Last year I installed Mate 24.04 on my desktop and laptop pcs, kernel was 6.8.
Last may I had to reinstall my desktop pc due to a SSD crash, this time I installed 24.04.2 and it went with kernel 6.11.
I wonder if there is a way to upgrade my laptop installation to 24.04.2, because the update manager doesn't propose the upgrade.
Obviously I don't wish to reinstall.
thx.
I'm not sure what you're actually asking...
Ubuntu flavors LTS release ISOs with both the GA and HWE kernel stacks.
- Ubuntu MATE 24.04 & 24.04.1 ISOs used the GA (6.8) kernel stack; the kernel package installed is
linux-generic, so installs of that remain using the 6.8 kernel - Ubuntu MATE 24.04.2 LTS uses the HWE kernel stack which is 6.11 at .2; kernel package installed is
linux-generic-hwe-24.04 - Ubuntu MATE 24.04.3 LTS (still in QA) again uses HWE which is now 6.14; later point releases of 24.04 will use HWE updated from a backported kernel release until 24.04.5 which uses the GA stack from 26.04; kernel package still
linux-generic-hwe-24.04which changes over time.
A scan of current kernels for 24.04 show (quick CLI command output paste)
linux-generic | 6.8.0-31.31 | noble | amd64, arm64, armhf, ppc64el, s390x
linux-generic | 6.8.0-31.31.1 | noble | riscv64
linux-generic | 6.8.0-64.67 | noble-security | amd64, arm64, armhf, ppc64el, s390x
linux-generic | 6.8.0-64.67 | noble-updates | amd64, arm64, armhf, ppc64el, s390x
linux-generic | 6.8.0-70.70 | noble-proposed | amd64, arm64, armhf, ppc64el, s390x
linux-generic | 6.14.0-24.24.1~24.04.1 | noble-security | riscv64
linux-generic | 6.14.0-24.24.1~24.04.1 | noble-proposed | riscv64
linux-generic | 6.14.0-24.24.1~24.04.1 | noble-updates | riscv64
linux-generic-hwe-24.04 | 6.8.0-31.31 | noble | amd64, arm64, armhf, ppc64el, s390x
linux-generic-hwe-24.04 | 6.14.0-24.24~24.04.3 | noble-security | amd64, arm64, armhf, ppc64el, s390x
linux-generic-hwe-24.04 | 6.14.0-24.24~24.04.3 | noble-proposed | amd64, arm64, armhf, ppc64el, s390x
linux-generic-hwe-24.04 | 6.14.0-24.24~24.04.3 | noble-updates | amd64, arm64, armhf, ppc64el, s390x
The noble shows what was on the initial 24.04 release for given architectures; and noble-updates / noble-security etc what you'd expect if updates are applied (or used the latest noble daily which will be released as 24.04.3 soonish)
This may not be what you're asking, but sorry I'm not sure what that is... My point is Ubuntu MATE have released media which will remain on 6.8 kernel, PLUS media which advances and using the HWE kernel stack..
If you want to understand more about GA/HWE (not so much OEM) kernel stacks, refer wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/LTSEnablementStack where Ubuntu MATE and all flavors still do as Ubuntu Desktop 18.04 LTS & earlier did.
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Use these commands to update and upgrade to 24.04.2, with small repair if needed, then to use the latest kernel 6.14 with Ubuntu HWE.
sudo apt update
sudo dpkg --configure -a
sudo apt-get install -fy
sudo apt-get autoclean
sudo apt-get autoremove --purge -y
sudo apt full-upgrade -y
sudo apt install linux-image-generic-hwe-24.04
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Hi, I apologize for not responding, but I had an hard month at work.
Thx a lot to you all.
Two days ago was released 24.04.3 and I made the upgrade so I realized that I was wrong: my laptop was 24.04.2. The upgrade to 24.04.3 was quick and smooth, but surprisingly, after the upgrade, the kernel still was 6.8, so I manually installed 6.14.0.27 and now everything is ok.
Thank you again.
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The kernels for Ubuntu [MATE] 24.04.3 LTS are
- GA is 6.8; default if install was made with Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS, or Ubuntu flavors 24.04 or 24.04.1 media
- HWE is 6.14 (at .3); default if install was made with Ubuntu Desktop 24.04 LTS, or Ubuntu flavors 24.04.2 LTS media (or later point release media).
- OEM kernels can also be installed/used for specific hardware too, but I'll skip them.
The install media you use dictates which kernel stack you're using, as Ubuntu-MATE has released 4 ISOs thus far for Ubuntu MATE 24.04 LTS; two using the GA kernel (and kernel package), and two with the HWE kernels (and HWE kernel package). Ubuntu MATE and all flavors are the same in this regard.
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OK, I need more hep in this. First of all I always install from the official ISO downloaded from Download | Ubuntu MATE . I always downloaded the desktop edition, no server or other editions.
When I installed the first release there was (and still there is) a problem with the installer, so I had to install 24.04 from the ISO using the grafic safe boot (see other topic).
The system have been istalled with kernel 6.8, on my 2 pcs.
In my previous answer ( Mate 24.04 with Kernel 6.11 (SOLVED) - #4 by smurf ) I said I installed manually th kernel 6.14 HWE, it’s true, it work. But it is not updated, automatic updates still updates Kernel 6.8. Why?
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My problem is similar to @smurf's, in that my 22.04 keeps trying to install version 5.? of kernel, even though I manually installed the 6.8 kernel. I stopped doing updates until I can upgrade to 24.04 after 26.04 rolls out the door. 
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Ubuntu MATE 22.04 is EOL, thus I won’t provide help for that here.
I will say that LTS releases (and I’ll ignore OEM kernels here for simplicity) will update providing official packages are used, with what kernels you get dictated by what was installed. Ubuntu MATE 22.04 LTS was released via 6 ISOs, 4 using HWE & 2 using GA kernel [packages].
A Ubuntu 22.04 LTS system (again ignore OEM kernel stacks) would be expected to have
linux-generic | 5.15.0.153.153 | jammy-security | amd64, arm64, armhf, ppc64el, s390x
linux-generic | 5.15.0.153.153 | jammy-updates | amd64, arm64, armhf, ppc64el, s390x
linux-generic | 5.15.0.156.154 | jammy-proposed | amd64, arm64, armhf, ppc64el, s390x
linux-generic | 6.8.0.79.79~22.04.1 | jammy-security | riscv64
linux-generic | 6.8.0.79.79~22.04.1 | jammy-updates | riscv64
linux-generic-hwe-22.04 | 6.8.0-78.78~22.04.1 | jammy-security | amd64, arm64, armhf, ppc64el, s390x
linux-generic-hwe-22.04 | 6.8.0-79.79~22.04.1 | jammy-updates | amd64, arm64, armhf, ppc64el, s390x
with Debian/Ubuntu deb based systems working on you having correct sources, and updates are done according to what is available on your sources. The difference between GA & HWE ISOs is really only the packages included on the ISO, as that detail determines what kernels were on ISO & thus got installed & subsequently updated.
Ubuntu MATE 22.04 is no longer supported.
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That would definitely happen if you have both linux-generic and linux-generic-hwe installed side by side. If you do have both of these; you can simply remove the one you dont need.
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Ok Stephen, I removed all 6.8.0 kernels, now I only have installed 6.14.0 kernel, but the system doesn’t propose to upgrade the kernel 6.14.0.27, that should be upgraded to 6.14.0.29.
I hope you can help me understand this, Stephen.
Are the
- linux-generic
and
- linux-generic-hwe
supposed to be exclusive of each other? And, if so, under which circumstances would you choose one over the other?
Also, if I understand correctly, in a single Synaptic operation, I should check to have removed the grouping highlighted with green AND select only one (or both) of the remaining two for full install?
In my experience, when the kernel package is upgraded it installs the new version, keeps the existing (most recent) installed version as a 'fallback', and removes the existing 'fallback' (if any). So there's always have two versions installed for me.
Except when something doesnt get cleaned up properly.
If more than two 6.14.0-x's are installed; then I (manually) remove all but the most recent two.
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They arent exactly exclusive; otherwise APT would know about the conflict. But in most situations there is no reason to have both.
I only found out about HWE (hardware enablement) when the GA (general availability) kernel had a regression. The GA kernel is basically the kernel that the Ubuntu release started on (i.e. 6.8 for 24.04). The HWE is intended for supporting newer hardware because the Linux kernel is monolithic (i.e. drivers run in kernel space) and as a result most device drivers ship with the kernel (obvious exception being drivers supplied via DKMS; which includes NVIDIA drivers).
So! How to choose linux-generic versus linux-generic-hwe? In my experience; simply because I had to due to a regression; that was on either 20.04 or 22.04 (cant remember).
Lately, on 24.04, I'm happily running 6.8 (GA) but I have also installed 6.14 (HWE) as an experiment - I noticed no difference.
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For noble or 24.04 the package is linux-generic-hwe-24.04 (not linux-generic-hwe), though I wonder if you assumed that would be understood.
Most of my LTS releases have both kernel stacks installed, so I can select at grub which I’ll use. By having both metapackages installed both will get updated (three stacks too if you include an OEM kernel). Some closed source kernel modules (eg. some nVIDIA) can prevent multiple stacks from co-existing; but that is a package restriction that only applies due to some closed-source packages.
Ubuntu-MATE 24.04 & 24.04.1 media installed the GA kernel stack, as is custom for all flavors of Ubuntu for over a decade now (and Ubuntu Desktop 18.04 LTS and earlier too), where the Ubuntu-MATE 24.04.2 and later point release media installed the HWE kernel stack packages (again the default for over a decade). Ubuntu Server ISOs are an example of an ISO that sticks with GA for all point releases, where Ubuntu Desktop has defaulted to HWE for all since 20.04 (but not before). The GA is seen as more stable as it doesn’t change & thus potentially create issues for some hardware, but desktop users do often want the newer kernels & newer Mesa stack etc. that is included with HWE updates.
Your specific hardware will decide which is better; newer hardware can benefit from HWE, whilst older hardware can perform better on older stacks. Some newer features do require newer kernels (ie. 22.04 LTS using the GA stack couldn’t use PipeWire audio; that was introduced in later kernels used by 22.10 and later, OR 22.04 if using the newer HWE kernels)
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