Ubuntu 10.04 LTS delayed by last minute GRUB bug

The Ubuntu developers have decided, on the day planned for the of release of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, that a bug in the GRUB bootloader is sufficiently important that they are "respinning" the ISO images for the operating system. The bug, identified earlier in the week, affects users who are installing Ubuntu in a dual boot environment, which would be the likely choice for those trying Ubuntu for the first time. Following installation, the other operating system does not appear in the GRUB boot menu. Although the other operating system will appear after installing updates and rebooting (essentially - downloading and installing a bug fixed version of GRUB) the Ubuntu developers felt the flaw was critical enough to require respins, especially considering the wide range of users they expect to be using Ubuntu 10.04LTS.

As it would take some time to respin all the variants of Ubuntu, possibly pushing the release into May, they have decided to respin just the Ubuntu 32-bit and 64-bit desktop CDs, and the Ubuntu 10.04 Netbook Edition. These respins are expected to be made available later today, but could be delayed until tomorrow. The other versions of Ubuntu will follow later. Details of how the problem is being handled are available on the Ubuntu wiki.

Update: Ubuntu 10.04 LTS has now been released. Details of the changes and new features in Lucid Lynx can be found in the feature "What's new in Ubuntu 10.04 LTS".

(djwm)