change an OS name in the MX grub menu

[arky217]

I have searched this over and over again, but can't find an answer.
MX is my daily driver and I use the MX grub to start MX.
However, I have several other OS's installed that appear on the MX grub menu.
One of them is Debian and it appears as Debian on the MX grub menu.
Another is Emmabuntus, but it appears as Debian also on the MX grub menu.
How can I change the menu name for the Emmabuntus OS from Debian to Emmabuntus ?

[CharlesV]

I believe it can be done using several different methods:
1) edit grub when it comes up and change the name

2) Grub Customizer ( MX menu )

3) edit the grub configuration files directly (i dont advise this one, but there are many articles out there about how to change them - if yo do this, just be sure to use a clean text editor and ONLY change the name.

*And* as with anything of this nature... before you do any of these, I strongly suggest that you have a valid timeshift as well as a good backup of your computer.

[FullScale4Me]

Edit as root the /etc/lsb-release file and change the PRETTY_NAME entry. This will change it just for the Grub on that specific partition.

For all Grubs to see a change edit the DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION field in this same file/partition as well.

Then do 'sudo update-grub' in terminal (less ' ' s) on each to have it take effect. Reboot.

[arky217]

I edited it in the grub menu Debian (the one that's actually Emmabuntus) and changed it from Debian to Emmabuntus,
but when I reboot, it still appears as Debian.

I tried grub customizer, but when I right click on the Emmabuntus entry (which says Debian) and
click rename, it does nothing.

In MX, the /etc/lsb-release file just shows the MX entry,
and when I boot into Emmabuntus, there is no /etc/lsb-release file.

[BitterTruth]

For a quick and dirty solution, you can edit the entry's 'string' in the /boot/grub/grub.cfg file. It will work until you do sudo update-grub after which you will have to change it again. If you get a kernel update, sudo update-grub is done automatically, so you will see things revert.
It tells you all this at the beginning of the file.

Code: Select all

sudo nano /boot/grub/grub.cfg

If you are unsure do this first:

cat /boot/grub/grub.cfg

You can post the output if you want somebody to take a look first.

We are looking for this section:

## BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
function gfxmode {
set gfxpayload="${1}"
}
set linux_gfx_mode=
export linux_gfx_mode
menuentry 'MX 19.4 patito feo' --class mx --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class$
load_video

You will of course be looking for the Emmabuntus entry which you say is listed as Debian (you should have made a note of what number it appears in the grub menu, so that it will be easier to find)

Change only what is in between ' ' for the corresponding menuentry and submenu entry as well to whatever you like.

Reboot to see the string you typed instead of 'Debian'
DO NOT DO SUDO UPDATE-GRUB. otherwise your changes will revert.