Unable to remove kernel 4.1.1 - ?!

Have edited the file

/etc/zypp/zypp.conf

Within that file, the line

multiversion.kernels = 

The idea is to retain almost any kernel(s) except for the newest one, 4.1.1 (It’s faulty in a VM, mouse input disabled), thereby excluding the newest.

Have tried the various values which should retain anything but the newest
oldest
latest-1
running
3.16.7-21-desktop

None of those tries works… The 4.1.1 kernel is still listed in the Grub menu.
As a last resort, I guess I could manually edit the GRUB menu and leave the 4.1.1 kernel in the system…

TSU

Just uninstall Kernel 4.1.1 manually and it will disappear from the grub menu.

Either use the “Versions” tab in YaST, or run something like:

zypper rm kernel-desktop-4.1.1

Thx, worked.
Wondered why I couldn’t find the specific kernel package earlier… I remember I tried a few searches and couldn’t find it, even just did a search on all kernel packages and manually skimmed down the list.

But, specifying the exact package worked.

Must be a testament to my bad eyesight…
Curious how specifying kernels to retain in the zypp.conf didn’t work…

TSU

Well, the purge-kernels script (that removes unwanted kernels) is only run on the next boot after you actually installed a new kernel.
You could have run it manually to “apply” your changes to zypp.conf.

sudo purge-kernels

But as you only wanted to remove one particular kernel, I suppose it’s easier to just uninstall that one manually (and maybe lock it to prevent that it will be installed again) than messing around with zypp.conf.

“purge-kernels” may be an important thing to know,
I just did a quick Google search and it seems that although it’s in various forum discussions over the years it doesn’t show at all in any official documentation.

TSU

Maybe because you normally shouldn’t have to run it manually at all.
It’s supposed to do its work automatically in the background.

But again, it is only run after you installed a new kernel package, or actually when the file /boot/do_purge_kernels exists.
See also “systemctl cat purge-kernels”.