@nikgnomic , Thanks for the response. Now I think I am getting somewhere. I think what will be helpful at this point is for me to tell you what I think I understand around kernels, and you (the community) can tell me if I have any parts wrong.
Kernels have a life cycle. This can be short (a year or so) unless the kernel is designated LTS.
If you are running an older Kernel, one that is close to eol, or is no longer being updated, you should update to a newer one for better stability and security.
Manjaro Setting Manager will pop up and tell me if I am running an older Kernel (which is what led me down this beautiful rabbit hole), but so far I have found it difficult to tell which releases are “current.”
The link you pointed to in the above mentioned article here:
shows that both of the kernels I currently have on my system are current.
5.10.61-1
5.13.13-1
Yet, I am still getting the pop-up from Manjaro settings that I need to update my kernel. Is there a glitch with that pop up, or am I missing something?
Experience shows that a new kernel release can be pestered with issues and unless you are a first-adopter - with all the perks that goes with that - you should never hurry onto a new kernel.
You can see the state of the kernels on https://kernel.org as Manjaro follows this schedule on unstable branch.
As it is unstable branch which get the new kernel - there is no way of telling the user of a Manjaro system that a new kernel is available or EOL - but you can only get that version by switching to unstable branch.
When a kernel is removed from Manjaro repo because it is EOL - then it cannot be installed anymore - but the user is responsible for updating the system.
The popup is not a command - it is an information.
Have you checked the settings for the settings-notifier? Rightclick the icon in the taskbar and open the settings. Or open Manjaro Notifier Settings from the app menu.
The reason you are getting the message is because your Notifier Settings is instructed to inform you when a new kernel is available but it is not mandatory to update.
You only mention 5.10 and 5.13 but there is a newer kernel version 5.14 available.
Yes, when I upgraded, I rebooted to test the 5.14 kernel - it seemed good, so now I deleted 5.13 but still kept 5.10.61-1 as a fallback (LTS).
No popups here.
Thanks for the response. I have been to site you gave as to the state of the kernels. That site is a little confusing for me because, for example:
In the kernel app in the system settings module it shows:
Linux 5.13.13-1
On the site it mentions:
stable 5.13.14
and instead of:
LTS 5.10.61-1
it has:
longterm 5.10.62
I understand LTS and longterm are the same thing. But, why the different version numbers? Do I need to wait for the same version numbers in the system settings module to know if it is a stable version of 5.13?
It also shows 5.14.1 is stable but the system setting module only has 5.14.0-0 which is the one Ben mentions (thanks Ben). Ben doesn’t seem to think the version he has is stable.
As you suggested, I do not wish to hurry into a new kernel. until I have more experience under my belt, I will try the most recent stable kernel offered as I think my hardware will both, be able to use it, and may possibly need it. (The specs on my profile are accurate.)
Thanks for your time here.
P.S. If I just need to read more, I am fine with that. Maybe you could save me some time and give me this part of the knowledge as a bite size portion by pointing me to a file or section that speaks about this stuff?
The kernel is using what is called sematic versioning whick is explained at https://semver.org.
The last -$NUMBER is the PKGBUILD number.
LTS is an acronym for Long Term Support.
So what is available for your system depends on the branch you are using.
Usually it takes around two weeks for a new kernel - from it is pushed to unstable branch until it is snapped to stable braanch.
This also means the worst problems should have been caught in the interim branches.
Kernel 5.14 has been rock solid on my system from the day I installed it - but every system is different - so what do I really know? I depends on the system - e.g. my system CPU is Q4’18 so it is a fairly new.
I have Linux 5.10 and 5.14 installed with 5.14 as the primary.
The reason LTS kernels exist is to provide a stable kernel for everyday use - my server runs as LTS because I need no kernel issues with that.
So what kernel you should or should not use is a decision you make based on your judgment on how your system works best.
But we are straying off-topic - I believe your initial question has been answered - so lets mark it solved.