Missing quotes in parts of /etc/default/grub

[Frank_McCormick]

Binary package hint: grub2

There are missing double quotes in /etc/default/grub. If you change a line where the option is not in double quotes...i.e.

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

then update-grub ignores it.
The (true) has to be in double quotes for update-grub to include the option...
even then it'll drops the UUIDs for Ubuntu...but not for any other OS it finds.

I know...that's what it does on my system.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.04
Package: grub2 1.98-1ubuntu5
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.32-19.28-generic 2.6.32.10+drm33.1
Uname: Linux 2.6.32-19-generic i686
Architecture: i386
Date: Thu Apr 22 16:05:52 2010
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 10.04 "Lucid Lynx" - Beta i386 (20100406.1)
ProcEnviron:
 LANG=en_CA.utf8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: grub2

[Colin Watson (cjwatson)]

Sorry, but this doesn't make sense to me; update-grub (actually
grub-mkconfig) just sources /etc/default/grub using the shell, and as an
experienced shell programmer I can tell you for absolute fact that it
makes no difference whether a single word like true is quoted or
unquoted in the shell. (If we were talking about something containing
multiple words or special characters then that would be different, but
that doesn't seem to apply here.) Thus I don't agree with the bald
statement in your bug report, but I would like to investigate whatever
problem led you to file this bug.

Could you please explain your reasoning here? For example, a useful
sequence would be:

 * return /etc/default/grub to its previous state
 * run 'sudo update-grub'
 * attach /etc/default/grub and /boot/grub/grub.cfg
 * make whatever change it was you made to /etc/default/grub
 * run 'sudo update-grub'
 * attach the new /etc/default/grub and /boot/grub/grub.cfg

[Frank_McCormick (beacon-videotron)]

Well, it appears you're right. Sorry. Quoted or not it generates the same file. I have uploaded 7 files , grub.cfg and default/grub original, grub.cfg + default/grub unquoted, and grub.cfg +default/grub quoted. I don't know how I got it to generate a grub.cfg without UUID, but it appears it sure wasn't when true was quoted.

update-grub however is still refusing to generate grub.cfg without UUIDs for Debian on hda2, even when it's told to not use UUIDs.

I have also uploaded the output from blkid. Its my understanding (maybe I'm wrong) that the UUID it generates should go on the kernel line. That's not happening under update-grub ??

[Frank_McCormick (beacon-videotron)]

By the way, I am being told on the forums that update-grub can be confused by reading an old menu.lst from legacy-grub on hda2? Is this possible ?

[Phillip Susi (psusi)]

This option only effects how your Ubuntu system is booted. When detecting other operating systems, whatever boot method their grub config uses will be reused. In other words, if debian is booting using a UUID, Ubuntu will also boot it using that UUID.