How to make a Linux Kernel and Header-rollback

Posted in : Linux, Ubuntu By Sebastian Stegrin Translate with Google ⟶

2 years ago

Due to dependency issues when I installed an application on the latest release of Ubuntu Server I had to do a kernel rollback. Therefore I will gladly share the steps that I took.

Before proceeding with these steps, please make sure that you know what you are doing since this can cause a lot of issues if done wrong.

My first step is to verify what kind of version my  current kernel and Linux headers are.

You might wonder why I mention Linux headers, that’s because we have to use the same version of Linux headers as the kernel version to make all functions work correctly.

I will start by verify that I actually don’t already have the correct versions installed by running the below code.

# Verify Linux kernel & header version
uname -a
uname -r

In the next step I will install the Linux headers that I’m in need of. Remember to change the version in the below code to what you are in need of.

# Install & verify installed Linux Headers
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade linux-headers-5.4.0-73-generic
apt list --installed linux-headers*

Now we will install the kernel version that we are looking for, make sure that you install the same version as the Linux headers you installed in the previous step.

# Will list your installed kernels & install your new.
sudo dpkg -l | grep linux-image
sudo apt-cache policy linux-image-5.4.0-73-generic
sudo apt install linux-image-5.4.0-73-generic
sudo dpkg -l | grep linux-image

This step is a bit tricky since we now need to point out which kernel we actually want to be used. If you install a kernel, that won’t automatically be set as your active kernel.

sudo nano /etc/default/grub
# Find the row that says "GRUB_DEFAULT=" and edit the text to: GRUB_DEFAULT="1>2"
# This is all based on how many kernels you have installed on the computer, you can count them by running the command "dpkg -l | grep linux-image"
sudo update-grub
sudo reboot
sudo dpkg -l | grep linux-image

You should now have a new kernel version, this can be verified by running the following commands.

# Verify Linux kernel and header version
uname -a
uname -r

If you need any help with this, feel free to leave a comment below or contact me on LinkedIn! 🙂

Tags : How to, Kernel, Linux, Rollback, ubuntu