[arch-general] Kernel upgrades question, as can't revert to earlier kernel

Øyvind Heggstad mrelendig at har-ikkje.net
Fri May 30 08:50:48 EDT 2008


On Wed, 28 May 2008 23:35:46 +0200
Nigel Henry <cave.dnb2m97pp at aliceadsl.fr> wrote:

> I've noticed for some time now that some distros are upgrading the
> current running kernel, rather than installing a new kernel version,
> which if there are problems with the new kernel, you could boot the
> earlier kernel, which you know was working ok.
> 
> I'm currently updating my Don't Panic install, and there is a kernel
> update to 2.6.25.4-1 , and 21% done so far. Is there some way that
> this latest kernel version can be installed as a new kernel, and
> leave the existing one alone?
> 
> I don't like this way of updating the kernel, as you have no way of
> booting to the earlier one if the latest version is problematic.
> 
> 26% done now.
> 
> Nigel.
> 

There is a realy simple solution to this one:

Make a copy of the the kernel, initcpio and System.map that you want to
keep, and add an entry in grub that points at it. Also make a copy of
the modules in /lib

This way you can always have a kernel to fall back on. 

Personaly, I like the way that arch handles kernel updates, and dislike
strongly the way e.g. debian do, where you after a while end up with 20
kernels installed, many of the same version, just with a different set
of patches.




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