to 5.0 line as well. I spend too much time breaking things that worked fine to start with, think I'll spend some time being productive for a change

Ha Ha! I have similar issues - it's all fun and games until something goes tits-up!

I agree with felemur's previous post - if you're unsure, or unable to risk buggering-up your system, be very wary when upgrading the kernel.

I always try it out on a similarly set-up virtual machine before committing changes to my live system. So far all has been well, but "your results may vary" (as they say!)

I must say, my experience with Linux Mint (I was a long, long time Windows user) over the past couple of releases (starting with 17.1) has been very positive. Prior to that I would always run into a "show-stopper" that resulted in me scurrying back to Windows. The stability and functionality of the past two releases has been outstanding, despite my incessant hacking!

Cheers,

Mike.