Download and test Linux 4.2-rc4 right now

Jul 26, 2015 21:20 GMT  ·  By

It's Sunday, so it is time for you to test yet another Release Candidate version of the upcoming Linux kernel 4.2 release, as Linus Torvalds has just posted news on the work done for the RC4 build.

According to Mr. Torvalds, Linux kernel 4.2 Release Candidate 4 is quite a big build, not that big and scary, but he hopes that there are fewer bugs this time and that things will start to become normal so that he can prepare the Linux 4.2 kernel branch for a final release soon.

However, we all know that a normal Linux kernel branch goes through about seven or eight RC (Release Candidate) builds until the final version gets out. So, we think that, at this stage, the Linux 4.2 kernel seems normal, looking at the appended shortlog. Maybe things will start calming down after the sixth RC build, which should be released in the first week of August 2015.

"Another week, another rc. I really wish that things were calming down, but it hasn't happened quite yet. It's not like this is particularly big or scary, but it's also not at the stage where it's really starting to get quiet and the bugs are really small and esoteric," says Linus Torvalds.

Here's what's new in Linux kernel 4.2 RC4

Looking at the changelog for Linux kernel 4.2 RC4, we can notice that it fixes various bugs related to the low-level x86 asm cleanup work, as well as the 32-bit compat 'syscall' instruction for AMD. Those of you who ran into issues when using a 64-bit kernel on top of a 32-bit user space are urged to update to this RC build.

Moreover, the fourth Release Candidate build of Linux kernel 4.2 brings several updated drivers, especially for GPU, USB, network, and sound, some neworking improvements, various ARM fixes, and a few file system patches. You can download Linux kernel 4.2 RC4 right now via Softpedia or from the kernel.org website, but please keep in mind that it's a pre-release version, not suitable for production use.