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When I used to use Ubuntu, new kernals would get installed, and as part of my monthly maintenance, I would open Synaptic Package Manager, find the old linux-image-* and linux-headers-* packages and purge them, keeping only the latest 1 or 2. This would free much disk space.
In Arch, if a new kernal is found and updated through pacman (example, linux-3.8.7.1), does it overwrite the old one meaning no maintenance needed as I used to on Ubuntu? Or does it depend on my boot loader (I'm using syslinux)?
Last edited by nLinked (2013-04-16 21:41:45)
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The linux kernel is found at /boot/vmlinuz-linux . The filename does not show you the kernel name, that means on update the old kernel is simply overwritten because the filename stays the same. This is independent of your bootloader. However old packages not currently installed, and old package versions are kept in /var/cache/pacman/pkg . You can find the linux package there, too. To clean this cache use paccache. IMHO this method is simpler than the ubuntu method, because the boot loader does not need to be updated.
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Thanks. This is so much of a better system. I prefer it overwriting the old as it means I simply perform my usual system backup with rsync and let it go ahead and update, while at the same time keeping the system clean. I also started using paccache. This is great, so glad I switched!
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Note the obvious: it means you need to know what to do if a new kernel will not boot for you. (Installing the LTS kernel can help with that somewhat.)
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In my case LTS usually brings some trouble with either wireless/LAN or Nvidia but certainly can be used for troubleshooting backup kernel. I always have a custom kernel installed from AUR for backup.
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It doesn't shutdown cleanly for me but it is nonetheless worth having for emergencies - I don't carry a live USB with me so it is useful to have something in reserve.
CLI Paste | How To Ask Questions
Arch Linux | x86_64 | GPT | EFI boot | refind | stub loader | systemd | LVM2 on LUKS
Lenovo x270 | Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-7200U CPU @ 2.50GHz | Intel Wireless 8265/8275 | US keyboard w/ Euro | 512G NVMe INTEL SSDPEKKF512G7L
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The bottom line point is dont do a kernel upgrade when you are not going to have your backup resources.
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