Suggestion:Remove Obsolete Kernels During MintUpgrade

[nguyendoan15082006]

Hi Linux Mint Development Team,
Today I watched a video from Switched to Linux about upgrading from Linux Mint 20.3 to 21.3. During the process, he encountered a problem: the upgrade was blocked due to too many installed kernel versions.
The solution is to make the MintUpgrade tool automatic or notify users that the tool will remove inactive kernels to help non-technical users avoid getting stuck and make major upgrades smoother and safer. What do you guys think about this?
Here is the screenshot about that issue:

And here is the video how did he get though that issue:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jtjQXJku34&t=600s

[gaetan-1960]

I (longtime Cinnamon user) think it's imperatif that users always keep at least a few (2, or 3) workable installed kernel versions. All too often people get blocked out of their system as they tend to maintain only 1 kernel installed; I've often had the benefit of (still) installed older versions of kernels, that permitted me to enter my system after installs / updates gone wrong...

[nguyendoan15082006]

Yeah. After the update,the kernel version during the upgrade should be kept in case something went wrong. I forgot to mention it above.

[gaetan-1960]

Plus one or two other kernels, as 'never go forth' on only 1 kernel; that's too risky (for no-nerd) users!

[nguyendoan15082006]

Plus one or two other kernels, as 'never go forth' on only 1 kernel; that's too risky (for no-nerd) users!

Yeah,great idea. They should keep 2 obsolete kernels to prevent the boot parition being full like in the video.

[cplittlfield]

I'm not sure Jay's video is relevant any longer.

The Update Manager can be set to automatically remove older kernels. This setting retains the active kernel and the most recent kernel before that.

This feature worked perfectly well under LM 21-21.3, but there is a bug under LM 22 and 22.1. I haven't yet heard anything to indicate that this bug has been fixed.

[nguyendoan15082006]

I had heard about some people on Linux Mint subreddit said that they also used MintUpgrade,but their devices ended up with an unbootable system after that. That issue might be related to the error in the video I posted above,so I hope the Linux Mint development team will have a solution to have a more seamless upgrade experience as Windows too.

[cplittlfield]

I had heard about some people on Linux Mint subreddit said that they also used MintUpgrade,but their devices ended up with an unbootable system after that.

Mintupgrade is different from mintupdate. It is only made available when a new version is released. And the possibility of screwing up your system is why the official upgrade instructions always warn users to back up their data and make a Timeshift snapshot first.

Point upgrades, such as from 21.2 to 21.3, usually work fine. However, anyone who wants to be sure not to lose data, or who needs a working system. should follow that advice in the update instructions, just in case.

Major upgrades, such as 21.3 to 22, require more care and are riskier. Many of the experts on the forums, in fact, strongly advise installing the new version fresh, instead of following the upgrade path. A fresh installation is far more likely to avoid problems, but it is not risk-free. Always have a Timeshift snapshot and a fresh data backup to restore from.

[nguyendoan15082006]

I understand that this issue mostly occurs with major updates.
However, what about non-technical users who want to join Linux Mint as Windows get worse every single day?
Many of them expect to upgrade their system without having to perform a clean reinstallation.

[cplittlfield]

As mentioned, there is an upgrade path. If users wait for the instructions to be released and follow them carefully, they will be in a position to recover from any disaster.

However, Linux is not Windows, and things work differently. Any former Windows user who is not prepared to accept that fact and deal with it is not going to fare well with Linux Mint, let alone any other distro. This may sound cruel or arrogant, but it is the reality: any user who wants an operating system that behaves exactly like Windows needs to be on Windows. No Linux distribution can or will meet their expectations. That is simply a fact of life.

I'm not sure what the reason is that people expect Linux Mint to be just like Windows. It is designed to make the transition to Linux easier, not to duplicate the Windows experience. I doubt that any user would complain that MacOS doesn't behave like Windows, now would they?

[nguyendoan15082006]

Oh,now I got it. Thanks for the explanation.