[Bug 761830] Re: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems
I am seeing this bug in 17.10. If I carry out a minimal install with no packages selected at the final stage, I see a blank screen on boot. The first time I saw this I did a hard reset and was presented with a boot menu. I presume this is some sort of failsafe behaviour in the event of a failed boot. If I then selected Ubuntu from that menu, the boot succeeded and the LVM decrypt prompt was shown. On a subsequent reboot, the previous behaviour of displaying a blank screen resumed. I then discovered that I could switch to a text based tty by pressing Alt+F1, this also displayed the LVM decrypt prompt. >From what I have read in this and other, linked, bugs I expected this behaviour to disappear once I had installed a X and a display manager, however after installing GNOME (apt install gdm3) the system still boots to a blank screen except (and I swear this is reproducible) I now have to press Alt+F2, then Alt+F1 twice before I get to a usable LVM decrypt prompt. I am a Linux novice so apologies if my terminology is off or if this post is totally useless. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/761830 Title: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/761830/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
[Bug 761830] Re: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems
Still happends on 17.04 (minimal) -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/761830 Title: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/761830/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
[Bug 761830] Re: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems
This bug happens to me every time in Xenial (none in Trusty) when installing a server using minimal ISO. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/761830 Title: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/761830/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
[Bug 761830] Re: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems
Note on comment #47 and the oem-config bug: That was found to be unrelated, and a fix for it has already been released. As for this bug, it appears to have gone away. I tested a minimal Raring install, and even through the GRUB boot options are the default quiet splash, it does correctly switch to vt1 (and the login prompt) after showing the text-mode Ubuntu boot screen. As far as I can tell, the GRUB handoff to vt7 still occurs, but then something else is switching the console back to vt1 after the splash screen (presumably in lieu of starting X). I'm going to tentatively mark this bug as Fix Released. If anyone is still seeing this problem in Raring or later, please set it back to Confirmed. ** Changed in: grub2 (Ubuntu) Status: Confirmed = Fix Released -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/761830 Title: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/761830/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
[Bug 761830] Re: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems
I am seeing this on Ubuntu-12.04-server-amd64 installs on both raw hardware (standard Intel server platforms) and also when installing in kvm/qemu. I am wondering if this is the cause of oem-config crashing on the ubuntu server installs (lp:1180880). More testing to see if they are related. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/761830 Title: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/761830/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
[Bug 761830] Re: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems
I found the perfect fix for this bug. I wiped my disk and installed a different (not Ubuntu) distro. I am much happier now. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/761830 Title: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/761830/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
[Bug 761830] Re: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems
This looks like it affects daily spins of Quantal too (as of today's date). Using Quantal Server amd64 it boots into vt7. There's a crazy if .. else block in /etc/grub.d/10_linux that sets linux_gfx_mode=text or linux_gfx_mode=grub which is possibly setting keep instead of text but I'm not sure what its doing to assist. This value seems to be used when determining whether to switch to vt7 though. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/761830 Title: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/761830/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
[Bug 761830] Re: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems
** Tags added: quantal -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/761830 Title: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/761830/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
[Bug 761830] Re: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems
** Tags added: precise -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/761830 Title: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/761830/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
[Bug 761830] Re: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems
Kind of unbelievable that this is still unfixed and still marked low priority. Can we at least have an explanation of what's broken in plymouth that makes it impossible to apply the suggested fix? I can look at fixing plymouth if that's the problem. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/761830 Title: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/761830/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
[Bug 761830] Re: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems
It looks like this gets added automatically if the splash option is specified in /etc/default/grub. It appears this option is there by default, but is removed at some point when installing from the server cd. However that happens on the server probably needs to behave the same on the alternate cd when you don't choose to install the desktop. I'm sure this bug is low priority because it is very uncommon to install with the alternate desktop installer, and then not install the desktop, hence, there are more important problems to spend limited time fixing. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/761830 Title: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/761830/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
[Bug 761830] Re: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems
The vt.handoff kernel param shouldn't be there in the first place. See my comment above. And I don't see why this would be an uncommon installation. It's the only way I know of to install a command line system that's not a server. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/761830 Title: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/761830/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
[Bug 761830] Re: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems
I'm still getting this with the 11.11 beta2. Why is this considered low importance? It makes the system unusable and can take a while to figure out, even for someone who knows what they're doing. It's especially pernicious in a VirtualBox VM, where ctl-alt-F1 doesn't do what you expect. Please raise the importance of this bug. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/761830 Title: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/761830/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
[Bug 761830] Re: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems
@Jim Rees This does not speak to the question of this bug's importance, but please note that Alt+F1 is sufficient (and more appropriate) for switching from a virtual terminal that does not have X11 running on it, and Alt+F1 will typically behave as expected with VirtualBox and other virtualization software. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/761830 Title: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/761830/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
[Bug 761830] Re: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems
The real bug here is not so much that grub is asking the kernel to switch to vt7 when there is no splash. The real bug is that grub is requesting a vt switch at all. Grub has no business making this request because it has no way of knowing whether there is anything on vt7. The way this should work, and the way it used to work, is that the post- grub application (splash, X, gdm, or /bin/login) would request a vt switch to itself (or not, in the case of /bin/login, which runs on all vts). Only the application running on a particular vt can know which vt should be switched to, and the switch shouldn't happen until that app is up and running. Please don't lecture me about kms and how the current way of doing things is so much better than ums. I know about that. The kernel does vt switches at the request of user space programs. That part hasn't changed. The vt switch request should be a pull to the program requesting the vt, not a push from some program (like grub) that hopes and prays there is someone home on the target vt. And by the way, VirtualBox on Mac does not pass Alt-F1 to the guest OS by default. That's not really relevant to this bug except that it tends to raise the frustration factor for those of us trying to deal with it. Except for this grub bug I would never have any need to switch vt on my ubuntu VM install. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/761830 Title: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/761830/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
[Bug 761830] Re: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems
Jim, I agree that having grub switch the VT rather than the program needing same is rather cart-before-horse-ish. It does have the advantage of happening very early in the boot process, however (even before the kernel/initrd are loaded), and I suspect the rationale for doing things this way is keen on that chronology, along with the desire for a graphically seamless boot process. For my part, I wouldn't fault grub for doing the switch, if Ubuntu hadn't utterly failed to account for non-X installs when they wrote the logic in /etc/grub.d/10_linux. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/761830 Title: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/761830/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
[Bug 761830] Re: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems
Firstly skunk's fix works for me. Second, this is critical. Quite how many people realise you can do an Alt+F1 to gain access to their systems I don't know, but those that do not and have no remote access will be reinstalling and probably ending up in the same hole. My platform: 64-but Win7Pro with VMWare Player installing i686 11.04 server edition. The first installation was with a custom install of 11.04-server-mini which I then dist-upgrade and ended up with this issue on reboot. The second was with 11.04-server (full ISO) which wen through VMware's Easy install before I dist-upgraded it. Both experienced this issue. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/761830 Title: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/761830/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
[Bug 761830] Re: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems
Skunk, Awesome... Works Great Jeff -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/761830 Title: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/761830/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
[Bug 761830] Re: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems
I've dug into this issue a bit. I don't think there's much use in distinguishing between the various Ubuntu flavors here; it all comes down to this bit in /etc/grub.d/10_linux: for word in $GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT; do if [ $word = splash ]; then GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=$GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT vt.handoff=7 fi done If you remove splash from GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT in /etc/default/grub and run update-grub(8), then you get a login prompt on tty1 when you boot a command-line system. If Ubuntu Server is doing anything different, it's probably in how the defaults in this file are configured. I don't see the purpose of switching to tty7 if splash is specified but X is not installed, so maybe the 10_linux file needs an additional conditional (e.g. [ -x /etc/X11/X ]). Colin, you've said that the purpose of all this is to transition smoothly to Plymouth, not to transition smoothly to X11 (bug 695658, comment 6). Could you clarify what should be happening in the splash- sans-X case? -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/761830 Title: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/761830/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
[Bug 761830] Re: grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems
I am able to reproduce this bug on Natty i386 Server by using VMware Easy Install (in VMware Workstation 7.1.4 build-385536 on a Natty amd64 host). When I install Natty i386 Server manually (as I had always done in the past) on the same virtual machine, this bug does not occur. I am not sure what it is about VMware Easy Install that is triggering this bug. The most obvious explanation would have seemed to be that VMware Tools triggers it, since VMware Tools is automatically installed as the final, post-boot step of VMware Easy Install, and it is only *after* that first boot that the system boots handing off to tty7 instead of tty1. However, manually installing VMware Tools on a manually installed system (i.e., a system not installed with VMware Easy Install) does not trigger the problem. This bug seems to occur the same way in Oneiric (which was to be expected)--testing I did today on VMware virtual machines with identical hardware indicates that it seems to always happen on command-line only non-Server systems (I used the Oneiric i386 20110708 daily alternate CD), to typically not happen on Server systems (tested with the Oneiric Server i386 20110708 daily), but to happen on Server systems installed with VMware Easy Install (same installation media). @Clifford Dhamanigi To clarify, the reason it was very helpful for you to post here was not that it was uncertain if this bug affected *all* amd64 Server systems (it certainly doesn't), but because it was uncertain if it affected any Natty server systems **at all**. Clearly, it does, though it remains to be seen if, on Ubuntu Server, this bug is limited to systems installed with VMware Easy Install. ** Summary changed: - grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems + grub2 still hands off to blank tty7 on non-Server command-line-only systems and some Server systems ** Tags added: amd64 oneiric ** Description changed: - Binary package hint: grub2 + On Natty and Oneiric non-Server command-line only systems (which can be + installed from the Alternate and Minimal CD's), grub2 hands off to blank + tty7 (as in bug 700686). As a consequence, a blank black (or purple) + terminal is shown, and the system does not appear to be functional. This + can be particularly confusing to novices, who sometimes assume that the + system has not successfully booted. Switching to an active virtual + console (for example, by pressing Alt+F1) yields a login screen and + makes it possible to use the machine. - Using the Natty Beta 2 Alternate CD, I installed two command-line only - systems, and updated each of them (with sudo apt-get update followed - by sudo apt-get upgrade). One was with the amd64 CD, on a Sony Vaio - VGN-NW310F. The other was with the i386 CD, on a VMware Workstation - 7.1.4 build-385536 virtual machine (host OS: Natty amd64 with kernel - version 2.6.38-8-generic). In both cases, when boot-up completed, I was - on tty7 with a blank, black screen, with the exception of a blinking - cursor at the upper-left corner. Pressing Alt+F1 through Alt+F6 gave me - usable virtual terminals, and pressing Alt+F7 brought me back to that - black screen. This is almost exactly the same behavior as I reported in - bug 695658; later, a similar bug which was decided to also be about this - issue was reported as bug 700686 and subsequently fixed, and bug 695658 - was marked as a duplicate of bug 700686. Suspecting that this may be the - same issue (i.e., that those bugs were perhaps not fully fixed), I ran - this command on both systems: + This also happens on a few Natty and Oneiric Server systems. It seems to + happen on all such server systems running on VMware virtual machines and + installed using the VMware Easy Install automatically installation + facility (but it does not seem to occur with VMware when the OS is + installed manually). The most obvious explanations specific to that + feature do not seem to apply (see + https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/761830/comments/35). + It would perhaps be worthwhile to investigate if the problem occurs on + other kinds of unattended installations. - grep handoff /etc/grub.d/10_linux - - And, confirming my suspicions, I got this out on both systems: - - GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=$GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT - vt.handoff=7 - - I posted about this in bug 700686 and Colin Watson said I should open a - new bug, so that's what this bug is. The information attached by apport - is from the i386 system (i.e., the virtual machine). In order to make - reporting this bug convenient, I did install two additional packages and - their dependencies--openssh-server, and apport. - - I have not yet tested this in a newly installed Ubuntu Server system. - - ProblemType: Bug - DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.04 - Package: grub-pc 1.99~rc1-12ubuntu1 - ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.38-8.42-generic 2.6.38.2 - Uname: Linux 2.6.38-8-generic i686 - Architecture: i386 - Date: Fri Apr 15
