[Solved] GNU Grub menu on boot

I have done multiple installs after writing zero's to my hard drive and still seem to get the GNU Grub menu during boot, it gives me the ubuntu option, then ubuntu safe mode (or something of the like, I am not in front of it), then two different memtest options. There isn't any other OS on this system because I have wiped it. I have done a direct install from my boot usb and also installed from the live desktop. Each time I have wiped the drive before install. Any ideas? I am wiping the drive again with boot and nuke with 3 passes this time just to be sure. Had ElementaryOS on this before with no boot issues but my wife hated it so she wants a more widows like environment, so here I am. Thanks by the way!

How to format HDD...

sda is your hdd-harddisk

Remove partition info...

sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=16

unmount

sudo mkfs.vfat -n '' -I /dev/sda

gparted  --- create MS-DOS partition table and format to EXT4

How to install ChaletOS using btrfs file system?



Grub doesn't recognize btrfs so create a 350 MB ext4 partition with label  [[  /boot  ]] and then create additional btrfs partitions as root [[[ / ]]] or root and home partitions [[[[ /     and  /home ]]]] Also if you want to backup data then you can create additional partition... If you backup data then if you install new ChaletOS - latest ... then you don't format the data partition or boot partition. Also create 4 GB swap file

partition    label         space

sda1          /boot         350 MB

sda2          /root          20-30 GB

sda3          /home        rest of the harddisk - 4 gb for swap GB

sda4          linux-swap    4 GB

Thanks! I'll give it a try!

Would you recommend the direct install or live?

Choose what you are comfortable with.

I did as you stated and I still get the GNU Grub. In doing an upgrade I did see this in the terminal during the upgrade, again I did zero the drive 3 times before this latest install, these are the options that I see that are listed images:

Generating grub configuration file ...
Found background: /usr/share/themes/ChaletOSRes/grub-splash.png
Found background image: /usr/share/themes/ChaletOSRes/grub-splash.png
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-3.13.0-48-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-3.13.0-48-generic
Found memtest86+ image: /memtest86+.elf
Found memtest86+ image: /memtest86+.bin

Maybe I am confused. It does boot after the 5-10 seconds or so just fine on the first "ubuntu" option. I just wanted to to go directly to the desktop on boot without the extra time or having to hit a key.

robards wrote:Maybe I am confused. It does boot after the 5-10 seconds or so just fine on the first "ubuntu" option. I just wanted to to go directly to the desktop on boot without the extra time or having to hit a key.

I have the solution, it works for me, providing ChaletOS is the only operating system on your hard drive.

Firstly download gedit (text editor) from the Ubuntu software centre.

Once downloaded.

Open terminal, type or copy and paste the next line.

sudo gedit /etc/default/grub

Enter your password.

Then find..

#GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT="0"

Remove # from the beginning of the line to this.

GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT="0"


Then change.. GRUB_TIMEOUT=10

to

GRUB_TIMEOUT=0

click save at the top and exit.

then in the terminal type.

sudo update-grub

Reboot and your desktop should boot straight in.

I did exactly as you instructed and when I did the update this happened:

Searching for GRUB installation directory ... found: /boot/grub
Searching for default file ... Generating /boot/grub/default file and setting the default boot entry to 0
Searching for GRUB installation directory ... found: /boot/grub
Testing for an existing GRUB menu.lst file ...

Could not find /boot/grub/menu.lst file. Would you like /boot/grub/menu.lst generated for you? (y/N) y
Searching for splash image ... none found, skipping ...
Found kernel: /memtest86+.bin
Found kernel: /vmlinuz-3.13.0-53-generic
Found kernel: /vmlinuz-3.13.0-48-generic
Found kernel: /memtest86+.bin
Updating /boot/grub/menu.lst ... done

Don't know if I should have created the menu.lst but did. Still did the same thing. I did the process again and still a no go. It really isn't that big of a deal but I don't have any other os on here and it would be cool just to boot to desktop or at least reduce the time of the grub.

Thanks Guys for all the suggestions and quick replies. I am sure this will get solved one way or another.

robards wrote:I did exactly as you instructed and when I did the update this happened:

Searching for GRUB installation directory ... found: /boot/grub
Searching for default file ... Generating /boot/grub/default file and setting the default boot entry to 0
Searching for GRUB installation directory ... found: /boot/grub
Testing for an existing GRUB menu.lst file ...

Could not find /boot/grub/menu.lst file. Would you like /boot/grub/menu.lst generated for you? (y/N) y
Searching for splash image ... none found, skipping ...
Found kernel: /memtest86+.bin
Found kernel: /vmlinuz-3.13.0-53-generic
Found kernel: /vmlinuz-3.13.0-48-generic
Found kernel: /memtest86+.bin
Updating /boot/grub/menu.lst ... done

Don't know if I should have created the menu.lst but did. Still did the same thing. I did the process again and still a no go. It really isn't that big of a deal but I don't have any other os on here and it would be cool just to boot to desktop or at least reduce the time of the grub.

Thanks Guys for all the suggestions and quick replies. I am sure this will get solved one way or another.

That's strange, i did the above instructions on 2 separate pc's and it worked fine. Is there something not right with your current installation perhaps?

It is very possible but I did re-download the iso and this is the fourth time I have installed. Zeroing the drive each time 3 passes with darik's boot and nuke. I don't mind wiping the drive again and trying something new? The os works just fine this is the only thing I can't seem to fix.

When you open the grub menu via terminal, it should look like this after you have made the alterations.

It works for me.

# If you change this file, run 'update-grub' afterwards to update
# /boot/grub/grub.cfg.
# For full documentation of the options in this file, see:
# info -f grub -n 'Simple configuration'

GRUB_DEFAULT=0
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=true
GRUB_TIMEOUT=0
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=""
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

# Uncomment to enable BadRAM filtering, modify to suit your needs
# This works with Linux (no patch required) and with any kernel that obtains
# the memory map information from GRUB (GNU Mach, kernel of FreeBSD ...)
#GRUB_BADRAM="0x01234567,0xfefefefe,0x89abcdef,0xefefefef"

# Uncomment to disable graphical terminal (grub-pc only)
#GRUB_TERMINAL=console

# The resolution used on graphical terminal
# note that you can use only modes which your graphic card supports via VBE
# you can see them in real GRUB with the command `vbeinfo'
#GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480

# Uncomment if you don't want GRUB to pass "root=UUID=xxx" parameter to Linux
#GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID=true

# Uncomment to disable generation of recovery mode menu entries
#GRUB_DISABLE_RECOVERY="true"

# Uncomment to get a beep at grub start
#GRUB_INIT_TUNE="480 440 1"

Mine:

# If you change this file, run 'update-grub' afterwards to update
# /boot/grub/grub.cfg.
# For full documentation of the options in this file, see:
# info -f grub -n 'Simple configuration'

GRUB_DEFAULT=0
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=true
GRUB_TIMEOUT=0
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

# Uncomment to enable BadRAM filtering, modify to suit your needs
# This works with Linux (no patch required) and with any kernel that obtains
# the memory map information from GRUB (GNU Mach, kernel of FreeBSD ...)
#GRUB_BADRAM="0x01234567,0xfefefefe,0x89abcdef,0xefefefef"

# Uncomment to disable graphical terminal (grub-pc only)
#GRUB_TERMINAL=console

# The resolution used on graphical terminal
# note that you can use only modes which your graphic card supports via VBE
# you can see them in real GRUB with the command `vbeinfo'
#GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480
GRUB_GFXMODE=1024x768
GRUB_BACKGROUND="/usr/share/themes/ChaletOSRes/grub-splash.png"

# Uncomment if you don't want GRUB to pass "root=UUID=xxx" parameter to Linux
#GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID=true

# Uncomment to disable generation of recovery mode menu entries
#GRUB_DISABLE_RECOVERY="true"

# Uncomment to get a beep at grub start
#GRUB_INIT_TUNE="480 440 1"

Thanks xyis1 I did copy and paste your grub but it still did the same thing. Thanks again guys for all the help. Is there a way to disable the Advanced Ubuntu option along with the two different mem test options in this menu? Or could the problem be elsewhere?

These options seem to be listed in this grub.cfg, could this be were the changes need to be made?:

#
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
#
# It is automatically generated by grub-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
#

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then
 set have_grubenv=true
 load_env
fi
if [ "${next_entry}" ] ; then
  set default="${next_entry}"
  set next_entry=
  save_env next_entry
  set boot_once=true
else
  set default="0"
fi

if [ x"${feature_menuentry_id}" = xy ]; then
 menuentry_id_option="--id"
else
 menuentry_id_option=""
fi

export menuentry_id_option

if [ "${prev_saved_entry}" ]; then
 set saved_entry="${prev_saved_entry}"
 save_env saved_entry
 set prev_saved_entry=
 save_env prev_saved_entry
 set boot_once=true
fi

function savedefault {
 if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then
   saved_entry="${chosen}"
   save_env saved_entry
 fi
}
function recordfail {
 set recordfail=1
 if [ -n "${have_grubenv}" ]; then if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then save_env recordfail; fi; fi
}
function load_video {
 if [ x$feature_all_video_module = xy ]; then
   insmod all_video
 else
   insmod efi_gop
   insmod efi_uga
   insmod ieee1275_fb
   insmod vbe
   insmod vga
   insmod video_bochs
   insmod video_cirrus
 fi
}

if [ x$feature_default_font_path = xy ] ; then
  font=unicode
else
insmod part_msdos
insmod btrfs
set root='hd0,msdos2'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos2 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos2  dbcf1eb1-cb13-4179-ba63-09847c4850bb
else
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root dbcf1eb1-cb13-4179-ba63-09847c4850bb
fi
   font="/@/usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2"
fi

if loadfont $font ; then
 set gfxmode=1024x768
 load_video
 insmod gfxterm
 set locale_dir=$prefix/locale
 set lang=en_US
 insmod gettext
fi
terminal_output gfxterm
insmod part_msdos
insmod btrfs
set root='hd0,msdos2'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos2 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos2  dbcf1eb1-cb13-4179-ba63-09847c4850bb
else
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root dbcf1eb1-cb13-4179-ba63-09847c4850bb
fi
insmod png
background_image -m stretch /@/usr/share/themes/ChaletOSRes/grub-splash.png
if [ "${recordfail}" = 1 ] ; then
 set timeout=-1
else
 if [ x$feature_timeout_style = xy ] ; then
   set timeout_style=menu
   set timeout=10
 # Fallback normal timeout code in case the timeout_style feature is
 # unavailable.
 else
   set timeout=10
 fi
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###
insmod part_msdos
insmod btrfs
set root='hd0,msdos2'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos2 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos2  dbcf1eb1-cb13-4179-ba63-09847c4850bb
else
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root dbcf1eb1-cb13-4179-ba63-09847c4850bb
fi
insmod png
if background_image /@/usr/share/themes/ChaletOSRes/grub-splash.png; then
   set color_highlight=light-blue/white
   set color_normal=white/black
else
 set menu_color_normal=white/black
 set menu_color_highlight=black/light-gray
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
function gfxmode {
set gfxpayload="${1}"
if [ "${1}" = "keep" ]; then
set vt_handoff=vt.handoff=7
else
set vt_handoff=
fi
}
if [ "${recordfail}" != 1 ]; then
 if [ -e ${prefix}/gfxblacklist.txt ]; then
   if hwmatch ${prefix}/gfxblacklist.txt 3; then
     if [ ${match} = 0 ]; then
       set linux_gfx_mode=keep
     else
       set linux_gfx_mode=text
     fi
   else
     set linux_gfx_mode=text
   fi
 else
   set linux_gfx_mode=keep
 fi
else
 set linux_gfx_mode=text
fi
export linux_gfx_mode
menuentry 'Ubuntu' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-simple-dbcf1eb1-cb13-4179-ba63-09847c4850bb' {
recordfail
load_video
gfxmode $linux_gfx_mode
insmod gzio
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,msdos1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1  7f318580-9711-4d8e-9a08-b60ad4acd045
else
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 7f318580-9711-4d8e-9a08-b60ad4acd045
fi
linux /vmlinuz-3.13.0-53-generic root=UUID=dbcf1eb1-cb13-4179-ba63-09847c4850bb ro rootflags=subvol=@  quiet splash $vt_handoff
initrd /initrd.img-3.13.0-53-generic
}
submenu 'Advanced options for Ubuntu' $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-advanced-dbcf1eb1-cb13-4179-ba63-09847c4850bb' {
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 3.13.0-53-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-3.13.0-53-generic-advanced-dbcf1eb1-cb13-4179-ba63-09847c4850bb' {
recordfail
load_video
gfxmode $linux_gfx_mode
insmod gzio
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,msdos1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1  7f318580-9711-4d8e-9a08-b60ad4acd045
else
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 7f318580-9711-4d8e-9a08-b60ad4acd045
fi
echo 'Loading Linux 3.13.0-53-generic ...'
linux /vmlinuz-3.13.0-53-generic root=UUID=dbcf1eb1-cb13-4179-ba63-09847c4850bb ro rootflags=subvol=@  quiet splash $vt_handoff
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /initrd.img-3.13.0-53-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 3.13.0-53-generic (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-3.13.0-53-generic-recovery-dbcf1eb1-cb13-4179-ba63-09847c4850bb' {
recordfail
load_video
insmod gzio
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,msdos1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1  7f318580-9711-4d8e-9a08-b60ad4acd045
else
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 7f318580-9711-4d8e-9a08-b60ad4acd045
fi
echo 'Loading Linux 3.13.0-53-generic ...'
linux /vmlinuz-3.13.0-53-generic root=UUID=dbcf1eb1-cb13-4179-ba63-09847c4850bb ro recovery nomodeset rootflags=subvol=@
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /initrd.img-3.13.0-53-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 3.13.0-48-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-3.13.0-48-generic-advanced-dbcf1eb1-cb13-4179-ba63-09847c4850bb' {
recordfail
load_video
gfxmode $linux_gfx_mode
insmod gzio
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,msdos1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1  7f318580-9711-4d8e-9a08-b60ad4acd045
else
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 7f318580-9711-4d8e-9a08-b60ad4acd045
fi
echo 'Loading Linux 3.13.0-48-generic ...'
linux /vmlinuz-3.13.0-48-generic root=UUID=dbcf1eb1-cb13-4179-ba63-09847c4850bb ro rootflags=subvol=@  quiet splash $vt_handoff
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /initrd.img-3.13.0-48-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 3.13.0-48-generic (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-3.13.0-48-generic-recovery-dbcf1eb1-cb13-4179-ba63-09847c4850bb' {
recordfail
load_video
insmod gzio
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,msdos1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1  7f318580-9711-4d8e-9a08-b60ad4acd045
else
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 7f318580-9711-4d8e-9a08-b60ad4acd045
fi
echo 'Loading Linux 3.13.0-48-generic ...'
linux /vmlinuz-3.13.0-48-generic root=UUID=dbcf1eb1-cb13-4179-ba63-09847c4850bb ro recovery nomodeset rootflags=subvol=@
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /initrd.img-3.13.0-48-generic
}
}

### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###

### END /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###
menuentry 'Memory test (memtest86+)' {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,msdos1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1  7f318580-9711-4d8e-9a08-b60ad4acd045
else
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 7f318580-9711-4d8e-9a08-b60ad4acd045
fi
knetbsd /memtest86+.elf
}
menuentry 'Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)' {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,msdos1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1  7f318580-9711-4d8e-9a08-b60ad4acd045
else
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 7f318580-9711-4d8e-9a08-b60ad4acd045
fi
linux16 /memtest86+.bin console=ttyS0,115200n8
}
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_uefi-firmware ###
### END /etc/grub.d/30_uefi-firmware ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries.  Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment.  Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###

It seem to work changing this grub. I happen to stumble on this by browsing the files and found another grub. The one above must be the one the system is using because when I changed both time outs from 10 to 0 it worked. The only problem I have is that a quick error that shows but doesn't stop boot says, error can't find "?#". I will have to poke around a bit to see what is going on there. Thanks for all the help.

Installed on a dell laptop last night with no problems following Dits 1 instructions, booted perfectly, not sure what went down with the HP laptop. I think I somehow got confused with the /boot/grub vs the /etc/default/grub. Thanks to everyone!

robards wrote:Installed on a dell laptop last night with no problems following Dits 1 instructions, booted perfectly, not sure what went down with the HP laptop. I think I somehow got confused with the /boot/grub vs the /etc/grub. Thanks to everyone!

No problems, glad you got it sorted.

Topic solved.