Arch Linux

Nebula_W2081d

Member

From: San Diego, CA

Registered: 2018-07-31

Posts: 7

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Effects of keeping linux and nvidia packages from upgrading.

I recently installed Arch Linux on a new machine, this being my first time using a machine with an NVIDIA card, I read the Arch Wiki entry on the subject and successfully got my new machine running with no problems. A few days later when I ran "pacman -Syu", I noticed a new update for the NVIDIA driver. I didn't think much of it, but later had to downgrade to the previous version as I encountered issues with the new version of the driver. I encountered a similar problem with a linux kernel upgrade, and when downgrading to the older kernel, my machine booted fine. I added "IgnorePkg = linux" and "IgnorePkg = nvidia" to my pacman.conf and have not encountered any issues when updating.

I have been using Arch on my old x220 Thinkpad for many years and have never had a problem with it (nothing that couldn't be solved with a visit to the wiki), until now. I want to know if there is any downside to keeping the kernel at an older version (besides security), and likewise the NVIDIA driver. I want to stay on the latest packages, but would like to keep my machine in a bootable state.

Thank you for your help,

Jon Camrax

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jasonwryan

Anarchist

From: .nz

Registered: 2009-05-09

Posts: 30,426

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Re: Effects of keeping linux and nvidia packages from upgrading.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Sy … nsupported

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V1del

Forum Moderator

Registered: 2012-10-16

Posts: 25,435

Re: Effects of keeping linux and nvidia packages from upgrading.

The kernel is in so far a special case in that it is largely self contained and one of the few packages with relatively few repercussions keeping it at an old version. However you will also miss out on non-security improvements/speed ups/new features. The nvidia package is likely to start causing issues on proper version releases that aren't simply a kernel ABI rebuild.

And if you start to hold back non-kernel nvidia packages you might run into compat issues as the rest of the stack updates.

But instead of running outdated kernels for the fear of breaking something you might want to have a LTS kernel installed in addition, as these very seldomly introduce breaking changes, while still being actively maintained against security issues.

Another good pratice is to check the boards before an nvidia/kernel update to see if other people have noticed issues. Threads to that effect usually pop up quickly if generally applicable.