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I used apt-get install xserver-xorg-hwe-16.04 and upgraded my Xubuntu system to use the HWE packages. The result was very disappointing since the system was taking much too long to start and it froze right after the user password was entered.

I purged all kernel 4.8 relevant packages and the system seems to be back to normal.

My question is, what do I do with the xserver HWE packages? Do I have to go back to the normal xserver-xorg packages or is it ok to leave the xserver HWE packages installed? I can see they work ok with kernel 4.4 now but will they work ok with kernel 4.4 in the future when new updates arrive?

Thank you!

muru
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Stormlord
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  • These packages don't seem to have an dependency or breaking relation, so it should theoretically be safe and fine to run the GA kernel with an HWE Xorg stack. Exceptions prove the rule though, there's no 100% certainty of course. – Byte Commander Mar 01 '17 at 22:32
  • In case it proves to be necessary to go back to the normal packages, is purging all xserver HWE packages and installing the xserver-xorg package the only things that need to be done? – Stormlord Mar 01 '17 at 22:39
  • Yes, I guess so. – Byte Commander Mar 01 '17 at 22:58

2 Answers2

1

You can view the contents of the relevant log file to see, which packages were removed when xserver-xorg-hwe-16.04 was installed; get the file path by

zgrep -c xserver-xorg-hwe-16.04 /var/log/apt/history.log* | awk -F: '$2>0{print $1}'

You could purge xserver-xorg-hwe-16.04 by

sudo apt install --purge xserver-xorg-hwe-16.04- xserver-xorg xserver-xorg-core \
xserver-xorg-input-all xserver-xorg-input-evdev xserver-xorg-input-synaptics \
xserver-xorg-input-vmmouse xserver-xorg-input-wacom xserver-xorg-video-all \
xserver-xorg-video-amdgpu xserver-xorg-video-ati xserver-xorg-video-fbdev \
xserver-xorg-video-intel xserver-xorg-video-nouveau xserver-xorg-video-qxl \
xserver-xorg-video-radeon xserver-xorg-video-vesa xserver-xorg-video-vmware
jarno
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Comments and links about LTS systems

It can be difficult and confusing to select the version of Ubuntu both for the first installation and for upgrading to a new released version. This answer will focus on how to find the version with the longest remaining support time (until 'end of life'), which is often the first point release of an LTS release (LTS stands for Long Time Support).

Right now, when this is written, it is Ubuntu 16.04.1 LTS, and its iso files are not found via the 'usual' links for the current versions.

The support intervals are described with details and diagrams in this link,

www.ubuntu.com/info/release-end-of-life

The kernel series of the second, third and fourth point releases are different from the kernel series of the first point release, and are not supported for a long time. The hardware enablement stack must/will be upgraded according to these links,

wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/LTSEnablementStack

wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/RollingLTSEnablementStack

in order to keep everything up to date (including security updates of the kernel). This is risky and I would discourage you to do that. Many failures are reported. Some of these problems can be found, if you type HWE into the 'Search Q&A' window near the top right corner of the web browser's window with AskUbuntu (and press Enter).

The kernel series of the fifth point release is that of the next LTS relesase and has long support.

Strategy for a stable and reliable system

I suggest a strategy using LTS releases at this link,

https://askubuntu.com/questions/717827/can-i-smoothly-upgrade-from-one-lts-to-next-lts-release/956148#956148

Get the iso files

Start looking for the iso files of the version with the longest remaining support via these links,

If the iso files of the version with the longest remaining support are not found via those links, you can find them via the following general link,

and right now, when this is written, you want to find Ubuntu 16.04.1 LTS via the following link,

sudodus
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