Public bug reported:
Binary package hint: grub2
The following line in /etc/grub.d/10_linux is present in Natty but not
Maverick:
GRUB_CMDLINE_EXTRA="$GRUB_CMDLINE_EXTRA vt.handoff=7"
That creates seamless transition to the graphical login screen.
Specifically, it makes the 7th virtual terminal come up automatically,
so you don't see the console login prompt before X11 loads. This is a
good thing. The problem is that this occurs even when X11 is not
installed! The result is that a command-line system will appear to have
failed to boot, showing a blank, purple-tinted screen (on tty7) instead
of the console login prompt on tty1. In order to log in and use the
system, the user must manually switch to one the usable virtual
terminals (tty1 through tty6).
When X11 is not installed, grub2 should not be configured with
vt.handoff=7. A weak fix for this problem would be for Ubuntu
installations not providing X11 not to include that line in
/etc/grub.d/10_linux (or, better, to include it, commented out, with a
comment explaining what it does). A strong fix for this problem would,
in addition, cause that line to be added when X11 is installed, and
removed when X11 is uninstalled.
These were the steps I took, which produced the bug:
(1) Install a command-line system from the Natty Alpha 1 i386 Alternate Install
CD. (At the boot menu, after selecting the language, press F4, and a
command-line system is one of the options.)
(2) When the system boots, observe the blank purple screen. Switch to usable
virtual terminals with Alt+F1 through Alt+F6. (Switching back to tty7 shows the
same blank screen, but it is no longer tinted purple.)
(3) Log in, update the package cache, and install all available updates (I used
apt-get for this), allowing new versions of any systemwide configuration files
to replace the current versions. Reboot.
(4) Repeat step 2, confirming that this bug has not been fixed by the updates.
And then these were the steps I took, to confirm my analysis of the bug:
(1) Edit /etc/grub.d/10_linux (e.g. "sudo nano -w /etc/grub.d/10_linux") and
comment out the line containing "vt.handoff", or change the number from 7 to
some lower number. (I tried it both ways; they both worked.)
(2) Run "sudo update-grub" to apply the new configuration.
(3) Reboot. A usable virtual terminal with a login prompt comes up
automatically.
ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.04
Package: grub-common 1.99~20101221-1ubuntu2
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.37-11.25-generic 2.6.37-rc7
Uname: Linux 2.6.37-11-generic i686
Architecture: i386
Date: Thu Dec 30 05:45:46 2010
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" - Alpha i386 (20101202)
ProcEnviron:
LANG=en_US.UTF-8
LC_MESSAGES=en_US.utf8
SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: grub2
** Affects: grub2 (Ubuntu)
Importance: Undecided
Status: New
** Tags: apport-bug i386 natty
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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/695658
Title:
grub2 configuration has vt.handoff=7 even when X11 is not installed
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