Kernel version

[Liam Proven]

On Wed, May 12, 2010 at 6:30 PM, Daniel <asmosis.asterix at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello, I just managed to do a dual boot for the first time(windows xp) and
> ubuntu 10.04 but I have a question. When I first start the computer it asks
> me what I want to boot up. Ubuntu has 4 entries and windows xp one. My
> question is why do I have two kernel versions version....x.x.x.x.22 and
> version x.x.x.x.23 and recovery modes for each. Why instead of two versions
> of kernels, I don't have only one? Let's say version .23. What's the
> difference between the two kernels and what does recovery mode? Can anyone
> tell me?
>
> thank you so much! Have a great day everyone! :)

One you've installed a new kernel - they come periodically as part of
your system updates - and you have rebooted into it and know it works
fine, you can, if you wish, remove the old one to keep your GRUB boot
menu nice and tidy.

The way I do it is this:

 - run Synaptic
 - in the Quick Search box, enter the kernel main revision: for
instance, at the moment, for 10.04, that is 2.6.32 - do *NOT* include
the build number, the one on the end after a hyphen.
 - now click the 1st column header, where it says "S". This sorts the
list by installation status. You want the entries with green squares
coming first - in other words, it's listing the installed packages
first, followed by ones that are not installed.
 - go to the top of the list, if necessary, with the scrollbar. You
should now see 3 entries for each installed kernel version.

E.g. I have:

linux-headers-2.6.32-21
linux-headers-2.6.32-21-generic
linux-headers-2.6.32-22
linux-headers-2.6.32-22-generic
linux-image-2.6.32-21-generic
linux-image-2.6.32-22-generic

Note that there are 3 entries for Linux 2.6.32-21 and 3 for Linux 2.6.32-22.

What you do next is to select the 3 entries for the older version - that is:
linux-headers-2.6.32-21
linux-headers-2.6.32-21-generic
linux-image-2.6.32-21-generic

It's *VERY IMPORTANT* that you leave the entries for the current
kernel - 2.6.32-22 in this case - *UN*-selected.

Once you have selected the 3 parts of the older kernel version - hold
down the Control key and click them to group-select - next,
right-click them and pick "Mark for Complete Removal".

Then click Apply. Wait for Synaptic to remove the old kernel.

Reboot and you'll see only your latest kernel in the list.

Do this VERY CAREFULLY. Remove the wrong bits and you will leave your
system unable to boot!

If you're not confident about doing this kind of thing, don't. Just
ignore the older entries in GRUB.

-- 
Liam Proven • Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/liamproven
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