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I am using Ubuntu 12.04 and due to the weak support of hybrid graphics in the originally distributed kernel (I think it was 3.2) I updated the kernel to 3.4.3 today.

But the system is still suggesting me to download some updates of kernel 3.2 when the software update application is popping up.

Will it harm my system if I still download those updates?

Jorge Castro
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st3fUn
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2 Answers2

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If you update a kernel, then all you are going to do is placing a couple of files in

/boot/{config, initrd, System.map, vmlinuz}-{version}
/usr/src/linux-headers-{version}

The kernel itself is only an executable. That gets started by the bootloader (configuration is in /boot/grub/grub.cfg ). This in turn allows a user to have multiple kernel versions installed simultaneously. Not knowing how you installed the 3.4 kernel version, I don't think that installing these updates will do any harm to your computer (especially if you downloaded the .deb from kernel.org and installed it manually).

If you can find the files for a 3.2 kernel in /boot/ and the corresponding /usr/src/linux-headers you should be safe. Since you should be able to boot a 3.2 kernel in case your 3.4 kernel somehow doesn't work anymore.

I would however recommend using a PPA for unstable kernels, since it will take care of all the dependencies.

The suggestions for updating 3.2 kernel files might come from the fact that you weren't able to install the 3.4 kernel correctly and you're still running a 3.2 kernel. In this case I recommend using the PPA to install the 3.4 kernel.

This comment provides a good explanation on how to upgrade to unstable kernels

Community
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Pascal
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  • Well, it didn't quite answer my question. I made a pretty rookie move and installed the updates for the previous kernels.

    Nothing actually changed, no problems.

     – st3fUn Jun 23 '12 at 20:28
  • Well I wrote that you should be safe if you find the 3.2 kernel files still on your computer ^^. – Pascal Jun 24 '12 at 09:44
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3.4.3 is the latest version than 3.2. You can install kernel 3.2 and select kernel you want to use when booting at Grub windows.

I suggest you remove old kernel to avoid any update for older kernel.

Open terminal and check your current kernel:

uname -r

DO NOT REMOVE THIS KERNEL!

Next, type the command below to view / list all installed kernels on your system.

dpkg --list | grep linux-image

Find all the kernels that lower than your current kernel. When you know which kernel to remove, continue below to remove it. Run the commands below to remove the kernel you selected.

sudo apt-get purge linux-image-x.x.x.x-generic

Finally, run the commands below to update grub2

sudo update-grub2

Reboot your system.

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penreturns
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  • That's not really the question p00c was asking, the OP already has 3.4.3 installed but is being prompted to update packages from the previous version. – jackweirdy Jun 19 '12 at 16:12
  • @penreturn Thank you! I am now removing my old kernels, but in my kernel list is that one: linux-image-generic

    Shall I also remove that one?

     – st3fUn Jun 19 '12 at 16:32
  • can you give me the result for dpkg --list | grep linux-image – penreturns Jun 19 '12 at 16:35