/boot partition filling up quickly need to delete old kernels

[boblizar]

how would i go about deleting my old kernel? i have my ubuntu machine partitioned the way gentoo would partition a drive with a seperate boot directory. my boot directory is only 200 megs so i can probably fit 4 kernels max into it and need to eject the old ones.

[ajgreeny]

I suggest next time you install, you get rid of a separate /boot partition, as it complicates things for most situations.

However, for now, you can remove old kernels most easily by using synaptic, search for the kernel number, eg 2.6.32-31, 2.6.32-29 etc etc, and remove all the packages with those exact old numbers, usually a linux-image and two linux-headers packages. It's best to keep the most recent and the one before that, just in case.

[drs305]

Here are some other ways to remove them, including via the GUI app Ubuntu Tweak:
HOWTO: Remove Older Kernels via GUI (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1587462)

[boblizar]

not as urgent as you were expecting. simple maintenance question.... if i was REALLY in a pinch for space i would of rm -rf /boot/imagetoberemoved because i operate that way and am strugling with debian package management and can not get a source debed for the life of me

[crtlbreak]

as a rule (and good nix practice) it is unadvisable to "rm -rf" anything - a little like shooting pigeons with buckshot :p.
code
sudo rm /boot*2.6.32.nn*

where <2.6.32.nn> is the kernel number - [starting with the lowest number first]

will remove the specific number related kernels in group format (config, vmlinuz etc) - typically linux - many ways to skin the cat.