Openai/695cbbc2-66fc-800b-a35b-453e9bf11ccb

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gpt-5-2

User: in pop!

in pop! OS

how do I Hey guys. How to update driver in to new kernel? Like I install Ubuntu pop os and install new kernel. But if I update driver using new kernel 6.8.12 it's get error say dkms not configure to this kernel.

Assistant: Pop!OS + custom kernels + DKMS is one of those places where Linux stops being a pet and turns into a dragon.

Pop!_OS + custom kernels + DKMS is one of those places where Linux stops being a pet and turns into a dragon. Let’s tame it methodically. 🐉

You’re seeing:

“dkms not configured for this kernel”

after installing kernel 6.8.12 and then trying to rebuild a driver (usually NVIDIA, VirtualBox, ZFS, or some Wi-Fi module).

That error is not mystical. It means:

DKMS cannot find headers + build tools for that kernel, so it refuses to compile the module.

Let’s walk this as an engineer would: verify → fix prerequisites → rebuild → verify again.

I’ll assume Pop!_OS 22.04-based and kernel 6.8.12 is already installed.

1️⃣ Pre-flight: verify the situation

Check which kernel is actually running

uname -r

You should see:

6.8.12-xxxx

Check which kernels are installed

ls /lib/modules

Make sure 6.8.12-... exists here.

Check if headers exist

ls /usr/src | grep 6.8.12

If nothing shows up, DKMS has nothing to compile against — that’s the core problem.

2️⃣ Install the matching kernel headers

Pop!_OS does not automatically install headers for custom kernels.

If your kernel came from Ubuntu mainline:

sudo apt install linux-headers-6.8.12-*

If that fails:

sudo apt search linux-headers-6.8.12

Then install the exact package name it shows.

If you manually installed .deb files:

You must also download & install the headers .deb from the same source.

Example:

linux-headers-6.8.12-060812-generic_*.deb

Then:

sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-6.8.12-*.deb

3️⃣ Install build prerequisites (DKMS needs these)

sudo apt install build-essential dkms linux-headers-$(uname -r)

Yes, even if you installed headers manually — this ensures toolchains are present.

4️⃣ Reconfigure DKMS

Now that headers exist, tell DKMS to rebuild.

See current DKMS state

dkms status

You’ll probably see something like:

nvidia/550.67, 6.8.12-xxxx, x86_64: added (not built)

Force rebuild

sudo dkms autoinstall -k $(uname -r)

or for a specific module:

sudo dkms install -m <module> -v <version> -k $(uname -r)

Example for NVIDIA:

sudo dkms install -m nvidia -v 550.67 -k $(uname -r)

5️⃣ Rebuild initramfs (important)

sudo update-initramfs -u -k $(uname -r)

This ensures the newly built modules are actually loaded at boot.

6️⃣ Reboot

sudo reboot

7️⃣ Post-flight verification

After reboot:

Check kernel

uname -r

Check DKMS

dkms status

Should now say:

installed

Check driver loaded (example: NVIDIA)

nvidia-smi

or for any module:

lsmod | grep <module>

Why this happens (the physics under the hood)

DKMS is basically a robot that:

1. Finds /lib/modules/<kernel>/build
2. Uses headers from /usr/src/linux-headers-<kernel>
3. Compiles the module against that ABI

If step 2 is missing → DKMS refuses.

Pop!_OS normally ships kernels + headers together — but custom kernels break that assumption, so DKMS sulks.

TL;DR Fix

sudo apt install linux-headers-6.8.12-* build-essential dkms
sudo dkms autoinstall -k $(uname -r)
sudo update-initramfs -u -k $(uname -r)
sudo reboot

A final philosophical note 😄

The kernel is the skeleton of the OS. DKMS is the immune system. If you transplant a new skeleton but forget to update the immune system’s reference anatomy, it panics and refuses to attach the organs.

That’s all that’s happening here.

If you tell me which driver is failing (NVIDIA, VirtualBox, ZFS, Realtek Wi-Fi, etc.), I can tune the exact module commands so it compiles cleanly the first time instead of arguing with the dragon. 🐲