GRUB "error: syntax error" on boot

[Xorlathor]

Whenever I boot my laptop, I get the following three lines:

error: syntax error.
error: Incorrect command.
error: syntax error.

Right after I see the error messages for a couple seconds, the boot screen shows up and the rest of the boot progresses as normal. I'm on a Wubi 10.10 ubuntu install and I'm pretty sure this error has something to do with the GRUB_TIMEOUT line on 'etc/default/grub' file.

I was experiencing some weird glitches with the boot splash screen (it was in the wrong resolution and would not display some times) so I edited that file to make it work. Here is the file:

# If you change this file, run 'update-grub' afterwards to update
# /boot/grub/grub.cfg.

GRUB_DEFAULT=0
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=true
GRUB_TIMEOUT=0
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash nomodeset video=uvesafb:mode_option=1280x1024-24,mtrr=3,scroll=ywrap"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

# Uncomment to enable BadRAM filtering, modify to suit your needs
# This works with Linux (no patch required) and with any kernel that obtains
# the memory map information from GRUB (GNU Mach, kernel of FreeBSD ...)
#GRUB_BADRAM="0x01234567,0xfefefefe,0x89abcdef,0xefefefef"

# Uncomment to disable graphical terminal (grub-pc only)
#GRUB_TERMINAL=console

# The resolution used on graphical terminal
# note that you can use only modes which your graphic card supports via VBE
# you can see them in real GRUB with the command `vbeinfo'
GRUB_GFXMODE=1280x1024

# Uncomment if you don't want GRUB to pass "root=UUID=xxx" parameter to Linux
#GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID=true

# Uncomment to disable generation of recovery mode menu entries
#GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_RECOVERY="true"

# Uncomment to get a beep at grub start
#GRUB_INIT_TUNE="480 440 1"

When I set GRUB_TIMEOUT to 5, I don't get the error messages on boot. Any help in this problem would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[sikander3786]

Don't set it to 0. You need to set that to 1 or higher. Explained here.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Gr...ing%20GRUB%202

[Xorlathor]

Don't set it to 0. You need to set that to 1 or higher. Explained here.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Gr...ing%20GRUB%202

If I set it to 1, doesn't it make it show the GRUB menu for 1 second?

I installed Ubuntu by Wubi, so I can choose whether to boot into Windows 7 or Ubuntu via the Windows bootloader (which appears before the GRUB menu in my boot).

I dont' want to see the GRUB bootloader at all - how can I do this?

[Quackers]

I'm just guessing here but shouldn't
mode_option=1280x1024-24 be
mode_option=1280x1024x24
or am I wrong?

[Xorlathor]

I'm just guessing here but shouldn't
mode_option=1280x1024-24 be
mode_option=1280x1024x24
or am I wrong?

When I set it to 1280x1024x24, I get a weird greenish-colored screen with horizontal lines instead of the regular boot screen animation. The other way (1280x1024-24) works fine.

[Quackers]

Oh dear! Sorry about that, but it just looked odd to me. Ignore me, I'll eventually go away

[Xorlathor]

Oh dear! Sorry about that, but it just looked odd to me. Ignore me, I'll eventually go away

Haha no problem, I just changed the line back and everything's fine now - except for the original problem. Any ideas on how to fix it?

[Quackers]

Unfortunately not. I am unfamiliar with wubi installs and I would not like to give dodgy information!
You know what the doctors say - first do no harm!

[Xorlathor]

Unfortunately not. I am unfamiliar with wubi installs and I would not like to give dodgy information!
You know what the doctors say - first do no harm!

I don't think this is a Wubi-specific problem, but more a problem of GRUB.

[sikander3786]

From the link in my previos post, it states,

GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0 on single operating system computers.

* No menu is displayed. The system is immediately booted to the default OS.
* This is the default setting with only one identified operating system.
o

To display the menu under this condition, place a # symbol at the start of the line and ensure the GRUB_TIMEOUT setting is a positive integer.
*

If the value is set to 0, a keystatus check is performed to determine if the SHIFT key is depressed. If GRUB 2 determines the SHIFT key is depressed during the boot process, the menu will be displayed. This gives the user a method of interrupting an automatic boot which would normally not display the menu.

So all you need to do is set GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0, GRUB_TIMEOUT=5 or 10 and then run

sudo update-grub

Starup manager is another option.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/StartUpManager