Ubuntu 11.04 has suffered from many known issues, which have also been mentioned on its release notes. One post mentioned the problem of a bad interaction between Unity, the GL driver and thekernel, which results in system hangs. Such issues can be easily resolved by updating the Ubuntu 11.04 Kernel default 2.6.38-8 kernel to 2.6.39-0.
In this post I will walk you through the necessary steps to update your Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal default kernel to resolve Unity issues.
Important Note: make sure you backup your system before applying the below mentioned changes. This will allow you to revert back in case of any issues which may occur. WML Cloud administration will not be responsible for any issues which may occur due to the implementation of the below mentioned procedure.
You can verify your current Kernel version from the System tab of the System Monitor, to make sure that you do not have the updated Kernel.
To update the Kernel to 2.6.39-0, 0pen the Terminal and add the PPA (Personal Package Archive) by entering the below mentioned commands:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kernel-ppa/ppa sudo apt-get update
After that, check available Kernal by entering the below command. Version 2.6.39.0 kernel should appear in the list.
apt-cache showpkg linux-headers
The, run this command to update your Kernel.
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-2.6.39-0 linux-headers-2.6.39-0-generic linux-image-2.6.39-0-generic --fix-missing
Restart your system to complete the update. The system might become slow for a while, that’s normal since the Kernel will be updating during this time.
To verify that the Kernel was successfully updated, open System Monitor and go to the System tab.
Your Kernel is now successfully updated. No more Unity hangs.
