Hi Everyone,

Ubuntu 9.10 really threw me a curve the other day with the new Grub2. Can anyone post some SIMPLE instructions on how to:

1. Change the length of time the dual boot menu stays up
2. How to get rid of everything in the menu EXCEPT for Ubuntu and Win 7
3. How to change the order so Windows is first option to boot and then Ubuntu is second

If you know how to do this, can you please post step-by-step instructions, NO links to other sites that have 20 instructions for multiple things. I just want to know how to do, what used to be, one simple thing.

Not sure how QuickStart is going to fare with 9.10, but I'm going to look at it again later if/when I can get the Grub2 menu situation fixed for me.

Thanks for you help in advance...

Ok, open /etc/default/grub with a text editor eg:

For #1 Scroll down to
And change it to what you like.

For #3 scroll to the line and change it to your preferred default, with 0 being the first on the list, 1 being the second etc...

And now for #2, which seems to be the most complicated. Heres what I got about making a totally custom menu:

# Building a Totally Customized Menu: Ok, admit you are a control freak and you want to see only what you build yourself - customized titles, no "memtest86+" and no extra kernels. Here is how you do it:

* To get the current available kernels run:


* Copy the desired "menuentry" listings from /boot/grub/grub.cfg to /etc/grub.d/40_custom. The entry begins with the line starting with "menuentry" and ends with a line containing "}".

* Add any other "menuentry" items you wish to see on the boot menu.

* Edit the titles of the "menuentry" line if desired (between the quotation symbols). Do not change the lines following the "menuentry" line. Each entry should start with a "menuentry" line and end with a "}" on the last line.

* Remove the executable bit from /etc/grub.d/10_linux, /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ and /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober (Removing the executable bit from any file in /etc/grub.d will exclude the file from being included in grub updates.)

To remove executable bit, run:


Now update grub by running:

* The updated /boot/grub/grub.cfg file should now contain only sections for "00_header", "05_debian_theme" and "40_custom".

* The grub.cfg file will not be updated with the addition of a new kernel. To add a new kernel, make "10_linux" executable, run "sudo update-grub" to refresh the available kernels, and repeat these instructions.

Hope that helps

As for karmic, most things in Quickstart seem to work, it is just the DVD/Codecs that don't work yet. I havent tested every option, but that seems to be it (other than editing menu.lst of course )

Thanks Talsemgeest.... I was telling a friend of mine today about you and told him I pretty much expect you'll be the one with the answer shortly.

I will do this tomorrow and hope it is in fact this easy and works.

Did you mean to say the DVD/Codecs DOESN'T work with Karmic? I already updated QuickStart to work with Karmic. However, after I tested the DVD, I got an error in the movie player ........ AND THEN it began playing the movie as if nothing was wrong. We'll see how it goes tomorrow when I try everything again.

Thanks T!

P.S. Yes, I know about the menu.lst option, but it will still work for those who are keeping 9.04 and earlier. Could phase it out in a year or so, but I don't think it's necessary right now. Let me know if you or anyone disagrees with that....

Haha, thanks for the kind words, I appreciate it.

Anyway, I only tested it about a week ago, so did you update it after that? I will have another try soon, just to check if anything different happens.

Also, in zenity is there an if/then function? If there is, perhaps you could use to take the distribution name and, if it is Ubuntu 9.10, not show the Edit Menu.lst? A complex solution for a simple problem, but it is an idea anyway

No, I made the update on this end, but because of the initial error and Grub2 I never got any further.

Update: DVD/Codecs is now updated. You should see a message to download updates when using QuickStart.