needless OS probing

[Kees Cook]

Binary package hint: grub2

Running "update-grub" takes a very long time as it scans through every configured LVM chroot I have:

# update-grub
Generating grub.cfg ...
Found Debian background: moreblue-orbit-grub.tga
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.30-7-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-2.6.30-7-generic
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-11-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-11-generic
Warning: update-grub_lib is deprecated, use grub-mkconfig_lib instead
Found memtest86+ image: /memtest86+.bin
Found Ubuntu 6.06 LTS (6.06) on /dev/mapper/systemvg-dapper_chroot
Found Ubuntu 6.06 LTS (6.06) on /dev/mapper/systemvg-dapper_chroot--i386
Found Debian GNU/Linux (4.0) on /dev/mapper/systemvg-etch_chroot
Found Ubuntu 8.04 (8.04) on /dev/mapper/systemvg-hardy_chroot
Found Ubuntu 8.04 (8.04) on /dev/mapper/systemvg-hardy_chroot--i386
Found Ubuntu 8.10 (8.10) on /dev/mapper/systemvg-intrepid_chroot
Found Ubuntu 8.10 (8.10) on /dev/mapper/systemvg-intrepid_chroot--i386
Found Ubuntu 9.04 (9.04) on /dev/mapper/systemvg-jaunty_chroot
Found Ubuntu 9.04 (9.04) on /dev/mapper/systemvg-jaunty_chroot--i386
Found Ubuntu karmic (development branch) (9.10) on /dev/mapper/systemvg-karmic_chroot
Found Ubuntu karmic (development branch) (9.10) on /dev/mapper/systemvg-karmic_chroot--i386
Found Debian GNU/Linux (squeeze/sid) on /dev/mapper/systemvg-sid_chroot
Found Debian GNU/Linux (squeeze/sid) on /dev/mapper/systemvg-sid_chroot--i386
Found Debian GNU/Linux (squeeze/sid) on /dev/mapper/systemvg-unstable_chroot
done

There should be a way to either disable os-prober in /etc/grub.d/ or a way to blacklist regex device names.

ProblemType: Bug
Architecture: amd64
Date: Mon Jun 8 15:17:31 2009
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 9.10
Package: grub2 1.96+20090523-1ubuntu1
ProcEnviron:
 PATH=(custom, user)
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.30-7.8-generic
SourcePackage: grub2
Uname: Linux 2.6.30-7-generic x86_64

[Andrea Corbellini (andrea.corbellini)]

OS probing can be "disabled" deleting the file /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober, but I think that a blacklist file should be used instead.

[Felix Zielcke (fzielcke)]

I don't understand why the Ubuntu package depends on os-prober and not just recommends it.
At least on Debian recommended packages are installed by default with apt and aptitude.

[Colin Watson (cjwatson)]

On Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 05:43:49PM -0000, Felix Zielcke wrote:
> I don't understand why the Ubuntu package depends on os-prober and not
> just recommends it.

I'd be happy to drop it to a recommends; it wasn't my change originally.

I don't know that that necessarily fixes this bug, though; it's entirely
possible for somebody to have some other operating systems on other
partitions that they want to boot, and also a setup like Kees' with LVM
chroots that shouldn't be offered for separate boot. I tend to agree
that a blacklist would be a reasonable way to go about this. Would you
like me to look at implementing this?

> At least on Debian recommended packages are installed by default with
> apt and aptitude.

Ubuntu did that before Debian did ;-)

[Felix Zielcke (fzielcke)]

>Would you like me to look at implementing this?
feel free to do it Colin :)

[Marcus Tomlinson (marcustomlinson)]

This release of Ubuntu is no longer receiving maintenance updates. If this is still an issue on a maintained version of Ubuntu please let us know.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for grub2 (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]