Ubuntu 22.04: Make room for the update

You get an error message every time you update your Ubuntu 22.04 because /boot is too full? We will show you how to solve this problem.

Many users have the problem that the update of their Ubuntu 22.04 fails because the boot partition is too small. Two simple steps can help with space problems on /boot.

Step 1️⃣

Remove Linux kernel and header files that are no longer needed for the Ubuntu Update. We recommend the command line command sudo apt autoremove.

If this measure has not yet freed up enough space for the update, continue with step 2.

Step 2️⃣

If you need even more space on /boot, you can compress initramfs more. To do this, you must first make the necessary settings in the initramfs.conf file with admin privileges. We use the command sudo nano /etc/initramfs-tools/initramfs.conf in the terminal, whereupon the file is opened in the nano editor.

In the nano editor, look for a line that starts with “COMPRESS”. In this line, replace the string zstd with xz so that it finally says COMPRESS=xz. Save and close the file with the key combinations “Ctrl+O” and “Ctrl+X”.

Then rebuild the initramfs with the following command: sudo update-initramfs -u -k all.

Make room for the update. Now you should have generated enough space fro your Ubuntu Update to be able to perform the update. Learn more.