Editing /boot/grub/menu.lst to change the GRUB boot menu
Here’s a helpful reference. And here’s what I did:
The GRUB boot menu configuration is in the file
/boot/grub/menu.ls
1. backup menu.ls:
sudo cp /boot/grub/menu.lst /boot/grub/menu.lst-backup
2. edit menu.ls:
sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst
3. Move the paragraph with the WinXP options up the list.
4. Change default to 1 (was 0)
default 1
5. comment out the lines about “Other operating systems“
So now I have the following options when booting:
- Microsoft Windows XP Professional
- Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-10-generic
- Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-10-generic (recovery mode)
- Ubuntu, memtest86+
…and the second option is automatically selected and boots-up after 10 seconds if I don’t do anything.
Here is the contents of the resulting file (showing only the uncommented lines)
default 1
timeout 10
title Microsoft Windows XP Professional
root (hd0,1)
savedefault
makeactive
chainloader +1
title Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-10-generic
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.17-10-generic root=/dev/sda5 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.17-10-generic
quiet
savedefault
boot
title Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-10-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.17-10-generic root=/dev/sda5 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.17-10-generic
boot
title Ubuntu, memtest86+
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet
boot