Bug#1106156: grub-efi-amd64: GRUB v2.12-7 doesn't show menu in graphical mode
Bernhard Ehlers
behlers at mailbox.org
Tue May 20 14:39:21 BST 2025
Package: grub-efi-amd64
Version: 2.12-7
Severity: normal
X-Debbugs-Cc: debian-amd64 at lists.debian.org, behlers at mailbox.org
User: debian-amd64 at lists.debian.org
Usertags: amd64
Dear Maintainer,
Previously I was running Debian bookworm, where GRUB was working fine.
But after a clean install of trixie, GRUB shows only a blank menu screen
on both of my computers. After uncommenting the GRUB_TERMINAL line in
/etc/default/grub it was working again, just a bit uglier.
As the graphics mode was working with GRUB v2.06-13 I made some
investigations:
I am using these two machines, both quite old:
- Dell Inspiron 17R Special Edition (7720) from 2013
- Apple iMac12,1 from 2011
When using GRUB in terminal mode, videoinfo looks normal:
grub> videoinfo
List of supported video modes:
Legend: mask/position=red/green/blue/reserved
Adapter `Bochs PCI Video Driver´:
No info available
Adapter `Cirrus CLGD 5446 PCI Video Driver´:
No info available
Adapter `EFI GOP driver´:
0x000 1280 x 1024 x 32 (5120) Direct color, mask: 8/8/8/8 pos: 16/8/0/24
0x001 1024 x 768 x 32 (4096) Direct color, mask: 8/8/8/8 pos: 16/8/0/24
0x002 640 x 480 x 32 (2560) Direct color, mask: 8/8/8/8 pos: 16/8/0/24
0x003 800 x 600 x 32 (3200) Direct color, mask: 8/8/8/8 pos: 16/8/0/24
0x004 1920 x 1080 x 32 (7680) Direct color, mask: 8/8/8/8 pos: 16/8/0/24
grub>
But videotest will all video modes gives only a blank screen.
Then I tried GRUB_VIDEO_BACKEND=efi_gop in /etc/default/grub,
but that doesn't change anything.
But at one test I misspelled the video backend. This resulted in a
brief display on an error message, but then the graphical mode was
working. More tests showed that sending some text at the beginning
of /boot/grub/grub.cfg was also successful on both machines.
Even an 'echo -n ""' is fine.
So I created a tiny /etc/grub.d/000_early_init:
---
#! /bin/sh
set -e
# Initialize graphics display
echo 'echo -n ""'
---
After update-grub I got a working graphical menu on GRUB.
Best regards
Bernhard
-- Package-specific info:
*********************** BEGIN /proc/mounts
/dev/sda4 / ext4 rw,relatime,errors=remount-ro 0 0
/dev/sda2 /boot ext4 rw,relatime 0 0
/dev/sda1 /boot/efi vfat rw,relatime,fmask=0077,dmask=0077,codepage=437,iocharset=ascii,shortname=mixed,utf8,errors=remount-ro 0 0
*********************** END /proc/mounts
*********************** BEGIN /boot/grub/grub.cfg
#
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
#
# It is automatically generated by grub-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
#
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/000_early_init ###
echo -n ""
### END /etc/grub.d/000_early_init ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then
set have_grubenv=true
load_env
fi
if [ "${next_entry}" ] ; then
set default="${next_entry}"
set next_entry=
save_env next_entry
set boot_once=true
else
set default="0"
fi
if [ x"${feature_menuentry_id}" = xy ]; then
menuentry_id_option="--id"
else
menuentry_id_option=""
fi
export menuentry_id_option
if [ "${prev_saved_entry}" ]; then
set saved_entry="${prev_saved_entry}"
save_env saved_entry
set prev_saved_entry=
save_env prev_saved_entry
set boot_once=true
fi
function savedefault {
if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then
saved_entry="${chosen}"
save_env saved_entry
fi
}
function load_video {
if [ x$feature_all_video_module = xy ]; then
insmod all_video
else
insmod efi_gop
insmod efi_uga
insmod ieee1275_fb
insmod vbe
insmod vga
insmod video_bochs
insmod video_cirrus
fi
}
if [ x$feature_default_font_path = xy ] ; then
font=unicode
else
insmod part_gpt
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,gpt4'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt4 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt4 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt4 e6738e63-2092-4161-a4ba-3d9e312aa76e
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root e6738e63-2092-4161-a4ba-3d9e312aa76e
fi
font="/usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2"
fi
if loadfont $font ; then
set gfxmode=auto
load_video
insmod gfxterm
set locale_dir=$prefix/locale
set lang=de_DE
insmod gettext
fi
terminal_output gfxterm
if [ "${recordfail}" = 1 ] ; then
set timeout=30
else
if [ x$feature_timeout_style = xy ] ; then
set timeout_style=menu
set timeout=2
# Fallback normal timeout code in case the timeout_style feature is
# unavailable.
else
set timeout=2
fi
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###
insmod part_gpt
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,gpt2'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt2 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt2 bcea3724-f80e-4816-a78b-fa4820fbf6d4
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root bcea3724-f80e-4816-a78b-fa4820fbf6d4
fi
insmod png
if background_image /grub/.background_cache.png; then
set color_normal=white/black
set color_highlight=black/white
else
set menu_color_normal=cyan/blue
set menu_color_highlight=white/blue
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
function gfxmode {
set gfxpayload="${1}"
}
set linux_gfx_mode=
export linux_gfx_mode
menuentry 'Debian GNU/Linux GNU/Linux' --class debian --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-simple-e6738e63-2092-4161-a4ba-3d9e312aa76e' {
load_video
insmod gzio
if [ x$grub_platform = xxen ]; then insmod xzio; insmod lzopio; fi
insmod part_gpt
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,gpt2'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt2 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt2 bcea3724-f80e-4816-a78b-fa4820fbf6d4
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root bcea3724-f80e-4816-a78b-fa4820fbf6d4
fi
echo 'Loading Linux 6.12.27-amd64 ...'
linux /vmlinuz-6.12.27-amd64 root=UUID=e6738e63-2092-4161-a4ba-3d9e312aa76e ro quiet
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /initrd.img-6.12.27-amd64
}
submenu 'Advanced options for Debian GNU/Linux GNU/Linux' $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-advanced-e6738e63-2092-4161-a4ba-3d9e312aa76e' {
menuentry 'Debian GNU/Linux GNU/Linux, with Linux 6.12.27-amd64' --class debian --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-6.12.27-amd64-advanced-e6738e63-2092-4161-a4ba-3d9e312aa76e' {
load_video
insmod gzio
if [ x$grub_platform = xxen ]; then insmod xzio; insmod lzopio; fi
insmod part_gpt
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,gpt2'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt2 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt2 bcea3724-f80e-4816-a78b-fa4820fbf6d4
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root bcea3724-f80e-4816-a78b-fa4820fbf6d4
fi
echo 'Loading Linux 6.12.27-amd64 ...'
linux /vmlinuz-6.12.27-amd64 root=UUID=e6738e63-2092-4161-a4ba-3d9e312aa76e ro quiet
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /initrd.img-6.12.27-amd64
}
menuentry 'Debian GNU/Linux GNU/Linux, with Linux 6.12.27-amd64 (recovery mode)' --class debian --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-6.12.27-amd64-recovery-e6738e63-2092-4161-a4ba-3d9e312aa76e' {
load_video
insmod gzio
if [ x$grub_platform = xxen ]; then insmod xzio; insmod lzopio; fi
insmod part_gpt
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,gpt2'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt2 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt2 bcea3724-f80e-4816-a78b-fa4820fbf6d4
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root bcea3724-f80e-4816-a78b-fa4820fbf6d4
fi
echo 'Loading Linux 6.12.27-amd64 ...'
linux /vmlinuz-6.12.27-amd64 root=UUID=e6738e63-2092-4161-a4ba-3d9e312aa76e ro single dis_ucode_ldr
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /initrd.img-6.12.27-amd64
}
menuentry 'Debian GNU/Linux GNU/Linux, with Linux 6.12.25-amd64' --class debian --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-6.12.25-amd64-advanced-e6738e63-2092-4161-a4ba-3d9e312aa76e' {
load_video
insmod gzio
if [ x$grub_platform = xxen ]; then insmod xzio; insmod lzopio; fi
insmod part_gpt
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,gpt2'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt2 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt2 bcea3724-f80e-4816-a78b-fa4820fbf6d4
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root bcea3724-f80e-4816-a78b-fa4820fbf6d4
fi
echo 'Loading Linux 6.12.25-amd64 ...'
linux /vmlinuz-6.12.25-amd64 root=UUID=e6738e63-2092-4161-a4ba-3d9e312aa76e ro quiet
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /initrd.img-6.12.25-amd64
}
menuentry 'Debian GNU/Linux GNU/Linux, with Linux 6.12.25-amd64 (recovery mode)' --class debian --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-6.12.25-amd64-recovery-e6738e63-2092-4161-a4ba-3d9e312aa76e' {
load_video
insmod gzio
if [ x$grub_platform = xxen ]; then insmod xzio; insmod lzopio; fi
insmod part_gpt
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,gpt2'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt2 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt2 bcea3724-f80e-4816-a78b-fa4820fbf6d4
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root bcea3724-f80e-4816-a78b-fa4820fbf6d4
fi
echo 'Loading Linux 6.12.25-amd64 ...'
linux /vmlinuz-6.12.25-amd64 root=UUID=e6738e63-2092-4161-a4ba-3d9e312aa76e ro single dis_ucode_ldr
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /initrd.img-6.12.25-amd64
}
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### END /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/25_bli ###
if [ "$grub_platform" = "efi" ]; then
insmod bli
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/25_bli ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_uefi-firmware ###
if [ "$grub_platform" = "efi" ]; then
fwsetup --is-supported
if [ "$?" = 0 ]; then
menuentry 'UEFI Firmware Settings' $menuentry_id_option 'uefi-firmware' {
fwsetup
}
fi
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/30_uefi-firmware ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries. Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment. Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
if [ -f ${config_directory}/custom.cfg ]; then
source ${config_directory}/custom.cfg
elif [ -z "${config_directory}" -a -f $prefix/custom.cfg ]; then
source $prefix/custom.cfg
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
*********************** END /boot/grub/grub.cfg
*********************** BEGIN /proc/mdstat
cat: /proc/mdstat: No such file or directory
*********************** END /proc/mdstat
*********************** BEGIN /dev/disk/by-id
total 0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 9 May 20 13:49 ata-OPTIARC_DVD_RW_AD-5680H -> ../../sr0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 9 May 20 13:48 ata-WDC_WD5000AAKS-402AA0_WD-WCAWFD109556 -> ../../sda
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 May 20 13:48 ata-WDC_WD5000AAKS-402AA0_WD-WCAWFD109556-part1 -> ../../sda1
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 May 20 13:48 ata-WDC_WD5000AAKS-402AA0_WD-WCAWFD109556-part2 -> ../../sda2
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 May 20 13:48 ata-WDC_WD5000AAKS-402AA0_WD-WCAWFD109556-part3 -> ../../sda3
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 May 20 13:48 ata-WDC_WD5000AAKS-402AA0_WD-WCAWFD109556-part4 -> ../../sda4
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 9 May 20 13:49 usb-APPLE_SD_Card_Reader_000000009833-0:0 -> ../../sdb
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 9 May 20 13:48 wwn-0x50014ee103d6c875 -> ../../sda
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 May 20 13:48 wwn-0x50014ee103d6c875-part1 -> ../../sda1
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 May 20 13:48 wwn-0x50014ee103d6c875-part2 -> ../../sda2
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 May 20 13:48 wwn-0x50014ee103d6c875-part3 -> ../../sda3
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 May 20 13:48 wwn-0x50014ee103d6c875-part4 -> ../../sda4
*********************** END /dev/disk/by-id
*********************** BEGIN /dev/disk/by-uuid
total 0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 May 20 13:48 67E3-17ED -> ../../sda1
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 May 20 13:48 bcea3724-f80e-4816-a78b-fa4820fbf6d4 -> ../../sda2
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 May 20 13:48 d582adeb-87e5-45d0-9736-03651313504b -> ../../sda3
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 May 20 13:48 e6738e63-2092-4161-a4ba-3d9e312aa76e -> ../../sda4
*********************** END /dev/disk/by-uuid
-- System Information:
Debian Release: 13.0
APT prefers testing
APT policy: (500, 'testing')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)
Kernel: Linux 6.12.27-amd64 (SMP w/4 CPU threads; PREEMPT)
Locale: LANG=de_DE.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=de_DE.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8), LANGUAGE not set
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /usr/bin/dash
Init: systemd (via /run/systemd/system)
LSM: AppArmor: enabled
Versions of packages grub-efi-amd64 depends on:
ii debconf [debconf-2.0] 1.5.91
ii grub-efi-amd64-bin 2.12-7
ii grub2-common 2.12-7
ii ucf 3.0051
grub-efi-amd64 recommends no packages.
grub-efi-amd64 suggests no packages.
-- debconf information:
grub2/force_efi_extra_removable: false
* grub2/linux_cmdline_default: quiet
* grub2/gnumach_cmdline:
grub2/enable_os_prober: false
grub2/kfreebsd_cmdline:
grub2/update_nvram: true
* grub2/linux_cmdline:
grub2/kfreebsd_cmdline_default: quiet
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