Key Press to GRUB

kyle94481 · 06-30-2009, 09:15 PM

Is there any way to set up a loader like GRUB to be initialized on boot only from a key press instead of having it automatically load. I ask this because I have less technically minded people in my house using the same desktop.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, if I can't get this I more then likely won't install a distro on this computer.

**wmorri** · 06-30-2009, 09:28 PM

Hi,

So essentially you want to know if there is a way to make the count down timer disappear so that people can choose from the list of installed OS's. I will do a little looking I believe that it is a simple config file change but I will have to do a little trying on my virtual machine.

Ok, I figured this out. You need to get to the config file for grub. To get to this go to Terminal. To get to Terminal go to Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal. From there you will need to enter this into it.

Code:

cd /boot/grub/
sudo nano menu.lst the l is a lower case L

Next you will see a configuration file. You will need to scroll down the ## timeout sec. Once there look three lines down and you will see timeout 3. You will need to change that line. To change that line just put a # in front of the word timeout. Then you hit CTRL+O to save the document. Then hit y for yes, and then CTRL+X to exit.

Cheers!

kyle94481 · 06-30-2009, 09:39 PM

That's absolutely what I mean!

06-30-2009, 09:15 PM	#1 (permalink)
kyle94481 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Floridaaa Posts: 7 OS: Vista SP1 64 Bit	Key Press to GRUB Is there any way to set up a loader like GRUB to be initialized on boot only from a key press instead of having it automatically load. I ask this because I have less technically minded people in my house using the same desktop. Any help would be greatly appreciated, if I can't get this I more then likely won't install a distro on this computer.

06-30-2009, 09:28 PM	#2 (permalink)
wmorri Moderator/Fedora Amb. Join Date: May 2008 Location: /pm/etc Posts: 3,186 OS: Window 7/Fedora 10 My System	Re: Key Press to GRUB Hi, So essentially you want to know if there is a way to make the count down timer disappear so that people can choose from the list of installed OS's. I will do a little looking I believe that it is a simple config file change but I will have to do a little trying on my virtual machine. Ok, I figured this out. You need to get to the config file for grub. To get to this go to Terminal. To get to Terminal go to Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal. From there you will need to enter this into it. Code: cd /boot/grub/ sudo nano menu.lst the l is a lower case L Next you will see a configuration file. You will need to scroll down the ## timeout sec. Once there look three lines down and you will see timeout 3. You will need to change that line. To change that line just put a # in front of the word timeout. Then you hit CTRL+O to save the document. Then hit y for yes, and then CTRL+X to exit. Cheers! __________________ Linux Forever! Last edited by wmorri; 06-30-2009 at 09:44 PM.

06-30-2009, 09:39 PM	#3 (permalink)
kyle94481 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Floridaaa Posts: 7 OS: Vista SP1 64 Bit	Re: Key Press to GRUB That's absolutely what I mean!