Linux Kernel 2.6.39 installation guide for Ubuntu Linux

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This short walkthrough describes how to get the latest linux kernel working under Ubuntu Linux without having to compile it yourself.

This tutorial should work with the latest version of Ubuntu Linux (10.04 LTS, 10.10, 11.04 and 11.10) and most distributions based on these versions of Ubuntu Linux like Mint.

The included kernel files have been compiled using the generic ubuntu configuration.
Note: nVIDIA ForceWare drivers are automatically installed using DKMS, if you have these installed and up-to-date.

Installation Guide

  1. Download the kernel headers package;
    linux-headers-2.6.39-020639_2.6.39-020639.201105190911_all.deb
  2. And the appropriate package for your system
    I386: linux-headers-2.6.39-020639-generic_2.6.39-020639.201105190911_i386.deb
    AMD64: linux-headers-2.6.39-020639-generic_2.6.39-020639.201105190911_amd64.deb
  3. And the accompanying compiled kernel;
    I386: linux-image-2.6.39-020639-generic_2.6.39-020639.201105190911_i386.deb
    AMD64: linux-image-2.6.39-020639-generic_2.6.39-020639.201105190911_amd64.deb
  4. Install the files in the same order (else it won`t work!)
  5. In the terminal run:
    sudo update-grub
  6. Reboot and select the kernel from the bootloader menu
    If it`s not there check all steps (and of course for errors)

The source can be found on www.kernel.org

18 thoughts on “Linux Kernel 2.6.39 installation guide for Ubuntu Linux”

  1. Thanks, Ramon. I’m a new Ubuntu user who likes to keep everything up to date. Your how-to was a big help.

    Reply ↓

    • I might give 3.0-rc1 a try. Do you know URLs for the accompanying kernel headers packages? Thanks.

      Reply ↓

      • Oh, I see that this *is* the headers package. But I believe we still need two other packages to do the job, right?

      • “3.0 is actually 2.6.40.”

        Yeah, I know. I see that the powers-that-be have designated it 3.0, though. That’s exciting (or not), since it’s been almost exactly 15 years since version 2.0 was released.

  4. Thanks for the installation how-to for kernel 3.0. I’ll give it a try as soon as the files are posted (at present I’m getting a file-not-found error).

    Reply ↓

    • This was a world of help.. Bought a new Samsung Laptop and loaded Ubuntu 10.04 on it and WLAN does not work (Atheros AR9485WB-EG WLAN Adapter).. Not even recognized.. Had to find out what my WLAN adapter even was through Device Manager on the included Win7.

      I had the very latest Kernel automatically updated by Ubuntu 2.6.32-42 and no worky.. This 2.6.39-020639 Kernel did the trick!! Thank you very much.

      Reply ↓

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