Picking a kernel with mhwd-kernel

manjaro 26 / published / guide #6 / ≈ 2 min read

The kernel is the very heart of the operating system — it talks to your hardware, manages memory, and runs your programs. Most distros ship one kernel and update it occasionally. Manjaro is unusual: it lets you have several kernels installed at once and pick which one to boot.

Why would you want that? A newer kernel supports newer hardware. An LTS (long-term support) kernel is older but more thoroughly tested. If you have a quirky Wi-Fi chip or NVIDIA card, sometimes the LTS kernel is more reliable. Keeping both around means you can switch on a reboot if something goes wrong.

Step 1: See what's installed

mhwd-kernel --list-installed

You'll see something like * linux612. The asterisk is the one currently running.

Step 2: See what's available

mhwd-kernel --list

This prints every kernel Manjaro can install for you. Names are compact: linux612 means "Linux 6.12," linux61 means "6.1" (an LTS), and so on.

Step 3: Install another one alongside the current one

sudo mhwd-kernel -i linux61

Replace linux61 with whichever one you want. Manjaro adds the new kernel to your boot menu and installs any related modules (NVIDIA, VirtualBox, etc.) so the new kernel won't boot into broken drivers.

Step 4: Boot into the new kernel

Reboot. The boot menu (GRUB) will probably hide by default — hold Esc or Shift right after the BIOS to make it appear. Pick Advanced options and you'll see entries for each installed kernel.

Once you're up, confirm:

uname -r
# 6.1.xx-yy-MANJARO

Step 5: Remove a kernel you don't want anymore

sudo mhwd-kernel -r linux515

You can't remove the kernel you're currently running — reboot into a different one first.

Pinning a default

If you want one kernel to be picked automatically on every boot, edit /etc/default/grub:

sudo nano /etc/default/grub

Find GRUB_DEFAULT= and change the line to remember whatever you last booted:

GRUB_DEFAULT=saved
GRUB_SAVEDEFAULT=true

Save, then regenerate the boot config:

sudo update-grub

If a new kernel breaks something

Reboot, pick the old kernel from the boot menu, and remove the bad one with mhwd-kernel -r. Because Manjaro keeps the old kernel installed, this is genuinely safe to experiment with.

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