Multi boot system with Ubuntu (GRUB)

[Pyrotechnic]

Multi boot system with Ubuntu (GRUB)

Introduction

Ubuntu comes with a handy boot screen, called Grand Unified Bootloader, or GRUB. This screen can, however, in your eyes, a number of startup options to show much, or too little. So I put in this tutorial how to change this screen.

Warning

In this tutorial we will work with the file "menu.lst". This file has GRUB (and Ubuntu) is needed to start.
So on what you adjust!

Any errors can be restored by using the boot CD of Ubuntu, "menu.lst" in your partition to find and then repair. I know from experience that it is not a good feeling when you think your files are lost. To ensure that you can always return to the point, it's a backup to the file "menu.lst". In this case you do not always remember what you've adjusted in case things go wrong.

Customize

First of course you install Ubuntu, if you do not know how to do this, we refer you to like our Installation instructions for Ubuntu 8.04. If you have Ubuntu installed and you start your computer, then you get a multi-boot screen where you can choose which installation you want to boot. Ubuntu itself, Windows XP (if it is also installed), or do you still prefer to take a memory test?

If you only your Linux Ubuntu and Windows XP, then you can change that. For this we start on Ubuntu. Open the Terminal Window ( "Application" -> "Tools" -> "Terminal Window") and type:

 "sudo gedit"

Press enter and enter your password. You will see nothing, no asterisks, so do this carefully.

You are using the command "sudo". Sudo stands for Super User Do ", and gives you root rights. If you do not have these rights, you can not save file of GRUB.

Gedit is a kind of notebook. If it is started, press left on "File". Choose "Boot", "grub" and then "menu.lst". Press "Search" and search on "Ubuntu".

 "sudo gedit / boot / grub / menu.lst"

As you see you can now change the names and a few things that you do not want to come. Would you like to rule, then all the rules away. From "title" to the last point for the line spacing.

You can also open in the terminal window to direct the following types:

[Pyrotechnic]

Windows add to Grub

Fdisk

If you only have Windows installed after Ubuntu was installed on your computer, Grub has therefore not found when installing Ubuntu. You should so have to add. This goes as follows. First you need to know what hard drive and / or partition the Windows installation. This may be using Fdisk. Fdisk is a text-based program, meaning that through the terminal is running and no graphical interface has.

So open your terminal via "Applications" -> "Tools" -> "Terminal Window". Type the following:

 "sudo fdisk-l"

You have now your password. Do this. You get an overview of the hard disks and partitions in your computer.

"dev" stands for Device. This is simply computer. "sd" to "sda" implies that this is a SATA or SCSI hard disk is. The "a" means that this is the first disk in the primary locked. The first hard disk so. If you use IDE instead of SATA, like me, you will "hda" view.

The figures after "sda" indicate the partition number.

Windows Add

Now you know open your "menu.lst" via the famous road. Go to the bottom and copy the following to the list:

 title Microsoft Windows XP Professional root (hd0, 0) save default makeactive chainloader loader 1

Here, the attention, at root (hd0, 0) fill in the first figure in which hard disk it is. For me this is "sda". The "a" is the first letter in the alphabet. Computers, however, start counting at 0. It is the same as a 0. Since GRUB does not distinguish between "sd" and "hd", fill in root always "hd" in. The number behind the decimal point is the partition number. As you can see the picture above is my Windows partition 1. Once again, computers start counting at 0. Windows is by me to "hd0, 0.

If you're still in "menu.lst" is, you can purge the list, so you boot screen is what looks netter. If you can name in the startup screen in menu.lst the "title" to them. You can also the parts you do not intend to simply use the list.
So, I this:

title Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-9-generic root (hd0, 4) kernel / boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-21-generic root = UUID = 61f48300-4426-4b94-8ac2-e4421968645c ro quiet splash initrd / boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-21-generic quiet title Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-9-generic root (hd0, 4) kernel / boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-21-generic (recovery mode) root = UUID = 61f48300-4426-4b94-8ac2-e4421968645c ro single initrd / boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-21-generic title Ubuntu 8.04.1, memtest86 + root (hd0, 4) kernel / boot / memtest86 +. bin quiet

went to this:

 title Ubuntu root (hd0, 4) kernel / boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-21-generic root = UUID = 61f48300-4426-4b94-8ac2-e4421968645c ro quiet splash initrd / boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-21 -generic quiet title Windows XP Professional root (hd0, 0) save default makeactive chainloader loader 1

The startup screen looks as follows:

Abstract concepts list:

chain loader

Grub gives control to the program, namely windows.

makeactive

Is the root partition (hd0, 0 in my Windows) active partition.

save default

Ensures that the previous default GRUB remembers.

Aware that when you remove these rules, you do not check box in the case of faulty hardware or a damaged boot partition.

[Pyrotechnic]

GUI for GRUB

Graphical interface

After writing this tutorial, I was drawn to a GUI (Graphical User Interface) for GRUB. This program has the name "QGRUBEditor. By using this program turn the operations of the Terminal window. You will still own data when you need to fill a partition want to add.

Boot Partition

If you all parhebt tities that you want to see you found and set, you can also choose which partition automatically start. This is useful when you for example on Windows is much more than Ubuntu. Standard chooses to GRUB on Ubuntu to start. Follow these steps and you have it all himself in the hand.

To begin with we open the file "menu.lst" again. Go to the bottom. Here are all your boot partitions. Copy and paste the partition you want to start simply by default at the top of the list. From now start partition automatically.


Startup Time

Also you can choose how many seconds the menu.lst before GRUB an automatic choice. In "menu.lst" we look for "timeout". If it is good see you three times timeout highlighted. Behind the lower state "10". Change in the number of seconds you want to wait before your computer automatically go.

[Theodot]

Also useful, for example, the default operating system and some things in Grub to change the startup manager. Just a gui for all these things to do, to install via Synaptic.

[Kirmiac]

1 thing you miss here:

In GUI for grub, I thought there was a boat-gui, not a GUI grub to adapt.
Manual de / boot / grub / menu.lst fit is still the best programs spreads can sometimes resist.

But what I am missing is a method for a boot-gui, too.
Now it's just a black screen with white text.
With a boot-gui I mean something that you get the grub that you get with open suse.
This is not black and white, which is a background, beautiful countdown etc.

Ok, ok, it's not really useful, but as the proverb says: the eye wants what.

Otherwise you could also just an OS without background or something have everything black and white text, etc..

[socket478]

hello all...

I'm a new comer here ...

I have no anything experiences about grub. but for some reasons i would like to make my USB Flash Disk become a multi-bootable disk. I had walked around and finally found Grub4Dos.

I have inserted miniPE (extracted), AVG Rescue Disk (ISO), MemTest (extracted), also eScan (ISO), PTTTD (extracted) but three of them couldn't be booted (miniPE, AVG, eScan).

They just have the titles only, but couldn't be booted .

Could you all help me pls to explain the menu.lst commands. And I will give here feedback as soon as possible

Thx a lot, and I'm so sorry about my bad English. I'm a lazy student .

[EINSTEIN_007]

hello all...

I'm a new comer here ...

I have no anything experiences about grub. but for some reasons i would like to make my USB Flash Disk become a multi-bootable disk. I had walked around and finally found Grub4Dos.

I have inserted miniPE (extracted), AVG Rescue Disk (ISO), MemTest (extracted), also eScan (ISO), PTTTD (extracted) but three of them couldn't be booted (miniPE, AVG, eScan).

They just have the titles only, but couldn't be booted .

Could you all help me pls to explain the menu.lst commands. And I will give here feedback as soon as possible

Thx a lot, and I'm so sorry about my bad English. I'm a lazy student .

It seems that you havent made proper bootable iso or something as per my guess, so try to use some other applications like SYSLINUX or follow the proper instructions given here to create multi-bootable disk by using the same software Grub4Dos.

[Mantau_Demons]

I have a question about GRUB (or other bootloaders):
is it possible to somehow set it up that the bootloader remembers the last OS used?
I need an 8 OS system here for testing, which includes loads of rebooting. Is it possible, or is there any bootloader at all, that remembers the last boot setting, and starts that OS after... lets say 10 seconds? I have yet to find such an option with GRUB.

[Lillebror]

This might be not possible with GRUB. There are lots of options available for configuring the current installed operating system. Grub is a Linux boot manager and it automatically searches for what partition Linux is installed. For such thing you might need for some advance boot manager system which can keep a track of what operating system you are using with original settings. Once of the example for that is GAG.

[zhanghuxyz]

My goal is to add Ubuntu Linux to the laptop which already has Windows XP installed (I have another guide for installing with Windows Vista using Wubi). This HOWTO does not cover the case where Linux is installed first, then Windows is installed (if you do install Windows second and it overwrites your Linux bootloader, this link and this link show how to recover). I think, in general, installing Linux second is more useful.

[phantom309]

I have a dual boot, dual disk system. Windows 7 one drive and Ubuntu 12.04 on another. I manualy booted through my Bios to get to Ubuntu after update (11.10 to 12.04)(It will mess your grub up on a clean install or update).

Then in Terminal, I used;

$ sudo add-get-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair && sudo apt-get update

Then

$ sudo apt-get install -y boot-repair && boot-repair

A boot repair pain will pop up and use "Recommended repair" button
(repairs most frequent problems)

You should get the Grub during your next boot... Select what OS you want...

Hope this can be useful...