How to update drivers in Linux

Updating Drivers in Ubuntu

To update your Linux drivers in Ubuntu, you just need to update your system regularly using the following commands:

sudo apt update && sudo apt -y upgrade

Recently, new versions of Linux kernels have been released quite frequently (every few months). Each new version offers support for several new devices (processors, video cards, or even touch screens). The kernel also adds new file systems, improves the network stack, and fixes bugs and errors.

However, you should keep in mind that: 

• you will not find the newest version of the Linux kernel in the official repositories — it is the version that was the newest at the time of the release of your distribution;

• proprietary (closed-source) drivers are often not updated in the official repositories, and you should look for other ways to install them.

How to update drivers embedded in the kernel

To update open-source drivers, you need to update the kernel version. You can find out the current kernel version using the command:

uname -a

You can download the required kernel image by clicking here. To find the newest kernel among many kernels for different distributions, scroll down the list and select the folder with the desired kernel version.

We are interested in two files: linux-headers and linux-image.

You need to download the files for your architecture (for example, i386 for x86 and amd64 for x64). You can find out your architecture using the command:

arch

Download these two files and then go to your downloads folder and run the command:

sudo dpkg -i linux-image*

sudo dpkg -i linux-headers*

To make the system boot with the new kernel, update the Grub boot loader settings with the command:

sudo update-grub

After that, restart your computer.

How to update Ubuntu kernels manually

If you cannot update drivers automatically, you can do it manually. 

First, you need to find out what kernel you have installed. To do this, open the terminal and run the command:

uname -r

Ubuntu users do not need to build the kernel manually because the developers have taken care of the new kernel version's deb packages. All kernels built by the Ubuntu team can be found on the website. The newest ones are at the bottom, so scroll down to the bottom of the list.

There is also a daily/current folder at the very top, which contains the most recently built kernels. Select the kernel version you need, and after that, select the architecture. For 64-bit systems, you will need the amd64 architecture:

Then you need to download 4 files: 2 linux-headers, linux-image, and linux-modules. 

As you can see, there are several types of kernels: lowlatency and generic. In most cases, the generic kernel will suffice. Download linux-headers for all and generic, as well as linux-image-generic and linux-modules-generic:

Once the download is complete, it's time to move on to the installation. 

1 . Navigate to the installation packages folder (e.g., ~/Downloads):

cd ~/Downloads

2. Start the installation:

dpkg -i linux-headers* linux-image* linux-modules*

If this command does not work, you can try the following method: 

1. Install the gdebi utility:

sudo apt install gdebi

2. Use it to install the kernel:

sudo gdebi linux-headers*.deb linux-image-*.deb
linux-modules-*.deb

3. Update the bootloader:

sudo update-grub

4. Reboot your computer. Then, make sure that the Linux kernel has been successfully updated to the latest version:

uname -r

After installing the new kernel, we do not recommend uninstalling the old version of the kernel, so that you can boot from it in case of any errors or incorrect update. 

To restore the system based on the old kernel: 

1. Select «Advanced options for Kubuntu» from the Grub menu:

2. Run a previous kernel that works:

3. After booting, uninstall the incorrectly installed kernel and update Grub again.

4. Find the exact name of the kernel package using apt search. For example:

sudo apt search linux-headers-5.8

5. Remove this package:

sudo apt remove linux-headers-5.8-000055-generic

6. Perform the same steps with the kernel, then update the Grub configuration:

sudo update-grub

Your system is now back to its previous state.

How to upgrade the Linux kernel in CentOS

The algorithm of upgrading the Linux kernel to the latest version in CentOS will be discussed using the example of CentOS 8 (the following instructions will work for RHEL 8, Fedora, and other similar distributions).

Since the new kernels are not included in the official CentOS repositories, you need to add the ELRepo repository (it is also supported in RHEL and Fedora) to get the latest stable version.

1. First, import the key:

sudo rpm --import https://www.elrepo.org/RPM-GPG-KEY-elrepo.org

2. To add the repository and required components to CentOS 8, execute:

# yum install https://www.elrepo.org/elrepo-release-8.el8.elrepo.noarch.rpm

To add a repository and the required components to CentOS 9, run:

# yum install https://www.elrepo.org/elrepo-release-9.el9.elrepo.noarch.rpm

3. Check out the current version of the kernel:

uname -r

4. Install the latest version of the Linux kernel with the command:

sudo yum --enablerepo=elrepo-kernel install kernel-ml

5. After installing the new Linux kernel, update the bootloader configuration file:

sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg

6. Reboot the system.

This completes the kernel upgrade in CentOS.

If you have problems with the new kernel after rebooting, uninstall it with the command:

 yum remove kernel-ml -y

Or:

dnf remove kernel-ml -y

After that, restart your computer to get the system back to its previous state.

How to update proprietary drivers

Proprietary drivers are hardware drivers that are developed and supported by specialised manufacturers (e.g., NVIDIA, AMD, Broadcom, etc.) and are usually closed source.

Compared to Ubuntu's open-source drivers, proprietary drivers are more difficult to update. Ubuntu has a special utility to update and install drivers from third-party developers. To run it: 

1. Open the main menu and type «Programs and Updates» in the search bar.
2. Open the programme and click on the next tab «Additional Drivers». Here, drivers and their versions will be available for installation, not only drivers for video cards, but also other proprietary drivers (for network adapters, sound cards, etc.). Wait for the system to find available drivers.
   
   
3. Select the recommended NVIDIA/AMD driver and click «Apply Changes» and the system will start the driver installation. 

If you install drivers using the system manager, your PC will receive updates every time you update your system. And in case of using the driver installer, you will have to install drivers for Linux Ubuntu manually every time.

In general, the process of updating drivers in Linux is not complicated, but it requires care. In case something goes wrong — unfortunately, we will not be able to help you fix the error. Therefore, if you doubt your abilities, it is better to contact a specialist at once.