[SOLVED] Can't boot into latest kernel

Hi:
When I boot up my computer the initial boot is to Zorin with Linux 3.5.0-28. That fails with a blank screen or freezes in the midst of checking some sensors or system components. I then select, at the boot screen, previous versions. The first one I tried was Zorin with Linux 3.5.0-26 generic. (the other chioce was Zorin with Linux 3.5.0-26 recovery). That failed with a blank screen. I then booted to 3.2.0-41 generic and that booted just fine. My computer works just fine after booting. My questions are whether there is an explanation for the failure to boot to more recent Zorin with Linux 3.5.0-xx versions, or more importantly, is there a way to fix or workaround the problem?

I have Zorin 6 Ulitmate on a quad core AMD Phenom 9600B processor with 8GB ram and 256GB hard drive.

This behavior has been going on for over a month. I'd like to fix this but I can live with booting to the last version (Zorin with Linux 3.2.0-41 ) . The only other item I can think of that may be relevant is that I had a crash on update a couple of months ago that was fixed when I ran a command line script suggested by one of the moderators.

Any suggestions/help would be appreciated.

One more note. My computer is 64 Bit.
I've read that Ubuntu 12.04 may have some issues with the later kernels, but then I also read that it should be updated or updatable to them.
One point though is that I definitely don't want to trash my system, so I'd rather boot to the earlier version and make tweaks that are reversible.

Thanks
Jojo

Thanks swarfendor. I gather from your reply that I should stick to the ones that work, namely 3.2.0-xx, which is fine with me. Do you know if later kernels will be installed as part of the distro updates? Zorin 6 and Ubuntu 12.04 are LTS, so I have a few more years of updates. Do the kernel updates come with the distribution updates? If so how do you recommend dealing with them? As a first guess I could just accept them and continue to boot from the earlier kernel.

But now another question occurred to me. Can I set it up to boot up to 3.2.0-41 to start with (as a default) so I can avoid the extra bootup work of default boot failure, power down, power up and then choosing previous versions and selecting the 3.2.0-41. Please advise. Thanks for all your help.

Hi,

the last kernel installed will always show as first in the list (default).

If you want to speed up your boot times, take out a few things from startup applications:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2406

Regards Wolfman

Thanks Wolfman. Good tip on removing items from the startup applications. I only need a few items to start. On that note, is there a list of recommendations from Zorin on what is recommended to include in startup and what isn't.

I still have a question about kernels. From your answer I concluded that the last two kernels installed on my computer are 3.5.0-28 and 3.5.0-26. They don't boot on my machine. Is there a safe way to remove them so that 3.2.0-41 is the first in the list? I can keep going as I am now, it isn't a real problem, but if I can revert to 3.2.0-41 without breaking anything then I would be willing to try to do so. . Also, do you recommend that I not install any kernel updates? If so, how do I do that?
Thanks again for all your help.
jojo

Hi,

update per this guide and you should have the latest kernel (currently 3.2.0-41) for Ubuntu 12.04 if you include the "Pre-Released Updates".

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2247

I took out Gwibber and Zeitgeist; file sharing and a few other things, don't take out updater or bluetooth as you may need them, you must decide yourself but if you are unsure, leave it alone!!.

You can remove all the other kernels but leave at least two in reserve of the lower numbered kernels, don't remove them all.

Here is link about removing older kernels, I assume that it can be used for removing newer ones too!:

http://askubuntu.com/questions/153185/h ... us-release

Use at your own risk!!

You should also run "DPKG" in recovery mode per the guide above!!.

Regards Wolfman

Thanks Wolfman. You answered my question quickly and completely. I'll follow your advice. I have two or three lower numbered kernels so I should be ok there. I'll try removing one of the newer ones and see if nothing breaks. If it doesn't I'll remove the other. I'll also take Gwibber and Zeitgeist from my startup and then do one at a time until the system pushes back. I'll post a note by the end of the week if anything interesting happens. Thanks again.
Jojo

Hi Jojo,

you might want to read this too:

http://askubuntu.com/questions/257617/h ... o-3-5-0-23

Note the part about "Breakage" !!.

Regards Wolfman

Wow. Thanks Wolfman. The breakage part is sort of scary. I now think upgrading is not a good idea for the fainthearted. What I think I might try is removing the 3.5.0.-xx kernels already on my machine and get it to boot straight into 3.2.0-41.
My concern there is that deleting these newer kernels may make things not work or remove dependencies.
1. Do you see that as a real problem?
What would solve the problem for me is if I can tell the computer to just boot into 3.2.0-41.
2. Is that possible in a reasonable way?
My fall back is not to fix what isn't broken and just go through the turn on, boot then reboot process.
One last thought/question.
3.Can I boot from the live DVD/usb and then reboot into 3.2.0-41 without having to power down and reboot?

Thanks again for all your help.
all the best
Jojo

Thanks for the timely reply swarfendor.
Yes I still have 3.2.0.41 installed and yes I do have 3.5.0.xx installed too. I could remove 3.5.0, perhaps using synaptic as you suggest. I reccognize that what I do at that point is at my own risk, but it would be helpful is you or someone else on the board had some knowledge of what the liklihood of sucess is. In other words, is it very likely to be benign, about 50/50 on the scale of benignity, or very likely to be a problem that would break links and dependencies? If you have some knowledge here that would be great, and if not then I am grateful to you for pointing out the method and warning me of the pitfalls. At this time I'm getting the feeling that it may not be worth the trouble to bother.
Thanks again
Jojo

Hi,

I have removed kernels manually before and had no problems afterwards, this is not to say that you won't, always back-up your data for the just-in-case scenario.

Remove the unwanted kernels using Synaptic as Swarf suggested and you shouldn't have a problem said he hopefully!!.

Good luck and regards Wolfman

I too wanted to try the 3.5 kernel. After reading this thread, I'm wondering if it is worth the trouble.

Also, this link might be worth reading:
http://askubuntu.com/questions/153325/w ... g-to-12-04

To be quite honest; I don't even bother worrying about what kernel I have installed as long as my system is stable; I leave it be.

Ask yourselves this, "Do I really need to update to a higher kernel and if so; why?".

I am sure that the devs at Zorin are working on the next release of Zorin OS and it will include later kernels for better performance.

Regards Wolfman

You must be bored Swarf!!

Regards Wolfman

Thanks Wolfman, swarfendor437, and spavila. The replies were rapid and, most of all, on point and helpful. As a result of all the help I got on this I'm going to stay with 3.2.0-41, which is rock solid and not upgrade. I will see how easy removing the later kernels is using Synaptic. The bootup issue I described is a minor annoyance. I also won't think about upgrading the kernel, at least until Zorin posts information recommending that I do upgrade. I also trimmed my start up menu. So I am good to go. Thanks a lot all.

Jojo

Glad to hear you are happy, have marked as solved, should this not be the case, please edit the first post in this thread!!. (The subject line!)

Regards Wolfman