Grub Quirk

[jefboyardee]

Just passing this along cuz I have a soft spot for LL:

1. I install Linux Lite.
2. I boot to Linux Mint, my keeper distro.
3. I edit Grub Customizer to my tastes. Its description for Lite: menuentry script:os-prober.
4. I try to boot into Lite; get some 'expected filename' error message.
5. I reinstall Lite and also install Grub Customizer there. Its description: menuentry script:linux / default name: description: Linux Lite 2.0 GNU/Linux. By the way, I didn't edit those lines, just the first-line names.

It works fine that way, probably because of the differences up there. It very well could've been my error, but I've done steps 1-3 on dozens of distros and Lite is the first to trip me up. I've also tried all this more than once to confirm that it's repeatable. I can email pix if you like.

[valtam]

This is possibly due to the way in which the final version had it's grub tweaked so that if people dual booted with Windows, Linux Lite would show as Linux Lite in the grub Menu instead of showing as Ubuntu, a previous confusion for those people. The original line in grub reads:

GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`

which pulls the distributor id from /etc/lsb-release

the new line reads:

GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -d 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`

which pulls the distributor description from /etc/lsb-release. Switching the line in /etc/default/grub back to GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian` may fix it for existing linux dual booters but this is untried, it's all I can think of since this was the only alteration made to grub in the final in an effort to help Windows users easily identify operating systems.

[davesurrey]

Hi,
As I started a thread earlier on this issue at https://www.linuxliteos.com/forums/index...opic=441.0 I thought it only right to try your suggestion Valtam so changed the line in /etc/default/grub as above.
Unfortunately after I did a sudo update-grub in Lubuntu where my grub files reside I still get the same error. No big deal as I am now booting into Lite  2.0 with a manual 40_custom  file.
Great distro BTW. Many thanks.

[N4RPS]

Hello!

I am very interested in all this. I'd like to change these values to reflect the exact flavor of Ubuntu I'm running, and to have those changes remain after a kernel update...

73 DE N4RPS
Rob

[galen]

I have filled a bug report
https://www.linuxliteos.com/bugs/index.p...&sort=desc

also affecting 2.4

[valtam]

This is not a bug, so please don't report it as such. Grub is deliberately altered so that folks who dual boot with Windows will recognise Linux Lite in the Grub menu. This has been explained already. Cheers.

[galen]

well it kills running two or more tuxes on a machine

[gold_finger]

galen,

While I have to admit that I'm not crazy about the grub change myself, there is a simple solution to multi-booting other distros with LL.  Just keep LL's grub in charge of booting.  When installing other distros after LL, direct their grub boot loader installation to their Root partitions instead of the drive's MBR.  Reboot after the new install and run sudo update-grub in LL to add their entries to the boot menu and all is well.

If you mistakenly break LL booting by allowing another distro to take over booting, just use your "live" LL disk to re-install grub with LL in charge again.  Here are basic steps for that:

• Boot live LL and open a terminal
  
• Find device name for your LL root partition with:  sudo blkid -c /dev/null
  
• Mount your LL root partition to live environment:  sudo mount /dev/sdXY /mnt  (change the "XY" to match your drive/partition#).
  
• IF you have a separate /boot partition, mount it with: sudo mount /dev/sdXY /mnt/boot.
  
• Install grub with this command:  sudo grub-install --boot-directory=/mnt/boot /dev/sdX (change "X" to match your drive letter).  This command is the same whether or not you use a separate /boot partition.
  
• Unmount your root and boot (if applicable) partition(s) with this command changing the "XY" to match each partition:  sudo umount /dev/sdXY.
  
• Close terminal and reboot computer.
  
• If you don't see grub listings for all of your distros, just update grub:  sudo update-grub.  They will appear on subsequent reboots.
  
• Done.
  

[galen]

I suggest letting users know upfront that LL must be the master boot loader

[gold_finger]

I suggest letting users know upfront that LL must be the master boot loader

Added this to my ToDo list for the Help Manual.  Over next 2-3 months, planning to attempt revising format of whole thing and there are several suggestions from users here that we will try incorporating into it.