How Do I Remove or Hide Old Kernel Versions, To Clean Up The Boot Me

grub2 - How do I remove or hide old kernel versions, to clean up the boot menu?
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How do I remove or hide old kernel versions, to clean up the boot menu?
130
Every time I install a new Linux kernel, it gets left in the grub config, making the boot menu longer each
time.
I know I can manually search through the installed packages and remove them.
Community Bulletin
Does Ubuntu provide any easier way to clean them up or keep them from showing in the boot list?
101
grub2
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edited Jan 28 at 21:46
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6 revs, 5 users 46%
Hans
As well as removing the old kernels, uncomment this line in /etc/default/grub if you want to get rid of
the 'recovery' items in the menu: #GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_RECOVERY="true" poolie Nov 29 '10 at 6:04
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28 Answers
136
ACTIVE
OLDEST
VOTES
11.10 and newer versions of Ubuntu
Linked
GRUB2 and its display of all kernels
Removing old kernel entries

in Grub
The latest versions of Grub2 installed in Ubuntu automatically display the latest kernel and hides the older
kernels that you may have installed.
How to get rid of multiple

linux versions in grub boot
menu
How to remove old Linux

kernel modules tp_smapi?
19
How to remove kernels from

previous release?
Why aren't old linux-images

removed when installing new
kernel updates?
10
How to clean previous

kernels after update?
23
How to remove old kernel

versions automatically?
25
How to remove the unwanted

entries from the boot menu?
How do you clean up your

GRUB 2 boot menu?
How can I delete my older

versions of Ubuntu?
+100
If you do not see your grub - then remember to press
Shift
whilst booting.
As you can see, only the latest kernel is displayed.

If you select the option shown (press
from.
Enter
) then all the old kernels become visible and available to boot
see more linked questions
http://askubuntu.com/questions/2793/how-do-i-remove-or-hide-old-kernel-versions-to-clean-up-the-boot-menu[24/2/2014 01:26:04]
grub2 - How do I remove or hide old kernel versions, to clean up the boot menu? - Ask Ubuntu
Related
1
How to limit number of

kernels shown in boot menu?
How can I repair a new

kernel version and omit the
Previous Linux versions
from GRUB?
My kernel won't boot. What

steps should I take?
Default kernel is missing from

grub 1 menu
How to uninstall old versions

of the kernel?
How to set default boot

kernel in Ubuntu / Grub?
Old kernel in grub and /boot

but not uninstallable
However this is not wise, as you should ALWAYS have an old kernel or two to fall back to (just in case
the new one doesn't work with your system). At the very least, if you've just upgraded the kernel, reboot
before deleting the older versions. Read on for a safer, more manual way.
Removing old kernel entries

in Grub
Unable to boot Ubuntu with

new Kernel but it works fine
with old kernel
How to permanently delete older kernels
Grub Menu opens on boot
How to permanently delete ALL older kernels using the shell

This will remove ALL versions but the current:
sudo apt-get remove --purge $(dpkg -l 'linux-*' | sed '/îi/!d;/'"$(uname -r | sed
"s/$.*$-$[^0-9]\+$/\1/")"'/d;s/^[^ ]* [^ ]* $[^ ]*$.*/\1/;/[0-9]/!d')
Or you can run this command as a cron job , if you want this done automatically without confirmation:
dpkg -l 'linux-*' | sed '/îi/!d;/'"$(uname -r | sed "s/$.*$-$[^09]\+$/\1/")"'/d;s/^[^ ]* [^ ]* $[^ ]*$.*/\1/;/[0-9]/!d' | xargs sudo apt-get -y
purge
First boot with the latest available kernel.

There are a number of ways to delete old kernels. Personally, I wouldn't touch Computer Janitor since
this is acknowledged to break your computer with its suggestions.
synaptic
An alternative is Synaptic ( sudo apt-get install synaptic )
search for linux-image , right-click a kernel and choose complete removal and finally click the Apply
button to delete the kernel.
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My wireless/WiFi connection
does not work. What can I do?
Repeat the search but this time for linux-header - you can delete the associated headers for the kernel
image chosen previously.
Synaptic though will not attempt to verify what you are trying to remove... you could inadvertently delete
your newest kernel - or even delete all of your kernels via this tool leaving you with an unbootable
Ubuntu !.
Remember to check which kernel you are using type:
uname -r
The result would be similar to:
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changes when saving assets?
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for a hollow sphere higher than
a uniform sphere?
Remember the result and the number - make sure you don't delete the corresponding image or header.
Ubuntu-tweak
IMHO , the best GUI tool is Ubuntu-Tweak

It is not available from the standard repositories. To install you need to use the author's PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tualatrix/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-tweak
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distinctive so people can tell
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It was about weekend passes menaing
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A program that ends but never
ends
Choose the options shown by the arrows.

Select both the headers and image with the same version number.
It will not allow you to delete the current kernel you are booted with since the current kernel is not
displayed.
Recommendation
My recommendation is to keep at least two or preferably three kernels including the latest. The reason for
the recommendation is that you will have at least one/two other kernels to boot with, if for what-ever
reason the latest kernel you are unable to boot with or introducing a regressed capability such as broken
wireless.
share improve this answer
community wiki
5 revs, 5 users 79%
fossfreedom
1 Removing old "linux-image*" packages using synaptic, worked well with 10.04 too. (I mention it because
the title suggests it may only be for 11.10 and up) mivk May 17 '12 at 16:35
2 the -y switch at the end of the apt-get line is necessary, otherwise apt-get just asks for confirmation
and since the input is a pipe, it just aborts. So it should end in: | xargs sudo apt-get purge -y
Josh Aug 26 '13 at 16:30
I added another way without xargs so a confirmation is asked on the console before the kernels are
removed rubo77 Oct 30 '13 at 20:27
if you recommend to keep at least two kernels, you could have written your script to do exactly that ;) (I
was just looking for a script that does that, but it seems that Ill have to write it myself) trzsmkus Nov
8 '13 at 12:56
I tried the approach using Ubuntu Tweak as being the most appropriate (i.e., idiot-proof). Worked well.
Bobble Dec 30 '13 at 17:02
show 1 more comment
Open terminal and check your current kernel:
52
uname -r
DO NOT REMOVE THIS KERNEL!
Next, type the command below to view/list all installed kernels on your system.
dpkg --list | grep linux-image
Find all the kernels that lower than your current kernel. When you know which kernel to remove, continue
below to remove it. Run the commands below to remove the kernel you selected.
sudo apt-get purge linux-image-x.x.x.x-generic
Finally, run the commands below to update grub2
sudo update-grub2
Reboot your system.
community wiki
2 revs, 2 users 95%
penreturn
13 When doing this in 10.04 and 12.04, I found update-grub was automatically run during the purge
process. aidan Jan 2 '13 at 0:45
17 bash's brace expansion can be used, e.g. sudo apt-get purge linux-image-3.2.0-3{0..5}generic (removes 30,31,..,35) ajo Mar 19 '13 at 9:04
It may seem obvious, but what this answer had that others did not is "find all kernels that [sic] lower that
your current kernel." This is exactly the info I was looking for. Ziggy Oct 16 '13 at 9:55
add comment
34
Removing Entries from Grub 2 Entries should be removed by editing or removing files in the /etc/grub.d
folder. The /boot/grub/grub.cfg file is read-only and should not normally require editing.
Too Many Kernels?
If you are not sure of the kernel you are currently using, in a terminal type uname -r.
Kernels removed via APT (Synaptic, "apt-get remove", etc.) will automatically update grub.cfg and no
user action is required.
A great tool for removing kernels (and menu entries) is Ubuntu-Tweak, a safe and easy-to-use GUI
app.
Install ubuntu tweak
Ubuntu-Tweak will be available under Applications > System Tools.
Remove Older Kernel Entries
Select "Package Cleaner" on the left and "Clean Kernel" from the right panel.
Press the "Unlock" button at the lower right, enter your password.
Select from the displayed list the kernel images and headers you wish to remove. The kernel in use is
not listed.
Press the "Cleanup" button at the lower right to remove the selected kernel images and headers.
Remove Operating Systems from the Grub menu
Other Operating Systems which have been removed from the computer will also be removed from
the menu once "update-grub" is run as root.
Menu items are placed on the Grub2 menu by scripts. If you don't want other Operating Systems to
be entered in the menu, disable /etc/grub.d/30_osprober
Run this command to stop the script from running
sudo chmod -x /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober
DISABLE_30_OS-PROBER='true' in /etc/default/grub
Remove Memtest86+ from the Grub Menu
sudo chmod -x /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+
Run the update-grub command to allow the changes to be incorporated in grub.cfg
Source
Note: After kernel updates a new entry is added to the GRUB menu.You can remove the older one if you
want.However, most experienced users will advise you to keep at least one spare entry in case something
goes wrong with an upgrade and you need to boot an older kernel version for troubleshooting purposes.
Alternate way to remove Kernel entries (prior to 10.04)
for GRUB not GRUB2
startupmanager
You can find it under System>>Administration>>
You see in the second screenshot you can select how many kernels to show? I generally just keep it on 1,
but when I get a kernel upgrade I always change it to 2 before restarting so I can select the older kernel
if the new kernel has problems with my hardware. Once I know the new kernel is working well I change it
back to 1.
edited Mar 26 '12 at 9:00
community wiki
karthick87
2 Actually, startupmanager dint give me a window like this on Ubuntu 10.04, instead it just gave a window
with two tabs -> Boot options and Advanced.. and in advanced it dint have the option to limit the number
of kernels. So please update the answer for Ubuntu 10.04.(And thats why i down-voted this..) Sen Dec
13 '10 at 5:12
any idea how "number of kernels to keep" can be defined on a machine that has no GUI installed (server)?
sylvainulg Mar 28 '13 at 9:24
add comment
29
Purely commandline, this will remove all but the current and second most current (via the "-2" in the
head command below):
OLD=$(ls -tr /boot/vmlinuz-* | head -n -2 | cut -d- -f2- | \
awk '"'"'{print "linux-image-" $0}'"'"' )
if [ -n "$OLD" ]; then
apt-get -qy remove --purge $OLD
fi
apt-get -qy autoremove --purge
edited Sep 17 '10 at 21:24
community wiki
Kees Cook
3 one-liner from there: dpkg -l linux-* | awk '/îi/{ print $2}' | grep -v -e ùname -r |
cut -f1,2 -d"-"` | grep -e [0-9] | xargs sudo apt-get -y purge Dmitry Paskal Aug 5 '12
at 19:31
@DmitryPaskal, You should add this as a new answer. saji89 Mar 12 '13 at 10:26
2 @DmitryPaskal As always, don't just copy-paste these without understanding them. On my machine this
one-liner also matches linux-libc-dev:amd64 which shouldn't be removed. jamesadney Mar 12 '13
at 20:19
@Kees Cook, shouldn't the awk argument only be surrounded by single-quotes? If your intent is to prepend
"linux-image-" to the piped lines, this only seems to work if you use awk '{print "linux-image-"
$0}' . Mark Jun 12 '13 at 17:33
add comment
23
10.04 GUI Method

Computer Janitor can clean up old kernels and I believe is installed by default in Ubuntu (but not
Kubuntu).
GRUB 1, if you're using that, has an option in /boot/grub/menu.lst to specify how many kernels it
should show at a maximum. GRUB 2, as far as I can tell, does not.
community wiki
maco
3 Computer Janitor should not be used - it is buggy and has now been dropped as a default application
in natty/oneiric/precise. fossfreedom Feb 13 '12 at 16:04
1 Rather, install "Ubuntu Tweak" as described in another answer (its own ppa), which has its own "computer
janitor" (not to be confused with the "computer janitor" that temporarily was available in older ubuntu
versions) michael_n Feb 4 '13 at 2:10
add comment
In order to remove older Linux image kernels, first boot in the kernel you want to keep.
15
You can also check the kernel version using command uname -r so that you don't remove the wrong
one by mistake.
Now go to synaptic package manager and search for linux-image and remove the older versions
except the one shown by upper command. Generally I prefer to go with the latest one.
Now when you restart you'll see a more clean grub menu.
community wiki
Anurag
This is probably the most basic method that will for users who have installs w/o Computer Janitor. Broam
Sep 17 '10 at 21:34
1 From Ubuntu 11.04 the grub menu only shows the current kernel by default, older kernels are hidden in the
'Previous kernels' menu. This method will still work for cleaning out the older ones. Andy May 16 '11 at
16:03
add comment
To figure out what kernels and headers are installed use
15
dpkg -l | grep linux-image

dpkg -l | grep linux-headers
You can then remove them one by one or together, just make sure to keep the most recent.
There are also some handy commands and scripts to automate the removal.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1658648
The following claims to remove all unused kernels and headers:
dpkg -l 'linux-*' | sed '/îi/!d;/'"$(uname -r | sed "s/$.*$-$[^09]\+$/\1/")"'/d;s/^[^ ]* [^ ]* $[^ ]*$.*/\1/;/[0-9]/!d' | xargs sudo apt-get -y
purge
If you don't ever need old kernels, set that command to run as a monthly cron job.
answered Oct 10 '11 at 14:25
community wiki
mikewhatever
add comment
14
You can follow the Using the "unattended-upgrades" package section of Automatic Security
Updates article on Ubuntu Wiki to perform this.
You need to change the following line in /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades file;
//Unattended-Upgrade::Remove-Unused-Dependencies "false";
with
Unattended-Upgrade::Remove-Unused-Dependencies "true";
to automatically remove old packages, including kernels.
Also remove or comment the line
"^linux-image.*";
in the "NeverAutoRemove" section of the file /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/01autoremove.
community wiki
sarimura
1 I did this but it was still collecting 3+ old kernels consuming 100's of MBs. So I added apt-get
autoremove to my daily cron job that actually does the upgrades, since it doesn't always go through builtin update-manager. Marcos Aug 24 '12 at 12:01
add comment
My one-liner to remove old kernels (this also frees up disk space)
12
dpkg --list | grep linux-image | awk '{ print $2 }' | sort | sed -n '/'ùname r`'/q;p' | xargs sudo apt-get -y purge
Explanation (remember, | uses the output of the previous command as the input to the next)
dpkg --list lists all installed packages
grep link-image looks for the installed linux images
awk '{ print $2 }' just outputs the 2nd column (which is the package name)
sort puts the items in ascending order
sed -n '/'ùname -r`'/q;p' prints the lines before the current kernel
xargs sudo apt-get -y purge purges the found kernels
Unwinding the sed invocation:
-n tells sed to be quiet
ùname -r` outputs the current installed kernel release - we include it in backticks so that the
output is includes as part of the command (you might also see this as $(uname -r)
/something/q says stop when you match 'something' (in this case, something is output of uname r) - the / surround a regular expression
p is print
the ; is the command separtor, so /something/q;p says quit when you match something, else print
altogether, sed -n '/'ùname -r`'/q;p' is print the lines until it matches with the current kernel
name.
If you're paranoid (like me), you can make the last part xargs echo sudo apt-get -y purge so that
the command to purge the old kernels is printed, then you can check that nothing unexpected is included
before you run it.
Modified version to remove headers:

dpkg --list
'/'"$(uname
-y purge
dpkg --list
'/'"$(uname
-y purge
| grep 'linux-image' | awk '{ print $2 }' | sort -n | sed -n

-r | sed "s/$[0-9.-]*$-$[^0-9]\+$/\1/")"'/q;p' | xargs sudo apt-get
| grep 'linux-headers' | awk '{ print $2 }' | sort -n | sed -n
-r | sed "s/$[0-9.-]*$-$[^0-9]\+$/\1/")"'/q;p' | xargs sudo apt-get
Note: the sed invocation is modified. "$(uname -r | sed "s/$[0-9.-]*$-$[^09]\+$/\1/")" extracts only the version (e.g. "3.2.0-44") , without "-generic" or similar from uname r
All-in-one version to remove images and headers (combines the two versions above):
echo $(dpkg --list | grep linux-image | awk '{ print $2 }' | sort | sed -n
'/'ùname -r`'/q;p') $(dpkg --list | grep linux-headers | awk '{ print $2 }' |
sort -n | sed -n '/'"$(uname -r | sed "s/$[0-9.-]*$-$[^0-9]\+$/\1/")"'/q;p') |
xargs sudo apt-get -y purge
edited Aug 19 '13 at 9:17
community wiki
David Kemp
Terminal power . Awesome combination and explain. NikTh Mar 28 '13 at 21:54
Thank you! This does not remove the kernel headers. I enhanced your one-liner to remove the image and
headers of all kernels older than the active one. dpkg --list | grep 'linux-headers\|linux-image'
| awk '{ print $2 }' | sort -n | sed -n '/'"$(uname -r | sed "s/$[0-9.-]*$-$[^09]\+$/\1/")"'/q;p' | xargs sudo apt-get -y purge phiphi May 21 '13 at 11:53
@phiphi Note: your enhanced one-liner will only remove headers, but not images (because when sorted, all
the headers come first, and the sed cuts the list right before the first appearance of a matching version
number) -- thus the 'linux-image' in your grep statement is unnecessary. So, it is actually necessary to use
both one-liner versions. Mark Jun 12 '13 at 16:04
Updated the answer to include the "all-in-one" one-liner which combines both the image and header oneliners... Mark Jun 12 '13 at 16:12
Sorry, my oneliner doesn't work, you need two lines. if you make a list of both linux-header and linux-image
and uninstall until a current linux-header, you will not remove any linux-image. phiphi Aug 19 '13 at 8:51
add comment
You could install ubuntu-tweak and then Go to Applications -> System tool -> ubuntu tweak and
10
click package cleaner and clean kernels. it does not show the currently used kernel so you will always be
safe.
answered Mar 3 '11 at 13:26
community wiki
Alaukik
add comment
You can uninstall the old kernels ( linux-image-... packages) using Synaptic, and that will remove
them from the boot menu. Take care not to remove the running kernel (you can check its version with
uname -r ).
Bear in mind that having a one or two older versions can help you troubleshoot, should something go
wrong.
Alternatively, you can edit/remove the entries manually ( gksu gedit /boot/grub/grub.cfg ), but
they will be re-generated when you update to a newer kernel. If you are thinking about removing
recovery mode options - don't. They can come in handy if you break something which prevents you
from booting.
Refer to this page.

edited Nov 29 '10 at 6:30
community wiki
evgeny
Grub2 now builds it's grub entry everytime a new kernel is installed. with update-grub which will re-write
all those kernels. Marco Ceppi Dec 12 '10 at 18:47
add comment
Personally, I like using Synaptic . It makes me feel more secure about what's going on. The only app
I've used that has an option to remove old kernels is Ubuntu Tweak.
How to remove the kernels you are not using:
Open UbuntuTweak
Click on 'Package Cleaner' under 'Applications' in the left-hand pane
On the right side of the 'cleaning view' press 'Clean Kernels'
Select all kernels - I think the one in use is not listed but just in case check running uname -a in a
terminal
edited Apr 8 '13 at 0:24
community wiki
Alan FL
add comment
The fastest/simpler way (Applicable at least since 12.04) possible that already comes with Ubuntu is
apt-get . Do the following if you wish to remove all older kernel versions that are not in use (Except
the previous one that you are no using. This is to make sure that if the current kernel version fails in
some way, you have a way to go back to a previous state). Do the following:
sudo apt-get autoclean
This will eliminate any old files (Including kernel versions) you may have. Note that if you have many old
versions, it will take a while since it has to make sure that removing the kernel version has no issues. For
me, removing the last 12 kernel versions took about 2 minutes. You can also do the following:
sudo apt-get clean
Which will eliminate everything downloaded and stored in the cache folder of apt. Lastly you have:
sudo apt-get autoremove
which would check for any unused packages and remove them if necessary. This is great for those
libraries and dependency packages that are no longer needed byt any app installed.
answered Apr 8 '13 at 1:13
community wiki
Luis Alvarado
add comment
ailurus has the feature of removing old kernels as well as unused configurations. I personally remove it
manually from synaptic. You can install ailurus from getdeb as well as ppa
answered Sep 17 '10 at 10:53
community wiki
sagarchalise
add comment
An easy way to get rid of almost all obsolete packages, packages no longer in any package list, along with
obsolete kernels is to do one of the following:
dpkg --purge $(aptitude search ?obsolete)
However, this will miss packages that are still recommended by other packages, and the -R/--withoutrecommends argument does not resolve this problem.
dselect after switching sort mode with 'o' will show all obsolete packages including the ones aptitude
misses, but some people don't like using it.
edited Apr 6 '13 at 3:03
community wiki
Chris Cheney
add comment
Next time, when removing old kernels open a Terminal and use this command: sudo apt-get autoremove
linux-headers-2.6.38-10-generic
You can use Synaptic to get the exact name of the kernel that you intend to delete. Just open Synaptic
and search for "linux-headers" and then select which kernel entry you want to remove. The relevant entry
will be tagged with "-generic" at the end.
To clear out any unused (left over) dependencies throughout the system use this command by itself:
sudo apt-get autoremove
answered Oct 10 '11 at 13:39
community wiki
Chad--24216
dependencies are removed but I still have these files in /boot folder. Patryk Oct 10 '11 at 13:43
add comment
here is a rough outline of what I did, careful as I am no expert in linux, be sure you know what you are
doing and have backed up any files you are modifying.
gedit /boot/grub/grub.cfg
then find the entries you want to keep, we will highlight and copy them
cd /etc/grub.d
ls
you'll see a list of files like 10_linux and 30_os-prober
sudo chmod -x 10_linux
this will stop form auto adding all the linux entries into the grub boot menu.
gksudo gedit 40_custom
open the custom boot menu file, then go back to grub.cfg (which should still be open in gedit), and copy
the entries you want to keep... such as
menuentry "My Default Karmic" {
set root=(hd0,1)
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set cb201140-52f8-4449-9a95-749b27b58ce8
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-11-generic root=UUID=cb201140-52f8-4449-9a95749b27b58ce8 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-11-generic
}
paste them into 40_custom , and then save it.
sudo chmod 755 40_custom
makes it executable, then finally we update grub which will change the grub.cfg file:
sudo update-grub
Now, BEWARE, if you update your kernel or OS, your boot menu probably will not update... you'll have to
do that manually. But doing this procedure will let you customize the boot menu a bit more, such as
remove the kernel version and just put the ubuntu name... i.e. Ubuntu Lucid 10.04, etc...
Hope someone finds this helpful, as it took me a while to figure out... didn't see this solution anywhere...
edited Jan 8 '12 at 23:31
community wiki
Joe
2 This answer seems like overkill. It's better to just remove old kernels. Scott Severance Jan 8 '12 at 23:32
I had read that extra kernels may be useful in the event of recovery situations. Also, this is a simple way to
edit the text of the boot entry. So rather than saying "Ubuntu, Linux kernel x.x.xx-yy --text1 -text2 -t3 -t4 -t5 etc etc etc" (where the --text entries just denote some options/parameters I don't understand) you can
change it to "Ubuntu xx.yy" although I had a "{" bracket I couldn't get rid of. Joe Jan 9 '12 at 22:35
I keep the immediate previous kernel around until I've verified the the most current kernel works properly.
If it works, it isn't going to stop working. So, after I've verified the most recent kernel (after a week or so),
I have no reason to keep the old kernel around. If it doesn't work, then I have the latest known-good
kernel to fall back to. Actually, I'm currently running an old kernel due to a showstopper bug in the current
kernels. But that doesn't change my overall policy. You only need one known good kernel.
Scott Severance Jan 10 '12 at 5:14
add comment
Install the synaptic package manager and go down to the filters tab (I think filters, if not try all 5) and
select "local". This will show you orphaned packages on your system, such as the kernels. After you
uninstall them, run update-grub . That command updates the list of boot options for grub.
If this fails, you can always try apt-get remove linux-image-version-generic .
edited May 29 '13 at 16:41
community wiki
Relish
add comment
The following string of commands will purge any installed linux kernels except the currently running one
(grep -v uname -r ) and the lastest available kernel (dpkg -l | .... | tail -1):
dpkg -l | grep -E linux-image-.*-generic | cut -d ' ' -f3 | grep -v `dpkg -l |
grep -E linux-image-.*-generic | cut -d ' ' -f3 | tail -1` | grep -v ùname -r` |
xargs apt-get -y purge
I use this to keep desktop's boot volumes relatively clean, but in a server situation you'd probably want to
expand the logic and write some additional scripting to maintain a list of the last X kernels the server has
booted.
Something like a startup script that does:
uname -r >> /root/bootedkernels
cat /root/bootedkernels | sort -u | tail -3 > /root/bootedkernels # Keep the last 3
booted kernels
and then use:
dpkg -l | grep -E linux-image-.*-generic | cut -d ' ' -f3 | grep -vf
/root/bootedkernels | grep -v `dpkg -l | grep -E linux-image-.*-generic | cut -d '
' -f3 | tail -1` | grep -v ùname -r` | xargs apt-get -y purge
answered Jun 30 '13 at 18:37
community wiki
Alexander Thompson
add comment
I disabled the 10_linux boot file and put custom entries in 40_custom (copied/pasted from boot.cfg). That
way you can edit the text of the entry carefully. Although updating your kernel may not update your
40_custom file, so you may have to beware of that. Although it's easy to fix.
answered Jan 9 '12 at 22:39
community wiki
Joe
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This is by far the best answer in my opinion:
http://tuxtweaks.com/2010/10/remove-old-kernels-in-ubuntu-with-one-command/
Follows the last command on the site above:

dpkg -l linux-* | awk '/îi/{ print $2}' | grep -v -e ùname -r | cut -f1,2 -d"-"`
| grep -e [0-9] | xargs sudo apt-get -y purge
answered May 21 '13 at 15:52
community wiki
BrunoJCM
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To have a bit more control over which versions to keep, explicitly select the ones you want to remove. For
instance if you want to remove kernel versions 3.2.0.[49-53], use a simple for loop:
for k in 49 51 52 53 ; do aptitude remove --purge linux-image-3.2.0-${k}-generic ;
done
Adjust the list of kernel versions to fit.
answered Nov 8 '13 at 12:51
community wiki
NeilNjae
add comment
Try this. Run it as root.
Save this script as, say ./keep-n-kernels.sh

Pass, as a command line argument, the number of most recent kernels you want to preserve.
#!/bin/bash
# pass n as a command line argument, and it will find all the installed
# kernels and keep only the n most recent ones => uninstall all older ones
# dpkg -l 'linux-*' | sed '/îi/!d;/'"$(uname -r | sed "s/$.*$-$[^09]\+$/\1/")"'/d;s/^[^ ]* [^ ]* $[^ ]*$.*/\1/;/[0-9]/!d'
# this command gives the list of all packages EXCEPT for the latest kernel.
# source : https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Lubuntu/Documentation/RemoveOldKernels
n=$1
# find the installed kernel versions :
# dpkg-query -W -f='${Version}\n' 'linux-image-*' | grep . | sort -n
# gives version numbers, one in each line
# dpkg-query -W -f='${Version}\n' 'linux-image-*' | grep . | sed 's/\...$//g' |
grep -v '\...$'| sort -u
# gives only the ones that appear in linux-image
# suffix, e.g. -generic-pae
# the kind of kernel you boot into
suffix=$(uname -r | sed 's:^[0-9]\.[0-9]\.[0-9]\-[0-9]\{2\}::g')
command="apt-get purge "
for version in $(dpkg-query -W -f='${Version}\n' 'linux-image-*' | grep . | sed
's/\...$//g' | grep -v '\...$'| sort -u | head -n -${n})
do
command=${command}"^linux-image-${version}${suffix} "
done
$command
Sample usage :
# ./keep-n-kernels.sh 4 # launch the apt-get command to remove all but the 4 most
recent kernels
If you want [AND AT YOUR OWN RISK], you can add a -y (or a force flag) to the apt-get command and
make it non-interactive.
answered Jan 28 at 20:47
community wiki
Sankalp
add comment
-1
Backup your GRUB configuration file which is in /boot/grub/grub.cfg which we will need if something
goes wrong.
Open Terminal CTRL+ALT+T. You need to be the root. For that :
sudo -i
Now we want to edit the file. For that:
gedit /boot/grub/grub.cfg
You will get GEDIT window.
Now search for ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###.
After that line you will see the items of your GRUB.
So if we want to remove Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-30-generic from GRUB, Remove the red
highlited line in the image.
You should have got the idea of removing items from GRUB.
After editing the file save it.
Do as you like but be careful not to remove other lines.
**
NOTE
:**
When kernel is updated the /boot/grub/grub.cfg is recreated. So the older kernels will be visible again.
You have to do this every time you run the command update-grub and after updating the kernel.
Source (my blog): How to remove a item from GRUB boot menu
edited Jan 30 '13 at 13:18
community wiki
Subin
2 Thanks for the edit. Ubuntu has used GRUB2 since 9.10, so it's unlikely any solution that would work for
any version since then would fail for any other version. (Thus, if this works for 10.04, it probably works for
later versions too.) Unfortunately, because it's GRUB2, this will probably not work at all, or at least
not for very long. The file you're editing, /etc/grub/grub.cfg is automatically recreated when
update-grub runs--and it is run every time there is a kernel update (and for some other updates).
Eliah Kagan Jan 30 '13 at 13:10
add comment
-1
Based on a previous answer by David Kemp, the following script will purge all headers and images except
for the last 2 versions.
#!/bin/sh
# This script assumes that the installed linux-image and linux-headers packages
# share the same versions (i.e. if a linux-image version number is installed,
# the corresponding linux-headers package will also be installed, and vice
# versa.)
SECONDTOLASTVER=$(dpkg --list | grep linux-image | awk '{ print $2 }' | sort -r -n
| sed '/^[^0-9]\+$/d' | sed 's/^.*-$[0-9\.]\+-[0-9]\+$.*/\1/' | uniq | sed -n
2p)
# get a list of package names matching the argument passed to the function, and
# return only those package names which should be removed
get_pkgs_to_remove_matching () {
if [ -n "$SECONDTOLASTVER" ]; then
echo $(dpkg --list | grep $1 | awk '{ print $2 }' | sort | sed -n
'/'"$SECONDTOLASTVER"'/q;p')
fi
}
echo $(get_pkgs_to_remove_matching linux-image) $(get_pkgs_to_remove_matching
linux-headers) | xargs sudo apt-get -y purge
edited Jun 12 '13 at 18:42
community wiki
Mark
Any reason why this was downvoted? Did it not work for someone? When copying/pasting make sure you
aren't wrapping long-lines when you paste. I have had no problems with it working. Mark Jan 24 at 20:56
add comment
-1
sudo apt-get --purge autoremove

will remove old kernels and keep the last three versions. This works since at least ubuntu 13.04, but
maybe also since 12.04.
The following guide is for you if you want to keep more (or less) than the last three versions, use an
older version of ubuntu, or otherwise want to have more control over the process.
This is a pure command line solution.
First generate a list of all installed kernel versions except the currently running kernel:
dpkg-query -W -f='${Package}\n' |
grep -f <(ls -1 /boot/vmlinuz* | cut -d- -f2,3 |
grep -v $(uname -r | cut -d- -f1,2))
Alternatively generate a list of all installed kernel versions except the last two:
sort -V | head -n -2)
Examine the list. Make sure the the kernel versions you want to keep are not part of the list. Use the
command uname -r to see the version of the currently running kernel.
If you are happy with the results you can use apt-get to remove the packages.
First a dry run (using the first generator as example):
sudo apt-get --dry-run purge $(
grep -v $(uname -r | cut -d- -f1,2)))
Then a real run:
sudo apt-get purge $(
grep -v $(uname -r | cut -d- -f1,2)))
If you want to automate the process then add the --yes parameter:
sudo apt-get --yes purge $(
...)
community wiki
6 revs
lesmana
add comment
-2
Here's the script I use to keep 2 kernel packages installed (i.e. the current one and the previous one). It
also removes the initrd-VERSION-generic.old-dkms files left around by DKMS, which can fill-up a small
boot partition.
The script:
echo "**Removing -generic.old-dkms files from /boot**" && rm -f /boot/*generic.old-dkms # if using DKMS it creates initrd-VERSION-generic.old-dkms in
/boot and doesn't clean them up, meaning after a few kernel upgrades /boot can
become full
OLDKERNEL=$(ls -tr /boot/vmlinuz-* | head -n -2 | cut -d- -f2- | awk '{print
"linux-image-" $0}')
OLDHEADERS=$(ls -tr /boot/vmlinuz-* | head -n -2 | cut -d- -f2- | sed 's/generic//g' | awk '{print "linux-headers-" $0}')
OLDHEADERS=${OLDHEADERS//-pae/} # remove -pae string as linux-header packages don't
have it in their names
if [ -n "$OLDKERNEL" -o -n "$OLDHEADERS" ]; then
apt-get -q remove --purge $OLDKERNEL $OLDHEADERS
echo "**Finished removing old kernels**"
else
echo "**No old kernels found**"
fi
community wiki
happyskeptic
add comment
-3
in addition to the above answers you could try to remove the kernel image + system.map + config files
manually. grub looks for those files in the /boot directory.
remove any files not related to the kernel version(s) you use. if you are using only the latest version, let's
say 3.2.0-25, it should be safe to remove all 2.6.* and 3.0.* versions. so you type ls -alF /boot/ 2.6. to
see what's there and remove those. same with all the other versions except the one(s) you are using.
NB: when updating the kernel it may be good policy to keep the version that previously worked best for
you
community wiki
replier
2 This seems likely to break things, particularly when 3rd party modules have been installed. leonardo Apr
1 '13 at 15:24
add comment
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grub2 - How do I remove or hide old kernel versions, to clean up the boot menu?

asked 3 years ago

event 2014 Community Moderator

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edited Jan 28 at 21:46

11.10 and newer versions of Ubuntu

GRUB2 and its display of all kernels

Removing old kernel entries

How to get rid of multiple

How to remove old Linux

How to remove kernels from

Why aren't old linux-images

How to clean previous

How to remove old kernel

How to remove the unwanted

How do you clean up your

How can I delete my older

If you do not see your grub - then remember to press

As you can see, only the latest kernel is displayed.

see more linked questions

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How can I repair a new

My kernel won't boot. What

Default kernel is missing from

How to uninstall old versions

How to set default boot

Old kernel in grub and /boot

Removing old kernel entries

Unable to boot Ubuntu with

How to permanently delete older kernels

Grub Menu opens on boot

How to permanently delete ALL older kernels using the shell

First boot with the latest available kernel.

Hot Network Questions

My colleague often shuts down

How can I handle versioning

IMHO , the best GUI tool is Ubuntu-Tweak

Do eunuchs have something

Choose the options shown by the arrows.

edited Jan 28 at 21:52

show 1 more comment

Open terminal and check your current kernel:

edited Jan 28 at 21:53

for GRUB not GRUB2

edited Mar 26 '12 at 9:00

edited Sep 17 '10 at 21:24

10.04 GUI Method

edited Mar 26 '12 at 8:58

edited Mar 3 '11 at 13:10

To figure out what kernels and headers are installed use

dpkg -l | grep linux-image

answered Oct 10 '11 at 14:25

edited Mar 1 '13 at 12:44

My one-liner to remove old kernels (this also frees up disk space)

Modified version to remove headers:

| grep 'linux-image' | awk '{ print $2 }' | sort -n | sed -n

edited Aug 19 '13 at 9:17

answered Mar 3 '11 at 13:26