/boot/grub/menu.lst not there[SOLVED]

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shua

/boot/grub/menu.lst not there[SOLVED]

Post by shua »

this is kind of weird, i wanted to change my boot options on my mint 7 grub booting screen. i went to open menu.lst but when i went into /boot the only thing there is initrd.img-2.6.28-11-generic. nothing else. i just reinstalled my system before this and /boot is on the outermost ext2 partition. is there anywhere else the grub folder might be :? . i haven't had a problem with the grub boot menu yet; it looks the same as my old install. i just noticed this.

edit: did a filesystem search for it and came up with two examples but the actual menu.lst isn't anywhere to be found :?
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
clhodapp

Re: /boot/grub/menu.lst not there

Post by clhodapp »

Try installing kgrubeditor, going down to tools, and hitting "view configuration files". If we're lucky, it will show the actual location of your config file on the first tab.
markcynt

Re: /boot/grub/menu.lst not there

Post by markcynt »

In a terminal, type or copy/paste

Code: Select all

sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst
shua

Re: /boot/grub/menu.lst not there

Post by shua »

first of all:
clodapp: I'm hesitant to try your solution because it installs a lot of kde binaries and such that I don't know how it would effect my config files on my gnome system and it's not a big enough problem that I want to make it an even bigger problem trying to fix the minute changes back to the way I want them, but thank you for you intuitive solution(plus it's so much work, you have to open up synaptic and find the program :) )

and second: (I know this answer won't solve the original problem, but it's just nice to get back to my beloved readers sometimes, and this may solve problems of a different nature somewhere else and i ask you to please read to the end)
Markcynt I didn't feel that you answer really had any thought put into it but you just saw the keywords "menu.lst" and "edit" and immediately you assumed i was incompetant or that somehow simply typing into the terminal what I had been trying to do would have fixed the problem. I can really edit the file /boot/grub/menu.lst if there's no /grub folder now can I? just putting sudo in the front doesn't make the file suddenly appear :shock: ) and just putting code in your answers may make it seem more correct than clodapp's but it really isn't, I could have just used the "open as root" command in nautilus, so you really don't need to use the terminal. I'm sorry if I'm coming over as a little cross, but the post wouldn't have been called "/boot/grub/menu.lst not there" if the file was there, I could have told you your answer was wrong without even reading the whole question, just look at the title next time please. :? I understand you probably had no idea that i already tried that, but you could have at least added "I assumed you've tried the obvious" to the beginning instead of a "I don't have time to read or answer fully so i'll just put the 'try clicking on it with more gusto' answer."

Sorry it had to be you but there are two people on forums that really tick me off. There are the people who your answer actually would have helped (help vampires), aka the people who don't try every obvious option before asking a questions on a forum, and there are the people who treat people like me who have tried the obvious solutions like "sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst" like I obviously just need to be more terminal "savvy" like you.

(THE POST'S TITLE IS "/boot/grub/menu.lst not there" SO WHERE IS IT? NOT THERE!)

If you were seriously trying to add helpful input to my problem than i thank you for your answer and none of that was directed at you.

thank you and I understand that this didn't solve the original problem or helped in any way.
Fred

Re: /boot/grub/menu.lst not there

Post by Fred »

shua,

Please post your /etc/fstab file. Type "/etc/fstab" without the quotes in the url line of your browser, and press enter. Post what pops up. :-)

Fred
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mzsade
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Re: /boot/grub/menu.lst not there

Post by mzsade »

Sorry it had to be you but there are two people on forums that really tick me off. There are the people who your answer actually would have helped (help vampires), aka the people who don't try every obvious option before asking a questions on a forum,
:wink: Hey! Who u callin' vampire?
Last edited by mzsade on Sun Oct 04, 2009 5:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
Linux User #481272 Reg: 15th Sept., 2008
markcynt

Re: /boot/grub/menu.lst not there

Post by markcynt »

shua wrote:first of all:
Markcynt I didn't feel that you answer really had any thought put into it but you just saw the keywords "menu.lst" and "edit" and immediately you assumed i was incompetant or that somehow simply typing into the terminal what I had been trying to do would have fixed the problem. I can really edit the file /boot/grub/menu.lst if there's no /grub folder now can I? just putting sudo in the front doesn't make the file suddenly appear :shock: ) and just putting code in your answers may make it seem more correct than clodapp's but it really isn't, I could have just used the "open as root" command in nautilus, so you really don't need to use the terminal. I'm sorry if I'm coming over as a little cross, but the post wouldn't have been called "/boot/grub/menu.lst not there" if the file was there, I could have told you your answer was wrong without even reading the whole question, just look at the title next time please. :? I understand you probably had no idea that i already tried that, but you could have at least added "I assumed you've tried the obvious" to the beginning instead of a "I don't have time to read or answer fully so i'll just put the 'try clicking on it with more gusto' answer."

Sorry it had to be you but there are two people on forums that really tick me off. There are the people who your answer actually would have helped (help vampires), aka the people who don't try every obvious option before asking a questions on a forum, and there are the people who treat people like me who have tried the obvious solutions like "sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst" like I obviously just need to be more terminal "savvy" like you.

(THE POST'S TITLE IS "/boot/grub/menu.lst not there" SO WHERE IS IT? NOT THERE!)

If you were seriously trying to add helpful input to my problem than i thank you for your answer and none of that was directed at you.

thank you and I understand that this didn't solve the original problem or helped in any way.
Just trying to help.

How do I know what your capabilities are?

How do I know what you tried?

I think you have sensitivity issues.

Kgrub is a great program on Gonome or KDE. It's harmless.
DrHu

Re: /boot/grub/menu.lst not there

Post by DrHu »

shua wrote:i went to open menu.lst but when i went into /boot the only thing there is initrd.img-2.6.28-11-generic. nothing else. i just reinstalled my system before this and /boot is on the outermost ext2 partition. is there anywhere else the grub folder might be :? . i haven't had a problem with the grub boot menu yet; it looks the same as my old install. i just noticed this.

edit: did a filesystem search for it and came up with two examples but the actual menu.lst isn't anywhere to be found :?
i just reinstalled my system before this and /boot is on the outermost ext2 partition
Probably why Fred wants the /etc/fstab file, wants to know if you have multiple Linux partitions (ext2 ?), since the normal / (root tree for Linux mint) will default to ext3 as the partition type..

Does that indicate you know where the menu.1st file is located, which hard drive
In terminal
sudo fdisk -l

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Here's mine..
sudo fdisk -l
[sudo] password for MintuserID:
   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1   *           1        3891    31254426    7  HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2            3892       14593    85963815    5  Extended
/dev/sda5            3892       14152    82421451   83  Linux
/dev/sda6           14153       14593     3542301   82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda1 * 1 3891 31254426 7 HPFS/NTFS
The * indicates that is the boot drive (the drive where the MBR Master Boot record is stored, that then loads grub to give you the menu selections..)
  • --so my Linux is on /dev/sda5
In terminal
  • df
    df -l
    df /
    --will all give similar data
    mount
    --will also show the format (type of partition ext2, ext3 etc..), so mount gets a similar list for you

Code: Select all

df
Filesystem           1K-blocks      Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda5             81127888  10001028  67005788  13% /
tmpfs                  1030964         0   1030964   0% /lib/init/rw
varrun                 1030964        68   1030896   1% /var/run
varlock                1030964         0   1030964   0% /var/lock
udev                   1030964       152   1030812   1% /dev
tmpfs                  1030964        88   1030876   1% /dev/shm
lrm                    1030964      2192   1028772   1% /lib/modules/2.6.28-15-generic/volatile
--confirmed my active (mounted ) device seems to be /dev/sda5
In terminal

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ls /boot
abi-2.6.28-11-generic         initrd.img-2.6.28-15-generic
abi-2.6.28-13-generic         memtest86+.bin
abi-2.6.28-15-generic         System.map-2.6.28-11-generic
boot                          System.map-2.6.28-13-generic
--yup I have a /boot/grub directory; where menu.1st resides as indicated by locate menu.1st command

is there anywhere else the grub folder might be
Er No, it will be in the /boot/grub directory (folder) on your mounted drive, from where you are running Linux, when you booted the system.
As long as you install grub normally, that is to the MBR, the first hard drive of your system

search for it and came up with two examples but the actual menu.lst isn't anywhere to be found
In terminal, check
  • locate menu.lst
    /boot/grub/menu.lst
    /boot/grub/menu.lst~
    --that's a backup file
    /usr/share/doc/grub-gfxboot/examples/menu.lst
    /usr/share/doc/memtest86+/examples/grub-menu.lst
Fred

Re: /boot/grub/menu.lst not there

Post by Fred »

seabreeze,

Good point. I hadn't even noticed. :-)

Thanks.

Fred
shua

Re: /boot/grub/menu.lst not there

Post by shua »

WOW! now i feel incompetent, sorry markcynt for the erm, shall we say disgruntled reply. :( but i like that sensitivity issues comment.
when someone mentioned to post my fstab i realized that i had set my /boot ext2 to not automatically mount when booted up, so it would show /boot in nautilus or terminal but since it wasn't mounted nothing showed up. wow do i feel stupid and embarrassed. and the whole "The original post was Jul 11 and a follow up post by shua on Oct 4 - that's about 12 weeks apart. Just an observation..." was because i was waiting to see if anyone else had any ideas but that's no excuse i should have said that, without the steam.
well i mounted the /boot ext2 filesystem with

Code: Select all

sudo mount /dev/sda1
and was able to view my files along with menu.1st. woot!
thank you to all and to all a good night, im sleepy.
(i realized that i only go on these forums when it's like 12 midnight and i look like this :shock:)
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