Updates available, what do they do?

Bo Berglund bo.berglund at telia.com
Fri Sep 7 06:12:03 UTC 2007


On Thu, 06 Sep 2007 14:57:47 +0100, Chris Jones
<jonesc at hep.phy.cam.ac.uk> wrote:

>
>> One of these is a kernel update, I don't think I'd chance that because
>> it may probably disrupt my running machine given that its platform is
>> a VPC2007 virtual machine...
>> 
>> So what is the recommended procedure here?
>> - Uncheck the kernel and click OK?
>> - keep the kernel check?
>
>I would not avoid kernel updates per se. Fedora evolves fast and if you 
>do this consistently you can quickly find your self out of date and in 
>more trouble.
>
>Also note, as another has pointed out multiple kernels can co-exist side 
>by side. Installing a new kernel will *not* remove your currently 
>running (and presumably working) kernel.
>
>Also, as long as you have added the kernel boot options you need to 
>/etc/grub.conf, these options should be copied to the new kernel boot 
>options by default.
>
>I would
>
>1. Get all updates, including new kernel
>2. Check that the new kernel is in /etc/grub.conf, with the correct options.
>3. Reboot to try out the new kernel.
>
>All going well (and much more often than not it does) the new kernel 
>will work just fine. If not, you can simply choose the old kernel at the 
>grub boot menu and boot to that.
>

I did a complete update and after it was done I even checked grub.conf
before rebooting and sure enough my parameters for the kernel have
been copied over!

BUT, the subsequent boot failed! After the very first graphics screen
where the uesr gets a few seconds to enter the menu (which I didn't)
the screen turns black and never returns to a usable state!

Had to reset the machine and start again, this time selecting the old
kernel, which made the system boot normally.

So what is wrong with the new kernel?
And how do I make the old kernel the one to start instead of the new
one so i don't have to remember to interrupt the start process every
time?


Bo Berglund




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