How to force Debian to boot new Kernel?

Question

I'm running Debian 6, Debian GNU/Linux, with Linux 2.6.32-5-amd64 under Grub2 ( 1.98+20100804-14+squeeze1) on a remote system (no possibility to view the pre-boot messages). I compiled and installed a new kernel, but I can not get it to boot.

What I have done:

Installed the packages via:

dpkg -i linux-headers-3.5.3.20120914-amd64_3.5.3.20120914-amd64-10.00.Custom_amd64.deb linux-image-3.5.3.20120914-amd64_3.5.3.20120914-amd64-10.00.Custom_amd64.deb

This updated the Grub configuration. My /boot/grub/grub.cfg now contains:

menuentry 'Debian GNU/Linux, with Linux 3.5.3.20120914-amd64' --class debian --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
        insmod raid
        insmod mdraid
        insmod part_msdos
        insmod part_msdos
        insmod ext2
        set root='(md0)'
        search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 5a3882a9-c7df-4f6a-9feb-f03e3e37be01
        echo    'Loading Linux 3.5.3.20120914-amd64 ...'
        linux   /vmlinuz-3.5.3.20120914-amd64 root=UUID=003242b5-121b-49f3-b32f-1b40aea56eed ro acpi=ht quiet panic=10
        echo    'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
        initrd  /initrd.img-3.5.3.20120914-amd64
}
menuentry 'Debian GNU/Linux, with Linux 2.6.32-5-amd64' --class debian --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
        insmod raid
        insmod mdraid
        insmod part_msdos
        insmod part_msdos
        insmod ext2
        set root='(md0)'
        search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 5a3882a9-c7df-4f6a-9feb-f03e3e37be01
        echo    'Loading Linux 2.6.32-5-amd64 ...'
        linux   /vmlinuz-2.6.32-5-amd64 root=UUID=003242b5-121b-49f3-b32f-1b40aea56eed ro acpi=ht quiet panic=10
        echo    'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
        initrd  /initrd.img-2.6.32-5-amd64
}

I used grub-set-default "Debian GNU/Linux, with Linux 2.6.32-5-amd64" to set the old kernel as default and then grub-reboot "Debian GNU/Linux, with Linux 3.5.3.20120914-amd64" to boot into the new kernel once. After update-grub I rebooted the system, but everytime it comes back up with the old kernel (2.6). I tried setting the new one as default (grub-set-default 0, update-grub, reboot) but, still the old one.

The Syslogs contain NO hint whatsoever about trying to boot the new kernel - only the old one. Would there be any hints regarding problems with a kernel? Is there a way to enable debug-logging in grub?

What am I doing wrong? How can I force the system to boot the new kernel?

Edit: Hardware of remote machine.

CPU

cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor       : 0
vendor_id       : AuthenticAMD
cpu family      : 16
model           : 5
model name      : AMD Athlon(tm) II X4 605e Processor
stepping        : 3
cpu MHz         : 2294.898
cache size      : 512 KB
physical id     : 0
siblings        : 4
core id         : 0
cpu cores       : 4
apicid          : 0
initial apicid  : 0
fpu             : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level     : 5
wp              : yes
flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush mmx fxsr sse sse2 ht syscall nx mmxext fxsr_opt pdpe1gb rdtscp lm 3dnowext 3dnow constant_tsc rep_good nonstop_tsc extd_apicid pni monitor cx16 popcnt lahf_lm cmp_legacy svm extapic cr8_legacy abm sse4a misalignsse 3dnowprefetch osvw ibs skinit wdt
bogomips        : 4589.77
TLB size        : 1024 4K pages
clflush size    : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes   : 48 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management: ts ttp tm stc 100mhzsteps hwpstate

(copied only the first, 3 more follow)

The server is a Fujitsu PRIMERGY MX130 S1.

Answer 1

Check the configuration file /etc/default/grub -- there should be an entry GRUB_DEFAULT=0, this refers to the menuentry you'll get.

There are some glitches if you have submenus, but I've only run into that when I've added Xen kernels.

Make sure you're not chaining from GRUB1 to GRUB2 menus (usually occurs from an upgrade), set the GRUB_DEFAULT and run

grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

This will rebuild the grub config that is used by Grub from the config files in /etc/grub.d

It will list the kernels as it builds, and if you then look at /boot/grub/grub.cfg you'll see a line (should be the 12th line down) that says default="x".

Reboot and enjoy a new kernel.....