Multiple Ways To Update Linux Kernel In Ubuntu

Last Updated on July 1, 2019

Update: Linux Kernel 5.2 RC7 Released

In this post, We will go through the multiple ways to update Linux kernel in Ubuntu operating systems. This tutorial is also applicable to the Ubuntu derivatives.

Multiple Ways To Update Linux Kernel In Ubuntu

Most important thing that you should do before updating Linux kernel in Ubuntu is that you should backup your important files.

Method 1:

Upgrade Latest Linux Kernel In Ubuntu using UKTools

You can easily upgrade latest Linux kernel in Ubuntu automatically with this tools. You can also use this tool to upgrade Linux kernel to the latest version in Linux Mint.
Download and install UkTools:

git clone https://github.com/usbkey9/uktools && cd uktools
make

To upgrade Kernel:

$ do-kernel-upgrade

To remove old and unused kernels in Ubuntu :

$ do-kernel-purge

Method 2:

Update the Linux Kernel in Ubuntu with Ukuu

Ukuu is another popular Linux kernel management tool for Ubuntu. You can use it to upgrade Linux kernel in Ubuntu. It will automatically install main line kernel in Ubuntu.

Visit our article on Ukuu to know the process to upgrade Linux kernel in Ubuntu.

Method 3:

Update the Linux Kernel using Linux Kernel Utilities in Ubuntu

Linux Kernel Utilities is a set of BASH shell scripts which can be used to update Linux kernels. There are 3 scripts in this shell scripts which are used for specific kernel management task.

compile_linux_kernel.sh
update_ubuntu_kernel.sh
remove_old_kernels.sh

Compile_linux_kernel.sh:- This script will compile and install the latest Linux Kernel from the source.

update_ubuntu_kernel.sh:- This script downloads and install/update the already compiled Ubuntu Kernel.

remove_old_kernel.sh:- This script removes all inactive and unused Linux Kernels from the system.

Install Linux Kernel Utilities In Ubuntu:

$ git clone https://github.com/mtompkins/linux-kernel-utilities.git

$ cd linux-kernel-utilities/

$ chmod 750 *.sh

$ git pull

Now, Run the following command to list the available Kernel.

$ ./compile_linux_kernel.sh

Follow the on screen instruction and select the latest kernel. follow the onscreen instructions to compile and install the selected Linux Kernel.

Run the following command to compile and install the latest available Linux Kernel:

$ ./compile_linux_kernel.sh --latest

Run the following command to install precompiled Kernel:

$ ./update_ubuntu_kernel.sh

It will list out the all available pre-compiled Linux Kernels from Kernel.ubuntu.com. You can see the number and you need to enter the desired number to install the selected Kernel.

Now restart your Ubuntu system.

Meanwhile, To install the latest available Linux Kernel, Run the following command:

$ ./update_ubuntu_kernel.sh --latest

Now, Run the following command to remove old kernels.

$ ./remove_old_kernels.sh

Method 4:

Update the Linux Kernel with apt-get

This is the most efficient and recommended method for upgrading the Linux Kernel in Ubuntu.

Run the following commands to update the Linux Kernel in Ubuntu:

$ sudo apt-get upgrade linux-image-generic

Method 5:

This is the manual method of updating Linux Kernel in Ubuntu operating system. You need to the download the Linux Kernel from the official source.

Download Linux Kernel

Or, You can run the following commands to download Linux Kernel for 64-Bit System.

$ wget https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.0/linux-headers-5.0.0-050000_5.0.0-050000.201903032031_all.deb
$ wget https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.0/linux-headers-5.0.0-050000-generic_5.0.0-050000.201903032031_amd64.deb
$ wget https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.0/linux-image-unsigned-5.0.0-050000-generic_5.0.0-050000.201903032031_amd64.deb
$ wget https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.0/linux-modules-5.0.0-050000-generic_5.0.0-050000.201903032031_amd64.deb

Move to the directory where the files are downloaded and run this command to manually install the kernel. Here we are installing Linux Kernel 5.0