Please attach the graphics patch you used and I'll test it out.

nevermind, found it linked on your forum post. Thanks.

I must be missing something. It's not working here.

- built new grub with graphics patch and splash.xpm.gz
- added splashimage line to menu.lst
- copied new grub stage files into /boot/grub/
- re-installed the bootloader with install-grub
- rebooted


Nada. :(

do you have a separate /boot partition, or not?

Some people tell me that it worked if change the splashimage path from /grub/splash.xpm.gz to /boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz

Check if your system has the splash support. Download this script http://ruslug.rutgers.edu/~mcgrof/grub-images/checksplash.sh and execute it, it will check your grub images and tell you if bootsplash support is included or not.

I fixed, grab the new revised package from the same forum link, or from here

----------------------------
# Contributor: Mario A. Vazquez <mario_vazq@hotmail.com>
pkgname=grub
pkgver=0.95
pkgrel=4
pkgdesc="A GNU multiboot boot loader"
url="http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/"
depends=('ncurses')
source=(ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/grub/grub-$pkgver.tar.gz \
menu.lst install-grub grub-0.95-graphics.patch)
backup=('boot/grub/menu.lst')
md5sums=('4ca8e4363d5f1980f2c63b7f5cdbe0d1' '5802ecfcac64057a770947be7e26c045'\
'3b108306c5e76968de9dc01216ba1ef7' '869ec0321f79fa7a84a7d7656c220ef1')

build() {
cd $startdir/src/$pkgname-$pkgver
# add graphic background support
patch -p1 < $startdir/grub-0.95-graphics.patch

# Reconfigure due to patch new files
autoreconf --install --force

# optimizations break the build -- disable them
CFLAGS= ./configure --prefix=/usr --bindir=/bin --sbindir=/sbin
CFLAGS= make || return 1
make prefix=$startdir/pkg/usr bindir=$startdir/pkg/bin \
sbindir=$startdir/pkg/sbin install
mkdir -p $startdir/pkg/boot/grub
cp ../menu.lst $startdir/pkg/boot/grub
cp $startdir/splash.xpm.gz $startdir/pkg/boot/grub
install -m755 -D ../install-grub $startdir/pkg/sbin/install-grub
}
--------------------------------------

In order to the patch be fully applied, a autoreconf must be performed. That was missing in the previous package post.

Made some cleanups and tests, please use this one instead.

#------------------------PKGBUILD-------------------------
# Contributor: Mario A. Vazquez <mario_vazq@hotmail.com>
pkgname=grub
pkgver=0.95
pkgrel=4
pkgdesc="A GNU multiboot boot loader"
url="http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/"
depends=('ncurses')
source=(ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/grub/grub-$pkgver.tar.gz \
menu.lst install-grub grub-0.95-graphics.patch)
backup=('boot/grub/menu.lst')
md5sums=('4ca8e4363d5f1980f2c63b7f5cdbe0d1' '5802ecfcac64057a770947be7e26c045'\
'3b108306c5e76968de9dc01216ba1ef7' '869ec0321f79fa7a84a7d7656c220ef1')

build() {
cd $startdir/src/$pkgname-$pkgver
# add graphic background support
patch -p1 < ../grub-0.95-graphics.patch

# optimizations break the build -- disable them
autoreconf --install --force
CFLAGS="-Os -g" ; export CFLAGS
mkdir -p $startdir/pkg/{boot/grub,usr,bin,sbin}

./configure --prefix=$startdir/pkg/usr --bindir=$startdir/pkg/bin \
--sbindir=$startdir/pkg/sbin --disable-auto-linux-mem-opt

make || return 1
make install || return 1

cp ../menu.lst $startdir/pkg/boot/grub
cp ../../splash.xpm.gz $startdir/pkg/boot/grub
install -m755 -D ../install-grub $startdir/pkg/sbin/install-grub
}
#------------------------PKGBUILD-------------------------

I updated the PKGBUILD to the latest grub 0.96. All files are on the same forum entry (thus replacing the old ones). Also modify the PKGBUILD to make it more consistent with the current one on base repository.

#--------------------CUT AFTER THIS-------------------------
# Contributor: Mario A. Vazquez <mario_vazq@hotmail.com>
pkgname=grub
pkgver=0.96
pkgrel=2
pkgdesc="A GNU multiboot boot loader"
url="http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/"
depends=('ncurses')
makedepends=('gzip')
source=(ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/grub/grub-$pkgver.tar.gz \
menu.lst install-grub grub-0.96-graphics.patch splash.xpm.gz)
backup=('boot/grub/menu.lst')
md5sums=('47c228c88f848873288ad1cd04cc93f0' '5802ecfcac64057a770947be7e26c045'\
'8c9cdb9b38cb158f762cac8fc7eabb28' '85a7a4fd93f48e9a4c1c311db297f97d'\
'894e82424f2d1cf4a76613e546645255')

build() {
cd $startdir/src/$pkgname-$pkgver
# add graphic background support
patch -p1 < ../grub-0.96-graphics.patch || return -1

# optimizations break the build -- disable them
autoreconf --install --force
CFLAGS= ./configure --prefix=/usr --bindir=/bin --sbindir=/sbin
CFLAGS= make || return 1
make DESTDIR=$startdir/pkg install
gzip ../splash.xpm
install -D -m644 ../menu.lst $startdir/pkg/boot/grub/menu.lst
install -D -m644 ../splash.xpm.gz $startdir/pkg/boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz
install -D -m755 ../install-grub $startdir/pkg/sbin/install-grub
}
#--------------------UP TO PREVIOUS LINE-------------------------

The only problem found is that if the splash is included with the other files on the file list and md5sum list, then makepkg will decompress the splash image when extracting the source files. That's why I included gzip to recompress the splash again. I dunno if the splash can be used without compression, or a file can be bypassed from the uncompress stage.

remove the dependency of gzip, but now the splash.xpm.gz is taken from $startdir instead of $startdir/src.

# Contributor: Mario A. Vazquez <mario_vazq@hotmail.com>
pkgname=grub
pkgver=0.96
pkgrel=3
pkgdesc="A GNU multiboot boot loader"
url="http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/"
depends=('ncurses')
makedepends=('')
source=(ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/grub/grub-$pkgver.tar.gz \
menu.lst install-grub grub-0.96-graphics.patch splash.xpm.gz)
backup=('boot/grub/menu.lst')
md5sums=('47c228c88f848873288ad1cd04cc93f0' '5802ecfcac64057a770947be7e26c045'\
'8c9cdb9b38cb158f762cac8fc7eabb28' '85a7a4fd93f48e9a4c1c311db297f97d'\
'894e82424f2d1cf4a76613e546645255')

build() {
cd $startdir/src/$pkgname-$pkgver
# add graphic background support
patch -p1 < ../grub-0.96-graphics.patch || return -1

# optimizations break the build -- disable them
autoreconf --install --force
CFLAGS= ./configure --prefix=/usr --bindir=/bin --sbindir=/sbin
CFLAGS= make || return 1
make DESTDIR=$startdir/pkg install
install -D -m644 ../menu.lst $startdir/pkg/boot/grub/menu.lst
install -D -m644 $startdir/splash.xpm.gz $startdir/pkg/boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz
install -D -m755 ../install-grub $startdir/pkg/sbin/install-grub
}

There was an issue with the splash path on previous posted PKGBUILD's. Users with a separate /boot partition like myself only need to specify splashimage /grub/splash.xpm.gz while users with /boot as part of the / partition has to specify the complete path: splashimage /boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz.

Other distributions bypass that problem by making the following symlink on /boot: ln -s . boot

I added the instruction to perform the symlink on the PKGBUILD. Hopefully there will be no more issues with the package.

#----------------PKGBUILD below---------------------------------
# Contributor: Mario A. Vazquez <mario_vazq@hotmail.com>
pkgname=grub
pkgver=0.96
pkgrel=4
pkgdesc="A GNU multiboot boot loader"
url="http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/"
depends=('ncurses')
makedepends=('')
source=(ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/grub/grub-$pkgver.tar.gz \
menu.lst install-grub grub-0.96-graphics.patch splash.xpm.gz)
backup=('boot/grub/menu.lst')
md5sums=('47c228c88f848873288ad1cd04cc93f0' '5802ecfcac64057a770947be7e26c045'\
'8c9cdb9b38cb158f762cac8fc7eabb28' '85a7a4fd93f48e9a4c1c311db297f97d'\
'894e82424f2d1cf4a76613e546645255')

build() {
cd $startdir/src/$pkgname-$pkgver
# add graphic background support
patch -p1 < ../grub-0.96-graphics.patch || return -1

# optimizations break the build -- disable them
autoreconf --install --force
CFLAGS= ./configure --prefix=/usr --bindir=/bin --sbindir=/sbin
CFLAGS= make || return 1
make DESTDIR=$startdir/pkg install
install -D -m644 ../menu.lst $startdir/pkg/boot/grub/menu.lst
install -D -m644 $startdir/splash.xpm.gz $startdir/pkg/boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz
install -D -m755 ../install-grub $startdir/pkg/sbin/install-grub

# make symlink to fix path issues with splashimage
ln -sf . $startdir/pkg/boot/boot
}

All the details of the path fix are on the forum thread

http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?t=9081

oh now it works?
I can't wait..!

requires patching to grub source, customisation is generally against arch policy. closing.