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Automatic kernel removal does still not work --> softbricks system --> please prioritize #1078

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Description

@LibrEars

Dear contributors, sorry for opening a new Issue here. I feel it is necessary since it leads to softwarebrick especially for inexperienced / new LM users. This is very unfortunate, since they will go back to MS. Please prioritize
I am very thankful for your work, so please do not get me wrong.

Describe the bug
Old kernel keep accumulating until /boot/ is full even with "/Update Manager/Edit/Preferences/Automation Tab/delete old kernels" activated (should be default in my opinion)

The GUI will give a warning („Disk Usage Analyzer“). If no manual terminal Kung fu is known (only manual apt-get purge image... worked, no autoremove --purge, no apt-mark auto), this will lead to a system unable to update. In the case I supported a new user. The system was totally unusable (apt was broken).

The original issue: #938

Expected behavior
delete old kernel automatically leaving only the last two recent by default

Distribution:

Software version:
LMDE 7

Logs:
Copy & paste the log output from Update Manager > View > Information here.

Crash report:
If you are reporting a crash, please run mintupdate from a terminal window, reproduce the crash and copy & paste any output from the terminal window here.

Additional context
Add any other context about the problem you think might be relevant.

Locale:
If the problem is with text not getting displayed correctly, paste the output of the terminal command locale.

Activity

  1. GeorgelT commented on Aug 12, 2026

    @GeorgelT

    I can also confirm that adding NeverAutoRemove::KernelCount 2; to /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/01autoremove also seems to be ignored. This seems to be disabled somewhere else.

    Edit: the toggle in Update Manager under Automation Tab at the bottom called "Remove obsolete kernels and dependecies" also does not solve this.

  2. AlexB7 commented on Aug 13, 2026

    @AlexB7

    See my comment today in #938

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