you should only need to reboot when updating the kernel. Why are you rebooting? Is it because the system is unresponsive?
this post was submitted on 13 Sep 2023
37 points (100.0% liked)
Linux
1258 readers
95 users here now
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
Rules
- Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
- No misinformation
- No NSFW content
- No hate speech, bigotry, etc
Related Communities
Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
I'm using the KDE version and updates come in automatically through Discover. They almost always announce in the system tray that a reboot is required.
You also don't have to reboot when Discover says to. It's just saying that the updates won't take effect until you reboot. It could probably be worded better, for sure.
I think that installing new versions often means that particular services need to be restarted. Rather than implement logic to restart relevant services, it probably just says "fuck it, reboot".
Eh, no. It only downloads the packages, then asks you to reboot and installs the new packages during the boot process. This means you get a clean system afterward in which no pre-update binaries are being run anymore. It just comes at the price that you need a full reboot for something that usually needs a session relogin at worst.
On the other hand you rather have to put a gun to the average GUI user's head to get them to reboot ever, otherwise the computer will sit there for months on end until finally they shut it down once and it can finally apply updates.
Honestly that little reboot icon in the sys tray is sort of like a loaded gun pointed at me
This is exactly my issue, Just as I can't deal with unread notifications, I can't live with a pending update icon just sitting there.
sigh... i hate to say it but do your updates via command line because it will actually tell you if you need a reboot. As said above, it should only be for Kernel updates, and even then it will tell you that it will switch kernels next reboot and keep running on the current one.
Most desktop applications for doing updates ask you to reboot not because its needed, but because they are being "safe" or not running with the same user rights as you are in the terminal.
Why does no other distro do that though? I've tried a bunch before and this is the first time I get that notification sitting there taunting me.
Hrm. Skim ahead if you already know some of this... So say you have a running program XYZ that loads libUseful.so to do useful things. Now you run some updates and libUseful.so gets replaced with the new version. Because of how files on Unix work, the old version still exists on the disk until XYZ closes it, but any new program will load the new version. So things generally "just work" when the system is updated in place, but on the rare occasion causes weird problems. Fedora (from the GUI) chooses to run updates during reboot to prevent the rare, weird problems. If you update from the command line, it just does them in place. Kernel updates always require a reboot to apply though.
After applying an update you need to make sure anything using the unmatched code is replaced by the patched code. A reliable way to do that is a reboot. Actually a reboot is pretty much the only reliable way to do that.
So I am not surprised that a distribution targeting end users asks for a reboot.
[This comment has been deleted by an automated system]
load more comments
(4 replies)
If you're using KDE, you can go to System Settings > Software Updates and
- Set the notification frequency to weekly or monthly to reduce the number of update notifications.
- Disable offline updates. This will install updates while you're using the system and you can choose to reboot when/if you want.
Opening Discover will check for updates and, if updates are found, show the tray notification regardless of your notification frequency and when you last updated.
Fedora does roll out updates pretty much daily, which can be annoying, but you can choose what and when to update.
Dude just change discover's update mechanism in the settings. Discover usually reboots to install updates so that nothing goes wrong. You can change it though, so that updates are applied instantly. That way you'll only need to reboot for kernel updates.
Can you provide more details on why you were forced to reboot so regularly?
So after reading the comments it's not that you need to reboot. It's your need to process notifications.
Fedora is nicest when you use a lot of flatpaks imo. They just update constantly in the background without reboot.
Only system updates need reboot.
Even better: Silverblue! (I use uBlue)
Everything gets updated in the background without even needing intervention, not even a "you need to click here to download and reboot to apply changes"-notification.
I shut down my PC every few days when I leave the house for longer and boot into the next base-image without even noticing.
And if I do because something doesn't work, I just select the image from yesterday.
Oh yeah, and 99% of my apps are Flatpaks anyway, which auto-update too by default.
I just don't notice my OS in any way, I just work with it. Lovely!
I agree, I actually use Silverblue as well. The only thing I added was a script to auto update distrobox too.
Yeah, seems definetly excessive. I don't know fedora good enough to tell you what you're doing wrong though, sorry
I'm not doing anything wrong, it's just made that way. Browser update? Reboot. Update to an app that I haven't even opened in weeks? Reboot.
It isn't, though. Made that way, I mean. I update maybe weekly and restart my system when I do. That's it. I seldom get notification that I need to update unless I open the Gnome Software app, and unless it's a security update, it's not imperative to do it just because it's there. And even then, it doesn't always require a restart.
I've been using Fedora off and on (mostly on) for the better part of a decade, and I've never run into what you're describing. So no. It isn't "made that way." I imagine if it were, it would be a hell of a lot less popular.
I'm on OpenSUSE and I only reboot once a week if really needed