Public bug reported: This concerns grub-pc 2.04-1ubuntu26 in Ubuntu focal.
I have the following packages installed. Note that grub-pc has been removed but not yet purged: root@xubuntu:/# dpkg -l | grep grub ii grub-common 2.04-1ubuntu26 amd64 GRand Unified Bootloader (common files) ii grub-efi-amd64 2.04-1ubuntu26 amd64 GRand Unified Bootloader, version 2 (EFI-AMD64 version) ii grub-efi-amd64-bin 2.04-1ubuntu26 amd64 GRand Unified Bootloader, version 2 (EFI-AMD64 modules) ii grub-efi-amd64-signed 1.142+2.04-1ubuntu26 amd64 GRand Unified Bootloader, version 2 (EFI-AMD64 version, signed) rc grub-pc 2.04-1ubuntu26 amd64 GRand Unified Bootloader, version 2 (PC/BIOS version) ii grub-pc-bin 2.04-1ubuntu26 amd64 GRand Unified Bootloader, version 2 (PC/BIOS modules) ii grub2-common 2.04-1ubuntu26 amd64 GRand Unified Bootloader (common files for version 2) The /etc/default/grub file is owned by grub-efi-amd64, which is correct: root@xubuntu:/# ucfq /etc/default/grub Configuration file Package Exists Changed /etc/default/grub grub-efi-amd64 Yes Yes I then purge the grub-pc package, saying no to the "Remove GRUB 2 files?" debconf question: root@xubuntu:/# apt-get purge grub-pc Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done The following package was automatically installed and is no longer required: grub-pc-bin Use 'sudo apt autoremove' to remove it. The following packages will be REMOVED: grub-pc* 0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 1 to remove and 4 not upgraded. After this operation, 0 B of additional disk space will be used. Do you want to continue? [Y/n] E: Can not write log (Is /dev/pts mounted?) - posix_openpt (19: No such device) (Reading database ... 254919 files and directories currently installed.) Purging configuration files for grub-pc (2.04-1ubuntu26) ... ucfr: Association belongs to grub-efi-amd64, not grub-pc ucfr: Aborting ucfr: Association belongs to grub-efi-amd64, not grub-pc ucfr: Aborting And then... root@xubuntu:/# ls -l /etc/default/grub ls: cannot access '/etc/default/grub': No such file or directory The purging of grub-pc deleted a config file belonging to a different package, which is not only incorrect behavior, it could potentially leave the system unbootable after the next update-grub(8) invocation. ** Affects: grub2 (Ubuntu) Importance: Undecided Status: New ** Tags: focal -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1879466 Title: Purging grub-pc package deletes /etc/default/grub file owned by grub- efi-amd64 To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/1879466/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs