What's the best way to update the linux kernel if I have no internet connection?

Question

I currently did a clean install of Ubuntu LTS 10.04 on my new laptop. After the installation, I attempted to do an update of the system only to find out that the 2 most important interfaces (eth0 and wlan0) I can use to connect to the internet is non-existent.

I then recalled that when I installed Arch on this same laptop a few months back, I got the same obstacle. Basically, it was because the kernel version doesn't support the 2 interfaces yet. The Atheros card AR8152 (eth0) needs at least kernel version 2.6.37 and the Broadcom Device 4727 (wlan0) also needs a higher kernel version. If I am not mistaken, the install CD I have for 10.04 has kernel version 2.6.32-xx.

So I cannot connect to the internet on my laptop. I need to know what the best approach is to update the linux kernel to the current version if I have no internet connection on the laptop.

I can connect to the internet using a Win7 machine. Also note that I want to use the 10.04 release so upgrading to a newer Ubuntu release isn't an option.

Solution

You can donwload the package linux-generic or linux-server from http://packages.ubuntu.com, copy it on your traget system and install it via SoftwareCenter or in shell using dpkg -i PACKAGENAME.deb. That should do it for the most part. Unless you need additional

Dependencies

As for dependencies: Software Center / dpkg will tell you if any dependencies are not met. Worst case is, you'll have to download them all manually and install them. If we're talking about just one or two packages, I'd do so.

I have not much experience about auto-installing dependencies. You can try one of the following and see if it works:

Warning: Stuff gets increasingly riskier further down the list!

• dpkg -i PACKAGENAME.deb then apt-get -f install. The former installs the package no matter what, the latter fixes broken dependencies.
• Try to install it with gdebi
• See if this howto helps

• You could try the daly build kerne-ppa:

  apt-add repository ppa:kernel-ppa/ppa
  apt-get update
  apt-get install PACKAGENAME
  

• Enable natty repositories in synaptic for a short while (do not run update-manager, while enabled).

Sorry, I can't be of more help. When I tried it back in the days, I just had to install the one package. Maybe this also helps: How do I add the kernel PPA?

Comments

[Oxwivi]

Any expected dependency issues?

[con-f-use]

None, that I'd know of. The kernel-binaries pretty much depend on nothing xD

[quantum]

I noticed that the kernel version I want is tagged under Natty. Can I use this same kernel under Lucid? Or do I need to upgrade to the Natty release before I can use this kernel?

[quantum]

I noticed that there are some dependencies listed with linux-generic or linux-server. Should I also download those dependencies? If so, is there a way to download all the needed dependencies for the package(s) that I need at the same time?

[con-f-use]

I edited my post.