Screwed myself up with attempted kernel update

English Install/Boot/Login
#1

I think I screwed myself up trying to update to kernel 3.13 (in hopes of getting better wifi performance from the Atheros AR9462 in my laptop).
After

sudo zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/Kernel:/stable/standard     Kernel:stable

then

zypper in --from Kernel:stable kernel-desktop

and then approving the installation,

when I restart, I get

error: you need to load the kernel first

and then I can only boot into recovery mode.

also, when I do,

uname -r

shows kernel 3.11.10-21-desktop

So did I screw up my installation entirely?
Was what I was trying to do the right way to update the kernel to 3.13?

Sorry if these are silly newbie questions… searching got me this far and now I need help. Hope this is the right subforum too…

#2

Sounds like you need to repair grub, this doesn’t sound like an error from a properly booted system. You might look into super grub disk, or reinstalling grub using yast bootloader from an installed system. I have used kernel stable countless times with no such issues.

Can you boot into the older kernel?

#3

Just a note: there is no kernel 3.13 in that repo.
It contains 3.16.1 at the moment… :wink:

when I restart, I get

error: you need to load the kernel first

Apparently the grub menu entry is wrong.
Which grub are you using? grub1 or grub2?

If in doubt, post a picture.

and then I can only boot into recovery mode.

You should be able to do a normal boot with the older kernel as well.

also, when I do,

uname -r

shows kernel 3.11.10-21-desktop

Well, you apparently selected to boot kernel 3.11.10-21-desktop.

So did I screw up my installation entirely?

No.
You just have an incorrect boot entry in the boot menu.
As openSUSE keeps more than one kernel (and boot menu entries for all installed ones), this is no problem.
Just choose a different one. (with grub2 you have to select “Advanced Options”)

Was what I was trying to do the right way to update the kernel to 3.13?

No, because that repo only contains kernel 3.16.1. :wink:
I’m not aware of any repo with kernel 3.13, so you would have to download and compile it yourself. But why? 3.13 is EOL since quite some time, better install a supported one like 3.12, 3.15, or 3.16.

Other than that, your steps were correct though.
But again, they will install kernel 3.16.1 (at the moment), not 3.13.

Since the boot menu wasn’t written correctly when you installed the kernel, better check that you have enough free space on /boot:

df -h /boot

Hints:

  • You can install/remove specific kernel versions in YaST->Software Management, by using the “Versions” tab below the package list.
  • You can edit the boot menu/boot loader settings in YaST->System->Boot Loader. If you use grub2, just calling that and pressing OK will re-create the boot menu and might fix your problem already.
#4

Oops, one correction: I just noticed that 3.15 is EOL as well already. 3.14 has long-term support.
But that’s irrelevant to this problem anyway. :wink:

#5

OK thanks for the replies folks.
@Nightwishfan:
Yes, I can boot into 3.11
@Wolfi:
I am using GRUB2 with Secure UEFI, and yes, I can boot into normal mode with the old kernel.

I did

df -h /boot

and it was only using ~5gb of ~20.

So I did something that I think was probably really dumb, and disabled secure UEFI boot using GRUB.
Now I can only boot into Windows 8 (which I thought I had gotten rid of ?!)
I cant disable secure boot because it is greyed out, and selecting “legacy” instead of Secure UEFI results in either failure to boot, or the ability to boot from a usb if one is available (however I only seem to be able to use rescue mode).

#6

Update: found out I only needed to set a supervisor password to turn off secure boot under UEFI
uname -r now shows that I have kernel 3.16.1
So it seems like I’m back in business… now to see if wireless performance is better and if all this hassle was for any purpose.

Thanks so much for the help, people. I was really at a loss.

Edit: 1 more question:
Should I try to re-enable secure boot using YAST and then do so in the bootloader as well? Or will I be fine with leaving it turned off?

#7

Right.
That’s often the case AFAIK.

Should I try to re-enable secure boot using YAST and then do so in the bootloader as well? Or will I be fine with leaving it turned off?

It shouldn’t matter for openSUSE.

#8

PS: Secure boot might even be a problem in your case.
I’m not sure whether the kernel from Kernel:stable is actually signed with the proper key.

#9

It appears that secure boot was precisely the problem. I turned it back on (both in Yast and at the boot screen) and was no longer able to load the kernel. Turning secure boot off using the boot menu allowed me to boot again.
Thanks for all the irritation, Micro$oft!!
And a sincere thanks to you Wolfi!