Revision of Update the Linux-Libre kernel from Wed, 02/12/2014 - 17:34

(to do: rename this page to "Upgrade the kernel Linux-libre")

This tutorial points to easy and fast ways to upgrade your Linux-Libre kernel to a newer version, that may offer libre support to more pieces of hardware than the default kernel shipped with Trisquel (which is probably some years "old," due to distribution policies).

Using Trisquel-provided LTS enablement stacks

(This section probably needs revision; I, its writer, am not a native English speaker.)

(to-do: clarify the ...-lts-${release}-eol-upgrade packages' function)

This upgrade method is probably the best one, because the packages distributed are adapted to Trisquel (based off Ubuntu) by its developers, who also ensure the packages are GFSD-compliant.

Citing from Ubuntu wiki:

In an effort to support a wider variety of hardware on an existing LTS release [all Trisquel releases are LTS now], the 12.04.2 and newer point releases will ship with an updated kernel and X stack by default. These newer hardware enablement stacks will be comprised of the newer kernel and X stacks from 12.10 (Quantal), 13.04 (Raring), 13.10 (Saucy), and 14.04 (Trusty).

As the enablement stacks are "comprised of the newer kernel and X stacks from" STS Ubuntu releases adapted to Trisquel, it may happen the Linux-libre versions available with this method are not up-to-date enough for some Trisquel users; if so, we suggest them to try the FaiF jxself's Linux-libre repositories, which not necessarily support Ubuntu/Trisquel default configuration (e.g., AppArmor), but may run normally nevertheless.

The upgrade is done with a simple command:

$ sudo apt-get install --install-recommends {linux-generic,xserver-xorg,libgl1-mesa-glx}-lts-$release

– where "$release" is the codename of the (Ubuntu) release from which the stack is originated. For Trisquel 6.0 "Toutatis" (based off Ubuntu 12.04 "Precise"), it can be either "quantal", "raring", "saucy" or, perhaps, "trusty" (Trisquel 7.0 "Belenos" will be based off Ubuntu 14.04 "Trusty"). See the literal commands below.

It's probably not a good idea to use aptitude instead of apt-get; one should check their respective behaviors before trying that. Also, since they manage stuff differently, it's not recommendable to use both alternately.

Trisquel stack from 12.10 "Quantal"

The Ubuntu 12.10 STS "Quantal" release uses by default the version 3.5 of the kernel Linux. In Trisquel, the corresponding Linux-libre version comes with "belenos" in its name, even though it would refer to the Trusty-originated stack.

To upgrade your Trisquel Linux-libre/Xorg stack to this one, do:

$ release=quantal sudo apt-get install --install-recommends linux-generic-lts-belenos {xserver-xorg,libgl1-mesa-glx}-lts-$release

Trisquel stack from 13.04 "Raring"

There is no available Trisquel Linux-libre packages from this stack, only the graphical ones (libgl*, xserver-xorg*...).

To upgrade to this stack (probably not a good idea, since there is no corresponding Linux-libre version available), do:

$ release=raring sudo apt-get install --install-recommends {linux-generic,xserver-xorg,libgl1-mesa-glx}-lts-$release

Trisquel stack from 13.10 "Saucy"

The Ubuntu 13.10 STS "Saucy" release uses by default the version 3.11 of the kernel Linux.

To upgrade to this stack, do:

$ release=saucy sudo apt-get install --install-recommends {linux-generic,xserver-xorg,libgl1-mesa-glx}-lts-$release

Trisquel stack from 14.04 "Trusty"

Not available yet. (Will it be?)

Using jxself's repository

A big thanks to jxself for his work on maintaining this repositories (More information here: http://jxself.org/linux-libre/ ).

Add the repository:

1. Edit the source.list file like this:

We will edit the /etc/apt/sources.list in order to include the new repository. For this example I will use gedit but you can use the editor you want. Type in the terminal:

$ gksudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

And add this line :

deb http://linux-libre.fsfla.org/pub/linux-libre/freesh/ freesh main

2. Download and Add the Repository Key:

Type in the terminal:

$ wget http://linux-libre.fsfla.org/pub/linux-libre/freesh/archive-key.asc

And after the download just add the key like this:

$ sudo apt-key add archive-key.asc

3. Update the repositories:

We need to update the repositories in order to install the new kernel, so just type this in the terminal :

$ sudo apt-get update

(aptitude could be replaced by apt-get, use the one you normally use)

Installation of the new Linux-libre Kernel:

1. Choose the kernel you want to install (if you don't know, this command will show it to you):

$ arch

CPU Architecture		Package Name
x86	32-bit	linux-libre32 linux-libre32-headers
	64-bit	linux-libre64 linux-libre64-headers

For this example I will choose the linux-libre64 kernel and the linux-libre64-headers (for the kernel headers, necessary for applications like Virtualbox, and for kernel development).

1. Install the selected kernel (and headers if necessary):

Now we will just use apt-get (or aptitude) to install the new Linux-Libre Kernel from the repositories. For this just type in the terminal:

$ sudo apt-get install linux-libre64 linux-libre64-headers

And just wait for the installation to finish.

2. Updating Grub: This is the last and most important step, for the simple reason that, if you don't update the grub list, then you will not be able to see the and launch Trisquel with the new kernel installed (and that would be very sad after all those steps). For this last step just type the following in the terminal:

$ sudo update-grub

Wait for it to end and just reboot your computer !

You are now running Trisquel Gnu/Linux with an awesome new Linux-Libre Kernel freshly installed.

If you have any troubles please report them:

• Trisquel Issues
• jxself WebPage

Other

• Compiling a GNU Linux-libre kernel
• http://libreplanet.org/wiki/Group:Linux-libre