Merry Xmas! Kernel 6.12 packages now available for Salix 15.0

[gapan]

Hi everyone!

It has been a long time since the Salix 15.0 release and it is starting to show its age. During the past months I have experienced several cases of new hardware that Salix 15.0, with the stock 5.15 kernel that it comes with, cannot even boot. Others have reported similar issues too.

With no way to know when the next Slackware release, that will bring a new kernel and therefore compatibility with newer hardware, will happen, this is a major issue for us.

So, I have set up a new repo with kernel 6.12.63 packages that I have built for Salix 15.0! I have been testing these packages for some time now and in my experience, they work fine. Since hardware problems with the 5.15 kernel only concern very new hardware, I have only built packages for the 6.12 kernel for the x86_64 architecture.

You can find the packages in this new repo:
https://download.salixos.org/x86_64/kernel6-15.0/

And you can also add a line like the following in your /etc/slapt-get/slapt-get.rc to be able to use slapt-get to install them:

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SOURCE=https://download.salixos.org/x86_64/kernel6-15.0/:PREFERRED

Use the PREFERRED priority as shown in this example.

Since the kernel packages are still excluded from automated upgrades in your /etc/slapt-get/slapt-getrc, you will need to install the kernel packages manually:

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sudo slapt-get -u
sudo slapt-get -i kernel-generic kernel-headers kernel-source

Note that there is no kernel-modules package (as in slackware current). All modules are included in the kernel-generic package. So, you can remove the old kernel-modules package:

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sudo spkg -d kernel-modules

Also note that there is only a generic kernel, not a huge one (again, as in slackware current), so you will need an initrd that matches your system.

So, as soon as you install the kernel packages, before rebooting, you have to run:

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sudo geninitrd

That will create a /boot/initrd.gz file that is specific to your system. You will need to copy that file, along with your kernel to your EFI directory:

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sudo cp /boot/vmlinuz /boot/initrd.gz /boot/efi/EFI/Salix-Xfce-15.0/

Adjust the destination directory if your EFI label differs (e.g. Salix-15.0).

and also add a line to your /boot/efi/EFI/Salix-Xfce-15.0/elilo.conf to include the initrd line, so the first few lines of the boot entry look something like this:

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image=vmlinuz
        label=vmlinuz
        initrd=initrd.gz
        read-only

You should then be able to reboot into your new kernel. Fingers crossed.

If you're not on a UEFI system and you're using BIOS, first, that would be strange. Edit /etc/lilo.conf in that case and make sure you run lilo:

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sudo lilo -v

If you use grub, just run update-grub, it should work.

Please let me know if the kernel boots successfully, or if you run into any issues (boot failures, missing drivers, etc).

I am planning to build a new iso that ships with this kernel during the holidays. It should also include other updates, like the Xfce 4.20 desktop we already have since last Christmas. So, stay tuned.

Happy hacking, and enjoy the holidays!

gapan

[laprjns]

Working here on my MacBook Pro (circa 2011). If you ignore the mis-boot due to fat-fingering my elilo.conf file, it booted on the first try.

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rich[~]rich[~]$ uname -nsrpvpi
Linux macbookpro.laprjns.com 6.12.63 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Sun Dec 21 18:06:27 -00 2025 Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3210M CPU @ 2.50GHz GenuineIntel
rich[~]$ 

[laprjns]

Working here on my Dell Micro Desktop. If you ignore the mis-boot due to my forgetting to copy the new kernel and initrd over to the EFI partition, it booted on the first try.

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rich[~]$ uname -nsrpvi
Linux rich-desktop.laprjns.com 6.12.63 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Sun Dec 21 18:06:27 -00 2025 Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8700T CPU @ 2.40GHz GenuineIntel
rich[~]$ 

[miracleman]

HI All,

Update kernel work great for me. We are strange familly because our PC doesn't have EFI boot, hahaha. The multimedia PC at home is an old but work great for all.
[ OS: Salix 15.0 x86_64
Host: MSI 870-G45 (MS-7599)
Kernel: 6.12.63
Uptime: 2 hours, 52 mins
Packages: 1046 (pkgtool), 41 (flatpa
Shell: bash 5.1.16
Resolution: 1920x1080
DE: Xfce 4.20
WM: Xfwm4
WM Theme: Default
Theme: Flat-Remix-GTK-Brown-Dark [GT
Icons: Uos-fulldistro-icons-Dark [GT
Terminal: xfce4-terminal
Terminal Font: Monospace 12
CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 640 (4) @ 3.00
GPU: AMD ATI Radeon HD 7770/8760 / R
Memory: 2942MiB / 7942MiB
]


However, at work, I was given a 2014 Lenovo ThinkCentre i7 PC, so I will probably replace the old AMD with this one. On the other hand, it's EFI. I will run a test to see if my SalixOS SSD will boot correctly with the new Intel hardware. I upgraded the BIOS in first time, upgrade intel firmware in last upgrade years 2021. After this operation I'am selected legacy boot option to give myself the best chance of success. I'd rather not reinstall Salix. I'll run the test in a few days.

Happy holidays and a happy new year 2026 to all!

[miracleman]

I think we also need to update the firmware.

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slapt-get --search linux-firmware

result
kernel-firmware-20220124_eb8ea1b-noarch-1 [inst=yes]: kernel-firmware (Firmware for the kernel)
kernel-firmware-20250912_f0f4634-noarch-1 [inst=no]: kernel-firmware (Firmware for the kernel)

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slapt-get -i kernel-firmware-20250912_f0f4634-noarch-1

I ran this command to get my Intel AX210 wireless pcie card working again, as it stopped working after the upgrade.

I connected a cable to perform this operation. Now everything is working perfectly on the new old hardware i7 Lenovo.

[gapan]

I think we also need to update the firmware.

Right. But I didn't include the kernel-firmware in the new repo, since the latest one is already provided by the standard slackware repositories.

[simone]

Thanks, it works without any problems. My old Samsung laptop is even faster...