How to Upgrade Kernel After Permenant Downgrade?

Question

I'm running version 16.0.4 server.

I was having some strange problems with lockups with one of the newer kernels so I wanted to downgrade and stick to one that I knew was going to be fine for me and not cause problems.

I came across this question (Kernel downgrade after update broke my system). I followed the advice in this answer.

He notes:

Please note, that also package linux-image-generic-lts-raring will be removed. That means that your kernel version will not be upgraded in future with apt-get upgrade. Only when you reinstall linux-image-generic-lts-raring will the kernel version get upgraded. So this is a permanent solution.

How can I reinstall linux-image-generic-lts-raring or so that I can get the latest kernel once again?

Currently when I run an apt-get update apt-get upgrade I get nothing. I'd like to update all of my packages to the latest versions again.

Here's the output of apt-cache policy linux-image-generic

linux-image-generic:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 4.4.0.77.83
  Version table:
     4.4.0.77.83 500
        500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates/main amd64 Packages
     4.4.0.75.81 500
        500 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-security/main amd64 Packages
     4.4.0.21.22 500
        500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial/main amd64 Packages

After apt-get install linux-image-generic -> reboot the output of apt-cache policy linux-image-generic:

linux-image-generic:
  Installed: 4.4.0.77.83
  Candidate: 4.4.0.77.83
  Version table:
 *** 4.4.0.77.83 500
        500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates/main amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     4.4.0.75.81 500
        500 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-security/main amd64 Packages
     4.4.0.21.22 500
        500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial/main amd64 Packages

Here's the output of Output of dpkg -l linux-image*:

Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
| Status=Not/Inst/Conf-files/Unpacked/halF-conf/Half-inst/trig-aWait/Trig-pend
|/ Err?=(none)/Reinst-required (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
||/ Name                                                  Version                         Architecture                    Description
+++-=====================================================-===============================-===============================-===============================================================================================================
un  linux-image                                           <none>                          <none>                          (no description available)
rc  linux-image-4.4.0-31-generic                          4.4.0-31.50                     amd64                           Linux kernel image for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-4.4.0-53-generic                          4.4.0-53.74                     amd64                           Linux kernel image for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-4.4.0-57-generic                          4.4.0-57.78                     amd64                           Linux kernel image for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-4.4.0-59-generic                          4.4.0-59.80                     amd64                           Linux kernel image for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-4.4.0-62-generic                          4.4.0-62.83                     amd64                           Linux kernel image for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-4.4.0-63-generic                          4.4.0-63.84                     amd64                           Linux kernel image for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-4.4.0-64-generic                          4.4.0-64.85                     amd64                           Linux kernel image for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-4.4.0-65-generic                          4.4.0-65.86                     amd64                           Linux kernel image for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-4.4.0-66-generic                          4.4.0-66.87                     amd64                           Linux kernel image for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-4.4.0-67-generic                          4.4.0-67.88                     amd64                           Linux kernel image for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-4.4.0-70-generic                          4.4.0-70.91                     amd64                           Linux kernel image for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-4.4.0-71-generic                          4.4.0-71.92                     amd64                           Linux kernel image for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-image-4.4.0-72-generic                          4.4.0-72.93                     amd64                           Linux kernel image for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-image-4.4.0-75-generic                          4.4.0-75.96                     amd64                           Linux kernel image for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-image-4.4.0-77-generic                          4.4.0-77.98                     amd64                           Linux kernel image for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-extra-4.4.0-31-generic                    4.4.0-31.50                     amd64                           Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-extra-4.4.0-53-generic                    4.4.0-53.74                     amd64                           Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-extra-4.4.0-57-generic                    4.4.0-57.78                     amd64                           Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-extra-4.4.0-59-generic                    4.4.0-59.80                     amd64                           Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-extra-4.4.0-62-generic                    4.4.0-62.83                     amd64                           Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-extra-4.4.0-63-generic                    4.4.0-63.84                     amd64                           Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-extra-4.4.0-64-generic                    4.4.0-64.85                     amd64                           Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-extra-4.4.0-65-generic                    4.4.0-65.86                     amd64                           Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-extra-4.4.0-66-generic                    4.4.0-66.87                     amd64                           Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-extra-4.4.0-67-generic                    4.4.0-67.88                     amd64                           Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-extra-4.4.0-70-generic                    4.4.0-70.91                     amd64                           Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc  linux-image-extra-4.4.0-71-generic                    4.4.0-71.92                     amd64                           Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-image-extra-4.4.0-72-generic                    4.4.0-72.93                     amd64                           Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-image-extra-4.4.0-75-generic                    4.4.0-75.96                     amd64                           Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-image-extra-4.4.0-77-generic                    4.4.0-77.98                     amd64                           Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-image-generic                                   4.4.0.77.83                     amd64                           Generic Linux kernel image

When I run apt-get update and apt-get upgrade it still shows zero updates available. I'm quite sure there should be updates available.

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered May 16 '17 at 15:04

The removal of the package linux-image-generic-lts-raring (or it's equivalent) prevents your system from obtaining the latest version of kernel updates. In your specific case, running sudo apt-get install linux-image-generic will load the meta-package designed to install the lastest kernels for your distribution.

After the installation of this package, you should reboot and ensure that you are running the lastest version using the command uname -r, as you may have also pinned your kernel in a manner similar to How to skip kernel update?. You may have also set a specific kernel version to use as boot, in a manner similar to How do I set Windows to boot as the default in the boot loader?

Finally, the output of dpkg -l linux-image* indicates that you are carrying a lot of older kernel versions. This is not by itself a problem, but can cause issues if you have a separate /boot partition or limited disk space. If you have satisfied yourself that the kernel is operating properly and you are not having problems, please consider running sudo apt-get autoremove, as mentioned in How do I remove old kernel versions to clean up the boot menu? and How do I free up more space in /boot?

How to Upgrade Kernel After Permenant Downgrade?

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