[Bug 883831] Re: Grub2 doesn't auto-boot kernels in submenus

[Pavel A]

There is a solution - don't use numbers. See below for details.

As of Ubuntu 12.10 this was also the case for me, when I did:
grub-set-default 3 # In /boot/grub/grub.cfg the desired entry was the forth 'menuentry' directive.

But I actually ended up in memtest, which means the items in submenu are
not counted, just the submenu itself. So I have tried changing a number
to the entry name: 'Ubuntu, with Linux 3.5.0-17-generic', which gave me
a warning, pointing to how it is supposed to be done:

Warning: Please don't use old title `Ubuntu, with Linux
3.5.0-17-generic' for GRUB_DEFAULT, use `Advanced options for
Ubuntu>Ubuntu, with Linux 3.5.0-17-generic' (for versions before 2.00)
or `gnulinux-advanced-...>gnulinux-3.5.0-17-generic-advanced-...' (for
2.00 or later)

Therefore, to set grub 2 to load from a submenu entry by default, do the following:
sudo grub-set-default 'menuentry id for the submenu>menuentry id for the item'
sudo update-grub

I'm not sure as of 11.10, but this doesn't really seem to be a bug
afterall.

p.s. I see it is an old bug, but I guess the post can be used for
reference (I've got here looking for an answer actually).

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/883831

Title:
  Grub2 doesn't auto-boot kernels in submenus

Status in “grub2” package in Ubuntu:
  Confirmed

Bug description:
  Xubuntu 11.10 X86_64

  Installed:
  grub-common 1.99-12ubuntu5
  grub-gfxpayload-lists 0.5
  grub-pc 1.99-12ubuntu5
  grub-pc-bin 1.99-12ubuntu5
  grub2-common 1.99-12ubuntu5

  I have previous kernels installed, one of which I want to boot from by default.
  By setting GRUB_DEFAULT in /etc/default/grub and running update-grub (or similarly via startup-manager, though that has a bug I'll be reporting separately) I can tell Grub which kernel to boot.

  However. When the grub.cfg file is built, my old kernels appear in a
  submenu (copy of file attached). It seems that the default number is
  taken as to mean the default number on the main menu and the submenu
  is ignored. So instead of booting my chosen kernel, my computer boots
  into memtest instead.

  Kernels should be auto-bootable whether or not they're in a Grub
  submenu

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