Bug#711019: load_video produces "file not found" errors and causes GRUB to pause when booting

[Colin Watson]

On Sat, Jul 26, 2014 at 07:13:01PM +0300, Andrei POPESCU wrote:
> # If all_video.mod isn't available load all modules available
> # with versions prior to introduction of all_video.mod
> cat <<EOF
>   if [ x\$feature_all_video_module = xy ]; then
>     insmod all_video
>   else
>     #insmod efi_gop
>     #insmod efi_uga
>     #insmod ieee1275_fb
>     insmod vbe
>     insmod vga
>     insmod video_bochs
>     insmod video_cirrus
>   fi
[...]
> What is strange to me though is that, unless I'm mistaken, grub 
> shouldn't even try to load these, since all_video.mod *is* available.

This may be pointing at the root of the problem, then.  GRUB detects
whether all_video is available by way of a feature flag which is
compiled into the core image.  If you're installing GRUB to a location
that isn't where the system is actually booting from - regrettably easy
to do with the BIOS design! - then that would account for this.  You
should fix this sooner rather than later since such misconfiguration can
cause real boot failures on subsequent upgrades.

On Tue, Jun 04, 2013 at 01:48:20PM -0700, Josh Triplett wrote:
> For clarification: I used severity "important" here because as far as I
> can tell this would break unattended boots

Actually not.  GRUB says "Press any key to continue...", but it will
continue by itself if you leave it for ten seconds or so.  However, ten
seconds is sufficiently much longer than most people's reading and
reaction times that you aren't the first person to assume that this kind
of error will break unattended booting.

I sent a patch for this upstream a while back as
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/grub-devel/2014-04/msg00028.html, but
it got mired in bikeshedding ...

-- 
Colin Watson                                       [cjwatson at debian.org]