# symbol in grub menu.lst

[pjhartt]

I have a problem with my laptop not turning off when after shutting down Ubuntu 7.10 desktop i386 for 32bit.

Via the search web and forums, it was suggested that adding acpi=force to defoptions it would sort the problem out. It has not.

The original line was

# defoptions=quiet splash

This is how I added it

# defoptions=quiet splash acpi=force

I am new to Linux. I don't know what the # means some lines have have ### others ## and this only #. Other line do not have any. Is it that lines with no # are executed and all others with # are not.

Only simple answers please not technical ones.

Regards
Peter

[taurus]

You need to remove the # in front of the line.

[scorp123]

Originally Posted by taurus You need to remove the # in front of the line.

Not for the "# defoptions" line! That was bad advice!

Taken from "menu.lst" itself:

### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
## lines between the AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST markers will be modified
## by the debian update-grub script except for the default options below

## DO NOT UNCOMMENT THEM, Just edit them to your needs

... and guess what? The "# defoptions" line is part of that, so you're not supposed to uncomment it!

[SanderVermolen]

There's a very simple answer to that:

Everything behind a # are comments. They are just ignored by the program using the file. This means it wouldn't have made a difference if you would have written:

# defoptions=quiet splash acpi=force

or

# SOMETHING ELSE

Try to remove the # if you want the line to have any effect, like:

defoptions=quiet splash acpi=force

[scorp123]

Originally Posted by SanderVermolen Try to remove the # if you want the line to have any effect, like: defoptions=quiet splash acpi=force

Wrong!

People, this isn't a guessing contest here. Either read the docs please or keep quiet, but please stop giving people bad advice!

Just a suggestion.

[scorp123]

Originally Posted by pjhartt The original line was: # defoptions=quiet splash This is how I added it: # defoptions=quiet splash acpi=force

Good. And now for the changes to take effect you have to update the "grub" boot loader. So you open a terminal and issue this command:
sudo update-grub

(when it asks for a password: that should be your own password. And the password is never ever echoed back, e.g. no stars, no question marks, no sign that whatever is being typed is being accepted ... Just type it in blindly and hit the enter key).

A few messages should fly-by over the screen about stuff having been written to your boot loader. As long as none of those messages say "Error!"-something, everything is OK.

When you reboot the options should now be active. You can check after the reboot with this command:
cat /proc/cmdline

That should spit out all the parameters that were used to boot your kernel and it should therefore also mention the new parameter "acpi=force" which you added above. If I do that here I get this:

root=UUID=169b894f-8c23-41b5-a895-a9c7d101c6a8 ro splash vga=791 resume=/dev/sda10

... So the output you will get will most likely be slightly different but it should mention "acpi=force" towards the end of the output.

So if the line is there but your laptop is still having trouble to properly turn off after a shutdown, we could try a few other things too. The "acpi=force" command may help in some cases, but in some other cases it doesn't.

Could you tell us more about your laptop? Make + model? Year it was built? BIOS versions? CPU type? ... To know these things can help a great deal.

[Nythain]

HOLY CRAP... i cant beileve not only someone, but many ones, said to remove that #
word, keep that #

im not sure if its been mentioned, but its probably not taking effect yet, because you have to add it also, further down in the file, for each kernel entry, like you did in defoptions... all the defoptions does, is sets default options that will be added if/when there's a grub update (like when you install a new kernel)

also the effects wont take place untill you reboot... sorry if that was a double up on the info, but i was to blown away by people instantly spamming "remove the #"
people, if you arent familiar with what the poster is asking, for the love of god, dont respond

[forrestcupp]

Well, in most configuration files, # does mean it's a comment. Grub is slightly different.

Not having any #'s at all means it's an entry for a kernel or OS to boot to. Only having one # means it's an overall grub option. Having more than 1 # means it's a comment.

But in most config files, it only takes 1 # to comment. So people really shouldn't be bashing the ones who said to remove it. If you don't already know grub works that way, it's a logical thought.

And it is right that you do need to reboot before it takes effect. If it still doesn't work, try putting # acpi=force on a different line.

[igknighted]

Originally Posted by forrestcupp So people really shouldn't be bashing the ones who said to remove it. If you don't already know grub works that way, it's a logical thought.

I agree with the principle of this... but no one was personally attacked here or "bashed". There was a reminder to only post instructions that you are familiar with, which (in the situation) was a needed reminder. I don't think it means that those who posted to remove the # whould have just kept their comments to themselves, but a "I haven't dealt with grub, but in general __________" warning would have been proper form. Especially in a situation like this that could have left the OP's computer unbootable.

@ the OP, a little reasoning behind why this is a special config file and "breaks the rules":

Most config files are read by the operating system once it is booted up. They are read in by a program and parsed, and the linux standard uses a # to signify comments. I suspect (although do not know) that this goes back to the shell interpreter using a # to signify comments. Either way, it is a convention of the OS alone.

Grub is a stand-alone program, it doesn't even run with the kernel booted. It uses its own standards for naming drives, reading config files, and pretty much everything else. It is not a part of linux, as you could (in theory) install it to multi-boot any number of operating systems, without having any of them be linux. As such, the linux standards do not apply to grub. In the future, when grub 2 is the standard (instead of the current version), I believe it will comply more with linux standards and things could change, but for the time being consider anything to do with grub to be its own entity.

[bodhi.zazen]

Put the acpi=force on the kernel line and reboot.

Like this ;

title Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-10-generic root (hd1,0) [/b]kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.17-10-generic root=/dev/sdb1 ro quiet splash acpi=force[/b] initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.17-10-generic savedefault boot

If that works, add it in where you did (this will configure future kernel updates).

In gurb:

## Two hash = comment
# One hash = configuration

Typically, in most config files,
# One hash = comments

One last piece of general advice, when editing config files

1. Make a back up copy first
2. Comment your changes.
3. Read the comments teh authors put into them, they are there to help you.
4. Back up your manually configured file (config files are sometime over written by updates).