Changing the order in OS swap menu at boot?

jstarks4444 · 11-22-2006, 06:46 PM

Hi, I recently installed Xubuntu onto a hard drive with Windows XP already on it. I set up the swap partition and for the most part startup works fine. It goes into the menu and prompts to select an OS, otherwise the highlighted entry will boot in 10 or so seconds. My question is how can I change the order of the entries so that Windows XP is highlighted by default so that one could just turn the computer on and let it boot into Windows automatically? All help appreciated!

**K-B** · 11-22-2006, 07:02 PM

Hi, first of all welcome to TSF!
There's another thread here with a similar topic. However, I'll outline the steps:

Open the terminal and type:

Code:

gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst

An editor will open. If you want, you can paste the contents of the file here, and we'll tell you what changes to make. But if you feel up to it, feel free to do it yourself. You'll need to change the following settings:

Code:

default

and

Code:

timeout

(change the timeout setting to however many seconds you want GRUB to wait before booting the default system). Default
Now, in your menu.lst file, count the number of OS entries. Remember to start counting from zero, not 1. For instance, the first entry is 0, not one.
Figure out what number you Windows entry is. Then change the "default" setting to that number. For example, Windows is number 3. So you would change default to: default 3
That's it! Like I say, if you wish you may post the contents of menu.lst and we can tell you exactly how to configure the default setting.

**Bartender** · 11-22-2006, 07:15 PM

Ah HAH! I caught up with you, j -
Gave you a link in your thread over at Tech Support Guys. Pretty sure it's exactly what kbalona spelled out for you.

**K-B** · 11-23-2006, 03:41 AM

Maybe he wanted a second opinion

jstarks4444 · 11-23-2006, 06:52 AM

LOL, thanks guys. I had some trouble at first because I confused lst with 1st but after that was cleared up it was fine. Thanks for the help!

11-22-2006, 06:46 PM	#1 (permalink)
jstarks4444 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 5 OS: Windows XP	Changing the order in OS swap menu at boot? Hi, I recently installed Xubuntu onto a hard drive with Windows XP already on it. I set up the swap partition and for the most part startup works fine. It goes into the menu and prompts to select an OS, otherwise the highlighted entry will boot in 10 or so seconds. My question is how can I change the order of the entries so that Windows XP is highlighted by default so that one could just turn the computer on and let it boot into Windows automatically? All help appreciated!

11-22-2006, 07:02 PM	#2 (permalink)
K-B Moderator, Linux Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: NY Posts: 2,876 OS: Vista, Ubuntu My System	Hi, first of all welcome to TSF! There's another thread here with a similar topic. However, I'll outline the steps: Open the terminal and type: Code: gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst An editor will open. If you want, you can paste the contents of the file here, and we'll tell you what changes to make. But if you feel up to it, feel free to do it yourself. You'll need to change the following settings: Code: default and Code: timeout (change the timeout setting to however many seconds you want GRUB to wait before booting the default system). Default Now, in your menu.lst file, count the number of OS entries. Remember to start counting from zero, not 1. For instance, the first entry is 0, not one. Figure out what number you Windows entry is. Then change the "default" setting to that number. For example, Windows is number 3. So you would change default to: default 3 That's it! Like I say, if you wish you may post the contents of menu.lst and we can tell you exactly how to configure the default setting. __________________

11-23-2006, 03:41 AM	#4 (permalink)
K-B Moderator, Linux Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: NY Posts: 2,876 OS: Vista, Ubuntu My System	Maybe he wanted a second opinion __________________

11-22-2006, 07:15 PM	#3 (permalink)
Bartender Mentally divergent Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Chehalis, WA, USA Posts: 1,285 OS: W2K, Ubuntu 8.04	Ah HAH! I caught up with you, j - Gave you a link in your thread over at Tech Support Guys. Pretty sure it's exactly what kbalona spelled out for you.

11-23-2006, 06:52 AM	#5 (permalink)
jstarks4444 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 5 OS: Windows XP	LOL, thanks guys. I had some trouble at first because I confused lst with 1st but after that was cleared up it was fine. Thanks for the help!