Upgrading the kernel in Debian

This article is outdated. I plan to update it soon.

4. Upgrading the kernel in Debian GNU/Linux

The latest stable kernel at this time of writing is 2.6.17.6

To check your current kernel version

uname -a

Upgrading the Linux kernel to 2.6.17.6 (the latest)

apt-get install kernel-image-2.6.17-6-686 kernel-source-2.6.17 kernel-headers-2.6.17-6-686
cd /usr/src
tar xjvf kernel-source-2.6.17.tar.bz2
rm linux
ln -s kernel-source-2.6.17 linux

Reboot. As Grub starts, you should see the latest 2.6.17.6 kernel version listed in the boot options! You are now using the latest kernel!

Last Updated on 1 December 2004