15 Items in 'boot'

The memtests are: memtest86+.bin & ~_multiboot.bin

Can you give the output of:

lsb_release -a; dpkg -l | grep linux-image-2

Thanks.

FWIW here is mine:

andy@D420:~$ cd /boot/
andy@D420:/boot$ ls
abi-2.6.38-10-generic grub memtest86+.bin System.map-2.6.38-10-generic vmlinuz-2.6.38-10-generic
config-2.6.38-10-generic initrd.img-2.6.38-10-generic memtest86+_multiboot.bin vmcoreinfo-2.6.38-10-generic

if you uninstall/purge your old kernels, then this will go away.
http://tombuntu.com/index.php/2007/10/17/remove-ubuntu-kernels-you-dont-need/

Keep at least two, in case for whatever reason one becomes unusable (this is unlikely, but possible).

Bug 814452 seems unrelated to this. If you have a separate problem, list it as such, as people usually just browse the titles to see if they can help, if your question is not clear from the title, then it may be missed by someone who knows the answer.

Dear Actionparsnip

The out put of lsb_release -a; dpkg -l | grep linux-image-2 is:
                           -desktop:~$ lsb_release -a; dpkg -l | grep linux-image-2
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 11.04
Release: 11.04
Codename: natty
ii linux-image-2.6.38-10-generic 2.6.38-10.46 Linux kernel image for version 2.6.38 on x86/x86_64
ii linux-image-2.6.38-8-generic 2.6.38-8.42 Linux kernel image for version 2.6.38 on x86/x86_64
                             -desktop:~$

Dear Mycae

I read about removing kernels.
How will I ensure the latest Kernel is working working well? ( How will I ensure the old one is unwanted? )

You don't use then. The bootloader boots the newest kernel by default so the old kernels take up space (120Mb per kernel) as well as clutter Grub up

> You don't use then.
   Didn't understand this. What shouldn't I use? Should I remove anything? Please tell me.

You boot a kernel at bootup. The OS doesn't remove old kernels and they can mount up, taking up space. You can clear the old kernels out to save space. Can you give the output of:

uname -a; dpkg -l | grep linux-image

Thanks

Don't know how to boot a kernel at bootup. So didn't do anything.

The output is :

                            -desktop:~$ uname -a; dpkg -l | grep linux-image
Linux chandra-desktop 2.6.38-10-generic #46-Ubuntu SMP Tue Jun 28 15:05:41 UTC 2011 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux
ii linux-image-2.6.38-10-generic 2.6.38-10.46 Linux kernel image for version 2.6.38 on x86/x86_64
ii linux-image-2.6.38-8-generic 2.6.38-8.42 Linux kernel image for version 2.6.38 on x86/x86_64
ii linux-image-generic 2.6.38.10.25 Generic Linux kernel image
                              -desktop:~$

Every time you start up Ubuntu (successfully), you boot a kernel. Unless you edit the settings, it is always the newest one by default. If you hold down the shift key while booting, or Ubuntu is able to tell that the newest kernel failed to boot or otherwise caused problems last time you ran it, then you will see a list of kernels to choose from. Other useful items like memtest86+ are also in this list. And you can also access recovery modes with each of your kernels, in this list.

To answer your question: It is not a defect that you see those items in /boot. It is totally normal that they are there. While some of them might go away if you remove some of your kernels, is is generally speaking good that they are there and would generally speaking be bad if they were not.

The output of "dpkg -l | grep linux-image" reveals that you only have two kernels installed, so it would be best for you to keep both of them in case you should at some point experience problems with the newer one. (If that happens, you can select the older one in the boot menu. Please note, however, that the vast majority of problems with Ubuntu, except for boot problems, are not really related to your kernel; so if something else doesn't work as expected, you should not generally assume that it is your kernel and attempt switching to the older kernel.)

But of course, then you'll have no alternative kernel to fall back on if your current kernel (linux-image-2.6.38-10-generic) fails. It's your choice.

However, the impression I've gotten from this is not that you wanted fewer items in your boot menu or to save space, but just that you were concerned that you had the wrong entries in /boot. If that is the case, then I'd guess your concerns have already been assuaged.

Thanks Actionparsnip as you mentioned "sudo apt-get -y --purge remove linux-image-2.6.38-8-generic; sudo apt-get --purge autoremove" solved the problem. Now I have 9 items in 'boot'.

Dear Eliah Kagan, the GRUB menu appeared only when I used the the Shift key. That was why I asked some doubts about booting. GRUB menu was there in the last version 10.10. I didn't try to do anything with my boot menu. Actually I don't know anything about it. In my case your doubt may be true. There might be other major problems. You gave me so many valuable information. Thanks.

Thanks actionparsnip, that solved my question.