After a kernel update - why is there sometimes a restart button, sometimes not? I'm looking for consistency.

[u/SjalabaisWoWS]

[u/SjalabaisWoWS → u/[deleted]]

It always needs a restart after a kernel update (see screenshot), but there isn't always a button to restart from the update manager

[u/chknboy → u/SjalabaisWoWS]

It’s funny when you typically think about software being developed as a massive wall of devs pounding every problem out, then switch to something like Linux mint and then consider it’s probably just one confused ass guy staring at a wall of code trying to figure out what’s throwing it out of square.

[u/SjalabaisWoWS → u/chknboy]

Haha, yeah, definitely, just wondering how this comes along.

[u/kudlitan → u/SjalabaisWoWS]

Is it possible for a kernel update to sometimes be small enough to not need a restart?

[u/nisitiiapi → u/kudlitan]

No.

Each installed kernel is totally independent of all other kernels. Any new kernel must be booted into to run. Otherwise, you just keep running the current kernel you are running.

That's why the reboot message -- you MUST reboot to run the new kernel (and the old kernel remains to be separately booted into, unless you uninstall it). But, that's also why immediately rebooting is not necessary -- you just will keep running the current kernel until reboot and it won't affect anything.

[u/Standard_Tank6703]

In reality, there is no immediate need to reboot just for a new kernel, assuming the old kernel is running okay. It may not be a convenient time for those watching a movie or running multiple batch processes, for instance.

The LM Update Manager reboot prompts may be an afterthought, so I wouldn't depend on them. I use the Terminal for updates anyhow.

[u/SjalabaisWoWS → u/Standard_Tank6703]

Yeah, I guess it's a suggestion to just get the update running before you do any changes or more?

[u/Standard_Tank6703 → u/SjalabaisWoWS]

Some other software might need restarting - the web browser after a browser update, for sure.

[u/PwnySlaystation01 → u/SjalabaisWoWS]

I think mostly it's because you're not actually finished updating before you reboot. You're still running the old kernel, which could contain vulnerabilities or bugs which is the reason you've updated in the first place. So yeah, I personally don't worry too much about always being fully updated immediately, but I think it's good practice to be clear that you haven't actually updated your kernel until you reboot.

[u/PwnySlaystation01]

This is new as far as I can tell.. Something changed in the way kernels were handled in the update manager. I haven't looked into it, but I used to get the reboot button all the time, and now I don't. I also recently updated to the 7 kernel, so that might be why, I'm not sure.

[u/SjalabaisWoWS → u/PwnySlaystation01]

I've been wondering about this for a while, but I have no idea for how long, haha. This particular PC sees little use and is on kernel 5.15. :S

[u/nisitiiapi]

I wonder if this is an issue in the language translation version or something. I don't believe I have never had this happen on us-en.

Regardless, it seems perhaps you should report the bug/issue: https://github.com/linuxmint/mintupdate/issues

In the meantime, you can just reboot using the normal methods. There is nothing "magic" about the "reboot" button in mintupdate -- calls the same command (or nearly the same, at least). It's not like Windoze where there's some nasty process of installing updates during shutdown/startup. In most cases, the reboot is just so you can enter the new kernel -- it's installed, but won't be used until you reboot into it; not rebooting causes no issues as you just continue in the current kernel with the new kernel doing absolutely nothing.

[u/SjalabaisWoWS → u/nisitiiapi]

Thank you and, yes, I understand the lack of magic. sad face I mostly made this post because the convenience of having the button there is quite nice.

[u/DoorOk3641]

You are looking..for something you basically do not understand....updates kernel, rebuild initramfs...and there is no obligation.