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I upgraded to Ubuntu 16.04 2 or 3 months ago. Everything was running fine -- there were no issues. For the last few weeks I've been having these problems: (While using a browser) first Ubuntu will lag e.g. I will type something into an edit box and it will take several moments for the characters to appear. Immediately following this the tabs on the browser would turn gray, the mouse couldn't be moved and I had to shut the machine down with the power button. (It froze up.)

I say 'would' now because there has been some improvement. I took WinEunuuchs2Unix advice and installed the new Kernel 4.7.2. The whole issue of lagging and freezing seems to happening a bit less frequently now and the browser tabs aren't turning gray.

I installed Grub now (didn't even realize it wasn't installed.) I know I have to pick the last kernel before 16.04 upgrade. How do I do that?

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  • Clarity has been established and progress is being made on this issue thanks to WinEunuuchs2Unix. Is there a way you could possibly take this off hold?
    – thewolfstar
    Sep 6, 2016 at 21:55
  • If you edit your question and replace the rant with a more detailed description of your problems, this will automatically put it in the reopen queue where the community will review it.
    – Byte Commander ♦
    Sep 7, 2016 at 0:51
  • I edited my question and was descriptive as I could be of my problem. Can you take it off of hold now please?
    – thewolfstar
    Sep 7, 2016 at 1:42
  • Great, much better now. Please also add some info about your hardware, especially CPU, RAM and graphics. I'm voting to reopen noe, but this requires multiple votes from the community.
    – Byte Commander ♦
    Sep 7, 2016 at 2:14
  • Max Screen Resolution 1366 x 768 pixels Processor 2.16 GHz Celeron N2840 RAM 2 GB DDR3 Hard Drive 500 GB SATA Graphics Coprocessor Intel Integrated Graphics Chipset Brand intel Card Description integrated Wireless Type 802.11bgn
    – thewolfstar
    Sep 7, 2016 at 3:16

2 Answers 2

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How to Install Kernel 4.8.4

NOTE: As of December 25, 2016 the most recent Ubuntu 16.04 kernel 4.4.0-53 performs extremely well and better than 4.8.4 in most circumstances. Furthermore mainline kernel 4.9.0 is now out with ehanced support for AMDGPU and Intel Skylake amongst other issues. That said 4.4.0-53 on my 3rd Generation Intel CPU performs just as well.

As of October 24, 2016, Kernel 4.8.4 is the latest stable Kernel. It's not officially supported by Ubuntu but if your hardware requires the latest kernel to operate properly you have little choice but to install it.

Go to the Ubuntu Mainline Kernel page: Ubuntu Kernel Mainline.

Scroll down near the bottom and click on 4.8.4.

Notice the files under AMD64 and how those files names and the main web link is used to build the following commands (which you need type or copy and paste into your terminal):

cd /tmp
wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.8.4/linux-headers-4.8.4-040804_4.8.4-040804.201610220733_all.deb
wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.8.4/linux-headers-4.8.4-040804-generic_4.8.4-040804.201610220733_amd64.deb
wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.8.4/linux-image-4.8.4-040804-generic_4.8.4-040804.201610220733_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i *.deb
sudo reboot

Using the Website address and adding in the file name, you complete the entire wget command. Study this technique so you can repeat it with any kernel version. We want amd64 for 64-bit versions of Ubuntu running on Intel and AMD chips. We want generic which is the mainstream version of the kernel. low-latency on the other hand is difficult to setup and maintain but necessary for those in the sound recording industry and similar industries.

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    1. I was specific. I stated exactly what was happening. 2. No, wrong, I did not recently upgrade to 16.04. I did that a while ago.
    – thewolfstar
    Sep 4, 2016 at 2:08
  • If you upgraded to Ubuntu 16.04 "a while ago" and not "recently" a kernel update might still be at the root of your problems (whatever those are).
    – WinEunuuchs2Unix
    Sep 4, 2016 at 2:17
  • I followed your advice and installed the new Kernel 4.7.2. I'm seeing an improvement but it's still not quite there yet. I'll try the Grub thing once I find out what it is. I honestly don't know how to explain the problems I'm having any more specifically than I already have. 1.) My puter starts to lag.. like when I'm typing something and it takes a long time for the characters to appear in the edit box. 2.) The next thing that happens (right after that) is my puter freezes up. The mouse won't move. I can't do anything but shut the puter down with the power button.
    – thewolfstar
    Sep 6, 2016 at 0:34
  • This time you caught me on my 6th beer :). Sorry your performance is substandard but glad 4.7.2 helped. The "grub thing" is only rebooting, selecting "advanced options" and then picking the last kernel before 16.04 upgrade such as 4.1.13 in my case. HTH
    – WinEunuuchs2Unix
    Sep 6, 2016 at 0:43
  • Where do I find "advanced options"? :(
    – thewolfstar
    Sep 6, 2016 at 3:56
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Check your RAM. If you have less than 4 gb. Ubuntu is not your best choice and it is an easy reason for locking up.
Lubuntu, Xubuntu or Mate will run much better on 2gb.

Doing a fresh install instead of an upgrade is always the recommended action. It does not take long to reinstall all of your applications. In the end, it will be better and take less time.

You might want to see if you have virtual memory. If not, you should look up how to do so. If you are going to do a fresh install, make sure you have 1 or 2 gb available as a partition ready for swap. The install program should pick it automatically, if not, you should do the advanced install and select that drive for virtual memory.

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    Ok, just did a fresh install of Ubuntu 14.04, which is what I started with and which never gave me any problems. I need to get at least 2 more gigs of ram which I will real soon. Thnx for your response, Bhikkhu Subhuti.
    – thewolfstar
    Dec 26, 2016 at 0:14
  • I have a question. I was gone for a while. I had 20 reputation points when I was here last. How did it go down to 15 points?
    – thewolfstar
    Dec 26, 2016 at 0:18
  • Someone downvoted your question. It could be that the new version of Ubuntu takes more RAM.. They usually take more ram with each version. I would go with Mate 16.04 if I were you. I ran it for a long time. It was quick and well supported. Worked well when I had 2gb. Now I have 8 and use Gnome which might be the best looking distro. (using the included global dark theme in the tweak..)
    – Bhikkhu Subhuti
    Dec 26, 2016 at 0:31
  • I'm just gonna get more ram. No, my reputation went from 5-18 and then to 20 the next day after that original post. It's a long story. I was gone and just came back and it went down to 15 before I typed anything new. Any mods know anything about this?
    – thewolfstar
    Dec 26, 2016 at 5:51

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