[Solved] Updating Linux kernel/firmware

D-J97 · 2019-01-22 18:39:28

Hi all,
Tried posting this on arch forums but the n*bheads over there wouldn't help me cos its not 64-bit, anyway...
I accidentally downloaded an older version of the installer, which I didn't think would be a problem as by updating through pacman should update to latest kernel etc.
Turns out it didn't, so now I'm stuck on kernel 4.18 something, with the old Linux headers and firmware and can't update to the latest ones even if I try specifying the package.
Any help is appreciated.
TIA

Last edited by D-J97 (2019-01-22 21:42:05)

levi · 2019-01-22 18:46:14

What does it say if you do try updating linux and linux-firmware?

andreas_baumann · 2019-01-22 18:48:18

Yep. 64-bit no longer supports 32-bit stuff, that's why this forum here exists. :-)

Booting from any 32-bit ISO (prefereably the newest one) should give you access
to you root partition. Then you can reinstall linux, linux-firmware, linux-headers
with 'pacman --root=/mnt linux, linux-firmware, linux-headers'.

andreas_baumann · 2019-01-22 18:49:31

If the ISO is very old, you may have to update the PGP keys first:

pacman -S archlinux-keyring archlinux32-keyring
pacman-key --refresh

D-J97 · 2019-01-22 18:57:06

levi wrote:

What does it say if you do try updating linux and linux-firmware?

It says they are up to date and will reinstall the one that's currently installed

andreas_baumann wrote:

If the ISO is very old, you may have to update the PGP keys first:
pacman -S archlinux-keyring archlinux32-keyring
pacman-key --refresh

Already updated the keyring, but its only a few months old install so didn't do anything

andreas_baumann wrote:

Yep. 64-bit no longer supports 32-bit stuff, that's why this forum here exists. :-)
Booting from any 32-bit ISO (prefereably the newest one) should give you access
to you root partition. Then you can reinstall linux, linux-firmware, linux-headers
with 'pacman --root=/mnt linux, linux-firmware, linux-headers'.

I know, but would it really hurt them to say "this is what I would do on 64-bit" instead of just shutting me down? Anyway I only have the one partition on my hard drive, 1) would your fix delete my files and make me have to reconfig anything? (I don't think I should but just thought I'd ask) and 2) this will get tedious for every update, should this fix the updating issue and just allow me to do it through pacman in future? Thanks for the quick replies!

levi · 2019-01-22 19:48:12

If it says you're up to date, try updating pacman-mirrorlist and merging in the changes to your existing mirrorlist (under /etc/pacman.d).

In the case of arch64, they might not have default mirrors in any recentish iso that don't carry the latest packages. If that's the case here, that'd be hard to diagnose on that platform.

Out of interest, what's in your mirrorlist presently? If there are repos that aren't updating, would it make sense to remove them from the internet entirely?

D-J97 · 2019-01-22 20:07:18

levi wrote:

If it says you're up to date, try updating pacman-mirrorlist and merging in the changes to your existing mirrorlist (under /etc/pacman.d).
In the case of arch64, they might not have default mirrors in any recentish iso that don't carry the latest packages. If that's the case here, that'd be hard to diagnose on that platform.
Out of interest, what's in your mirrorlist presently? If there are repos that aren't updating, would it make sense to remove them from the internet entirely?

Not on my netbook ATM, will give you the info soon when kids are in bed,

D-J97 · 2019-01-22 20:48:04

this is the current kernel I'm on, and i know the latest is 4.20: 4.18.5-arch1-1.0-ARCH.
This is my current mirrorlist:
##
## Arch Linux repository mirrorlist for i686
## Generated on 2017-11-15
##

## Canada
Server = http://arch32.mirrors.simplysam.us/$arch/$repo

## Belarus
Server = http://mirror.datacenter.by/pub/archlinux32/$arch/$repo

## France
Server = https://archlinux32.mirror.roelf.org/$arch/$repo

## Germany
Server = http://archlinux32.vollzornbrot.de/$arch/$repo
Server = https://archlinux32.vollzornbrot.de/$arch/$repo
Server = http://mirror.archlinux32.org/$arch/$repo
Server = https://mirror.archlinux32.org/$arch/$repo
## note: you need to resolve via openNIC (or similar) to access the next mirror
Server = http://mirror.archlinux32.oss/$arch/$repo

## India
Server = https://ind.mirror.archlinux32.org/$arch/$repo

## Japan
Server = https://jpn.mirror.archlinux32.org/$arch/$repo

## Mexico
Server = https://mex.mirror.archlinux32.org/$arch/$repo

## Russia
Server = http://mirror.yandex.ru/archlinux32/$arch/$repo
Server = https://mirror.yandex.ru/archlinux32/$arch/$repo

## Singapore
Server = https://sgp.mirror.archlinux32.org/$arch/$repo

## Switzerland
Server = http://archlinux32.andreasbaumann.cc/$arch/$repo

## United States
Server = https://32.arlm.tyzoid.com/$arch/$repo
Server = https://mirror.math.princeton.edu/pub/a … arch/$repo

D-J97 · 2019-01-22 20:49:44

tried updating pacman-mirrorlist: [dj@archlinux ~]$ sudo pacman -S pacman-mirrorlist
warning: pacman-mirrorlist-20180710-1.1 is up to date -- reinstalling
resolving dependencies...
looking for conflicting packages...

Packages (1) pacman-mirrorlist-20180710-1.1

Total Installed Size: 0.01 MiB
Net Upgrade Size: 0.00 MiB

:: Proceed with installation? [Y/n] n

levi · 2019-01-22 21:04:39

At some point in the past, i recall having to replace '$arch' in my mirrorlist with 'i686' to get it to work, but I don't seem to do that any more and I can't now recall the reason I had to do this.

The first repo in that list does seem to be stuck on kernel 4.18.5. It's not one I use simply because it's based in the Americas, and I only use more local repos to me. The belarus one listed second seems more up to date to me, so simply removing that canadian one first might be enough to get you going.

Edit: Looking at my currently uninstalled mirrorlist.pacnew file, it omits the canadian entry and starts with belarus. It may have been dropped from the official list already, but since it responds okay, your system it still trying to use it.

D-J97 · 2019-01-22 21:08:09

Okay, I'm not new to Linux but I'm getting back into it after not using it for a few years and never extensively used arch so sorry if I sound a bit noob-ish, is there any way I can check myself which mirrors are better to use both for speed and update frequency? Or is it just something you get used to after using it for so long?

D-J97 · 2019-01-22 21:36:47

Just so you know that did fix it, thanks for your help, but still how might I pick the best mirror for where I am? Thanks

levi · 2019-01-22 23:20:15

I use rankmirrors (from the pacman-contrib package) to sort my mirrors by speed. There also exists a website which records how quickly updates get across and how complete different repos are, but I don't have to link to hand. I used it once to eliminate bad repos, but mostly these days the packages in the new mirrorlists are all usable.

Edit: I note my current mirrorlist.pacnew claims it was updated last in 2017-11-15. That can't be right!

D-J97 · 2019-01-23 20:22:49

Okay thanks, I will try that, doesn't hurt to get the extra speed, especially on a netbook ?

deep42thought · 2019-01-24 06:50:16

the canadian mirror is no longer active - remove it and _then_ update the mirrorlist

Arch Linux

#1 2019-01-22 18:39:28

[Solved] Updating Linux kernel/firmware

#2 2019-01-22 18:46:14

Re: [Solved] Updating Linux kernel/firmware

#3 2019-01-22 18:48:18

Re: [Solved] Updating Linux kernel/firmware

#4 2019-01-22 18:49:31

Re: [Solved] Updating Linux kernel/firmware

#5 2019-01-22 18:57:06

Re: [Solved] Updating Linux kernel/firmware

#6 2019-01-22 19:48:12

Re: [Solved] Updating Linux kernel/firmware

#7 2019-01-22 20:07:18

Re: [Solved] Updating Linux kernel/firmware

#8 2019-01-22 20:48:04

Re: [Solved] Updating Linux kernel/firmware

#9 2019-01-22 20:49:44

Re: [Solved] Updating Linux kernel/firmware

#10 2019-01-22 21:04:39

Re: [Solved] Updating Linux kernel/firmware

#11 2019-01-22 21:08:09

Re: [Solved] Updating Linux kernel/firmware

#12 2019-01-22 21:36:47

Re: [Solved] Updating Linux kernel/firmware

#13 2019-01-22 23:20:15

Re: [Solved] Updating Linux kernel/firmware

#14 2019-01-23 20:22:49

Re: [Solved] Updating Linux kernel/firmware

#15 2019-01-24 06:50:16

Re: [Solved] Updating Linux kernel/firmware

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