GRUB shows "Ubuntu" rather than flavor name

[Dave Kokandy]

I installed Lubuntu 15.04 Vervet (Live image 2015-01-09) as a Manual installation (choosing "Something else...") to install the test Lubuntu alongside a machine that already has Ubuntu 14.04 LTS and Windows 7.

After installation, Lubuntu was mistakenly listed as "Ubuntu" in the GRUB menu. The existing Ubuntu installation, which had formerly been labeled as "Ubuntu" was now (accurately) labeled as Ubuntu 14.04.

To reproduce:

Install Lubuntu alongside other existing operating systems using the "Something else..." option and configuring your partitions in the ubiquity installer.

Expected result:

Grub lists your new installation as "Lubuntu" and the other operating systems as their correct names.

Actual result:

Grub lists my new lubuntu installation as "Ubuntu" (only) and the other operating systems correctly (for me, Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS and Windows 7).

Hardware profile: https://gist.github.com/e4e4d9d3e41ccf5c27c7

[Ubuntu QA Website (ubuntuqa)]

This bug has been reported on the Ubuntu ISO testing tracker.

A list of all reports related to this bug can be found here:
http://iso.qa.ubuntu.com/qatracker/reports/bugs/1409209

[Istimsak (saqman2060)]

This bug is related to the daily image on the 9th of January. How can it be reproduced?

[Dave Kokandy (drkokandy)]

Check and see if it can be reproduced in a more modern image. I will try to reproduce using a more recent image soon.

To reproduce:

Install Lubuntu alongside another existing operating system using the ubiquity installer.

Expected result:

Grub lists your new installation as "Lubuntu" and the other operating system as its correct name.

Actual result:

Grub lists my new lubuntu installation as "Ubuntu" (only) and the other operating systems correctly (for me, Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS and Windows 7).

[Istimsak (saqman2060)]

Ok.

-----Original Message-----
From: "Dave Kokandy" <email address hidden>
Sent: ‎2/‎4/‎2015 11:55 PM
To: "<email address hidden>" <email address hidden>
Subject: [Bug 1409209] Re: After installing Lubuntu from USB stick, GRUBmistakenly lists Lubuntu as Ubuntu

Check and see if it can be reproduced in a more modern image. I will try
to reproduce using a more recent image soon.

To reproduce:

Install Lubuntu alongside another existing operating system using the
ubiquity installer.

Expected result:

Grub lists your new installation as "Lubuntu" and the other operating
system as its correct name.

Actual result:

Grub lists my new lubuntu installation as "Ubuntu" (only) and the other
operating systems correctly (for me, Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS and Windows 7).

** Description changed:

  I installed Lubuntu 15.04 Vervet (Live image 2015-01-09) as a Manual
  installation (choosing "Something else...") to install the test Lubuntu
  alongside a machine that already has Ubuntu 14.04 LTS and Windows 7.

  After installation, Lubuntu was mistakenly listed as "Ubuntu" in the
  GRUB menu. The existing Ubuntu installation, which had formerly been
  labeled as "Ubuntu" was now (accurately) labeled as Ubuntu 14.04.

+ To reproduce:
+
+ Install Lubuntu alongside another existing operating system using the
+ ubiquity installer.
+
+ Expected result:
+
+ Grub lists your new installation as "Lubuntu" and the other operating
+ system as its correct name.
+
+ Actual result:
+
+ Grub lists my new lubuntu installation as "Ubuntu" (only) and the other
+ operating systems correctly (for me, Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS and Windows 7).
+
  Hardware profile: https://gist.github.com/e4e4d9d3e41ccf5c27c7

** Description changed:

  I installed Lubuntu 15.04 Vervet (Live image 2015-01-09) as a Manual
  installation (choosing "Something else...") to install the test Lubuntu
  alongside a machine that already has Ubuntu 14.04 LTS and Windows 7.

  After installation, Lubuntu was mistakenly listed as "Ubuntu" in the
  GRUB menu. The existing Ubuntu installation, which had formerly been
  labeled as "Ubuntu" was now (accurately) labeled as Ubuntu 14.04.

  To reproduce:

- Install Lubuntu alongside another existing operating system using the
+ Install Lubuntu alongside other existing operating systems using the
+ "Something else..." option and configuring your partitions in the
  ubiquity installer.

  Expected result:

  Grub lists your new installation as "Lubuntu" and the other operating
- system as its correct name.
+ systems as their correct names.

  Actual result:

  Grub lists my new lubuntu installation as "Ubuntu" (only) and the other
  operating systems correctly (for me, Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS and Windows 7).

  Hardware profile: https://gist.github.com/e4e4d9d3e41ccf5c27c7

--
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Lubuntu
Packages Team, which is subscribed to the bug report.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1409209

Title:
  After installing Lubuntu from USB stick, GRUB mistakenly lists Lubuntu
  as Ubuntu

Status in ubiquity package in Ubuntu:
  New

Bug description:
  I installed Lubuntu 15.04 Vervet (Live image 2015-01-09) as a M...

[Istimsak (saqman2060)]

Yes, Lubuntu is listed as Ubuntu in the grub boot menu. Not sure why that is. Perhaps that was intended but it make distinguishing OS in the menu.

What I did was edit the grub.cfg file under the path /boot/grub/grb.cfg. There, I changed the names of all OSs to something specific. You could do the samething if you want to be able to tell the difference between OSes.

[ԜаӀtеr Ⅼарсһуnѕkі (wxl)]

As far as I know, this is par for the course and how it has been for a long time, particularly because many of the GRUB settings are inherited from Ubuntu. You get the same result out of `lsb_release`. It may not be ideal, but this is how it is.

As I hope you all know, `update-grub` pulls from /etc/default/grub and /etc/grub.d. Currently, the former specifies "GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`" which will ultimately result in using "Ubuntu." It's not clear what package this comes from (`apt-file find /etc/default/grub` fails to find it), so that will make it hard to fix in any permanent fashion.

My guess, though, is that if you look upstream in Debian, you'll find it has the same specification. That being said, I'd say that this is going to be darn hard to fix.

Additionally, I would repeat the old Lubuntu motto: "Lubuntu *IS* Ubuntu." You can build it off of a regular Ubuntu distro, it uses the Ubuntu repos, etc. It's Ubuntu. So it makes sense to keep it as is.

Consider this, too: what if you take your Lubuntu and strip out all the Lubuntu bits and install all the Xubuntu bits. What should GRUB call it now? More importantly: how would it know which one it is automatically? So really, the issue is that there's no great way to fix this that's going to work for all scenarios.

Because of that, I'm going to call this Won't Fix.

If you would like a solution, please change the GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR string in /etc/default/grub and run `update-grub`. Something like "GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=Lubuntu" would be reasonable.

[Istimsak (saqman2060)]

Thanks Walter.
On Mar 18, 2015 2:01 PM, "Walter Lapchynski" <email address hidden> wrote:

> As far as I know, this is par for the course and how it has been for a
> long time, particularly because many of the GRUB settings are inherited
> from Ubuntu. You get the same result out of `lsb_release`. It may not be
> ideal, but this is how it is.
>
> As I hope you all know, `update-grub` pulls from /etc/default/grub and
> /etc/grub.d. Currently, the former specifies
> "GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`" which
> will ultimately result in using "Ubuntu." It's not clear what package
> this comes from (`apt-file find /etc/default/grub` fails to find it), so
> that will make it hard to fix in any permanent fashion.
>
> My guess, though, is that if you look upstream in Debian, you'll find it
> has the same specification. That being said, I'd say that this is going
> to be darn hard to fix.
>
> Additionally, I would repeat the old Lubuntu motto: "Lubuntu *IS*
> Ubuntu." You can build it off of a regular Ubuntu distro, it uses the
> Ubuntu repos, etc. It's Ubuntu. So it makes sense to keep it as is.
>
> Consider this, too: what if you take your Lubuntu and strip out all the
> Lubuntu bits and install all the Xubuntu bits. What should GRUB call it
> now? More importantly: how would it know which one it is automatically?
> So really, the issue is that there's no great way to fix this that's
> going to work for all scenarios.
>
> Because of that, I'm going to call this Won't Fix.
>
> If you would like a solution, please change the GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR string
> in /etc/default/grub and run `update-grub`. Something like
> "GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=Lubuntu" would be reasonable.
>
> ** Changed in: ubiquity (Ubuntu)
> Status: Confirmed => Won't Fix
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are a member of Lubuntu
> Packages Team, which is subscribed to the bug report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1409209
>
> Title:
> After installing Lubuntu from USB stick, GRUB mistakenly lists Lubuntu
> as Ubuntu
>
> Status in ubiquity package in Ubuntu:
> Won't Fix
>
> Bug description:
> I installed Lubuntu 15.04 Vervet (Live image 2015-01-09) as a Manual
> installation (choosing "Something else...") to install the test
> Lubuntu alongside a machine that already has Ubuntu 14.04 LTS and
> Windows 7.
>
> After installation, Lubuntu was mistakenly listed as "Ubuntu" in the
> GRUB menu. The existing Ubuntu installation, which had formerly been
> labeled as "Ubuntu" was now (accurately) labeled as Ubuntu 14.04.
>
> To reproduce:
>
> Install Lubuntu alongside other existing operating systems using the
> "Something else..." option and configuring your partitions in the
> ubiquity installer.
>
> Expected result:
>
> Grub lists your new installation as "Lubuntu" and the other operating
> systems as their correct names.
>
> Actual result:
>
> Grub lists my new lubuntu installation as "Ubuntu" (only) and the
> other operating systems correctly (for me, Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS and
> Windows 7).
>
> Hardware profile: https://gist.github.com/e4e4d9d3e41ccf5c27c7
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
...

[Dave Kokandy (drkokandy)]

I feel like this should be at the very least a Wishlist.

For the record, your "Consider this" argument is a straw-man. I never suggested that something should be able to always update GRUB listings if a user does something drastic like installing ubuntu-desktop and removing Lubuntu.

I feel strongly that at the time of installation, GRUB should accurately and precisely reflect what was ACTUALLY installed. Back when I installed Fedora, for instance, my GRUB listed precisely what was installed - including the version number and silly release codename. Installing Lubuntu 14.10 - Utopic Unicorn lists simply "Ubuntu". Neither accurate nor precise.

Put yourself in the shoes of a new user to Linux. After Googling or asking a chatroom or something, a new user might ultimately decide to install Lubuntu. After installing, being unsure what's going on, hoping things went correctly, that new user takes out the CD and reboots, but then GRUB pops up saying "boot to Ubuntu or Windows" - gosh, that new user might be really worried, because he or she tried to install LUbuntu, not Ubuntu - the chatroom suggested he or she'd be better off using something with lower resources.

I understand that I'm an unusual user who would have a Lubuntu partition and an Ubuntu partition, but IMO any user would benefit from a more accurate or precise description in the GRUB menu.

[ԜаӀtеr Ⅼарсһуnѕkі (wxl)]

I don't disagree with you, but I'm saying that Ubuntu is a unique animal. Fedora, RHEL, and CentOS are all sort of separate bedfellows, much in the way that Debian, Ubuntu and Mint are. But none of the above *except* Ubuntu has all these different flavors. Still, Ubuntu is Ubuntu. Kubuntu is Ubuntu, Lubuntu is Ubuntu, Snappy Core is Ubuntu, etc. So it makes sense for lsb_release to show Ubuntu and not all these others more specific variations.

The reason I mentioned the odd case of changing desktop environments is because it happens all the time. People who started out with Ubuntu come crawling over to #lubuntu for help because in their mind, they have Lubuntu. That's why I brought that up. It's important to consider such ideas holistically and make changes that work generally, especially when we're talking about something that ultimately affects every single flavor. For that matter, what other infrastructure is available to ensure that this is updated? I have no clue, so I'd be concerned about messing with it.

All I'm saying is this is the way it's been for a long time. Maybe Kubuntu and Xubuntu do it differently, but that's not been my experience (see xubuntu-default-settings and kubuntu-settings). That is why it's Won't Fix. Maybe it would be better to call it an Opinion (done).

I will say that it appears lsb_release gets its info from /etc/lsb-release so potentially this could be maintained separately. With that, I would talk to the GRUB team and see what they think about the implications of such a thing. Needless to say, since this is not a ubiquity bug, I'm refiling it against grub2.

[ԜаӀtеr Ⅼарсһуnѕkі (wxl)]

I changed my mind. This isn't GRUB's fault. It's just using lsb-release. So refiled there.

[ԜаӀtеr Ⅼарсһуnѕkі (wxl)]

…and I'll add to that, for example, do-release-upgrade parses lsb-release, so I wouldn't mess with that if I were you. Any way you cut it, this is going to require some massive changes in the entire Ubuntu ecosystem.

[Ubuntu QA Website (ubuntuqa)]

This bug has been reported on the Ubuntu ISO testing tracker.

A list of all reports related to this bug can be found here:
http://iso.qa.ubuntu.com/qatracker/reports/bugs/1409209

[Istimsak (saqman2060)]

It would still be ideal to give the name of the ubuntu flavor installed.
The is the same and most applications from one DE will work on others. If
you are installing more one flavor of Ubuntu then this will be a problem.
For testers like us, this would make things easier. For a new user,
hopefully they don't install more than one flavor, should be fine with just
Ubuntu. To the developers, they are all the same.
On Mar 19, 2015 1:30 AM, "Walter Lapchynski" <email address hidden> wrote:

> I don't disagree with you, but I'm saying that Ubuntu is a unique
> animal. Fedora, RHEL, and CentOS are all sort of separate bedfellows,
> much in the way that Debian, Ubuntu and Mint are. But none of the above
> *except* Ubuntu has all these different flavors. Still, Ubuntu is
> Ubuntu. Kubuntu is Ubuntu, Lubuntu is Ubuntu, Snappy Core is Ubuntu,
> etc. So it makes sense for lsb_release to show Ubuntu and not all these
> others more specific variations.
>
> The reason I mentioned the odd case of changing desktop environments is
> because it happens all the time. People who started out with Ubuntu come
> crawling over to #lubuntu for help because in their mind, they have
> Lubuntu. That's why I brought that up. It's important to consider such
> ideas holistically and make changes that work generally, especially when
> we're talking about something that ultimately affects every single
> flavor. For that matter, what other infrastructure is available to
> ensure that this is updated? I have no clue, so I'd be concerned about
> messing with it.
>
> All I'm saying is this is the way it's been for a long time. Maybe
> Kubuntu and Xubuntu do it differently, but that's not been my experience
> (see xubuntu-default-settings and kubuntu-settings). That is why it's
> Won't Fix. Maybe it would be better to call it an Opinion (done).
>
> I will say that it appears lsb_release gets its info from /etc/lsb-
> release so potentially this could be maintained separately. With that, I
> would talk to the GRUB team and see what they think about the
> implications of such a thing. Needless to say, since this is not a
> ubiquity bug, I'm refiling it against grub2.
>
> ** Changed in: ubiquity (Ubuntu)
> Status: Won't Fix => Opinion
>
> ** Package changed: ubiquity (Ubuntu) => grub2 (Ubuntu)
>
> ** Summary changed:
>
> - After installing Lubuntu from USB stick, GRUB mistakenly lists Lubuntu
> as Ubuntu
> + GRUB shows "Ubuntu" rather than flavor name
>
> ** Changed in: grub2 (Ubuntu)
> Importance: Undecided => Wishlist
>
> ** Package changed: grub2 (Ubuntu) => lsb (Ubuntu)
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are a member of Lubuntu
> Packages Team, which is subscribed to the bug report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1409209
>
> Title:
> GRUB shows "Ubuntu" rather than flavor name
>
> Status in lsb package in Ubuntu:
> Opinion
>
> Bug description:
> I installed Lubuntu 15.04 Vervet (Live image 2015-01-09) as a Manual
> installation (choosing "Something else...") to install the test
> Lubuntu alongside a machine that already has Ubuntu 14.04 LTS and
> Windows 7.
>
> After installation, Lubuntu was mistakenly listed as "Ubuntu" in the
> GRUB ...