Making Linux Mint the default in dual boot configuration

[SethMould]

I've been trialling Linux Mint 12 (Lisa) in dual boot. I hope this post will indicate what I think about it.

When I boot my laptop, I have two choices:

Microsoft Windows
Linux Mint

with Windows preselected. After a few seconds, it boots into Windows. So lately, I've been hitting DownArrow to select Linux Mint, and hitting Enter.

I do need Windows sometimes, for example to find out why my HP1000 printer woudn't print. Windows gave me an error saying the Black cartridge had failed (after one page).

However, I'd like to change the order so that I:

Boot my laptop
Make some coffee
Come back to see Linux loaded

Seth Mould

[marsh20]

Seth,

Go into Start up manager and chage the default to Mint and adjust the time to do this as well if you want.

[SethMould]

Seth,

Go into Start up manager and chage the default to Mint and adjust the time to do this as well if you want.

Another dumbass question:

How do I 'Go into Start up manager'?

[tomast]

Does Mint 12 even have a Start up manager ?
Last I knew , it did not have one... ???

[marsh20]

Seth,

Sorry, trying to assist from a non Linux machine. ave a look at this link http://ubuntu-install.blogspot.com/2010 ... tings.html

[HughT]

Hi SethMould,
you can manually edit the Grub2 file in Gedit. Look at file system > boot > grub > grub.cfg. That's what generates the screen you see. Notice the statement that grub.cfg is generated from file system > etc > default > grub, so open that file as administrator. You'll see something like this

# If you change this file, run 'update-grub' afterwards to update
# /boot/grub/grub.cfg.
# For full documentation of the options in this file, see:
# info -f grub -n 'Simple configuration'

GRUB_DEFAULT="Linux Mint 11, 2.6.38-8-generic (/dev/sda3)"
#GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT="0"
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET="true"

obviously your GRUB_DEFAULT will reference Windows and its partition. So all you need to do is substitute the reference to Linux. Just copy and paste the exact statement which you'll see under 'menu entry' of grub.cfg. It's the bit between and including the quotation marks.
Then save that grub file, and from a terminal run

Code: Select all

update-grub

That's it! Hope this helps.

[SethMould]

Thanks HughT, but I'm scared of poking around like that. And your example quotes Linux Mint 11. Maybe this should become a nice-to-have, for newbies anyway. Thanks for your answer; I'll keep it.

[bimsebasse]

See 3c in this guide

3c. Manage grub settings with Grub Customizer
The Ubuntu default "Startup Manager" is something bordering on useless and wisely has been dropped in Mint 12, but that leaves Mint without a grub editing GUI. The best available grub manager application I know of is Grub Customizer:

Code: Select all

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install grub-customizer

With it you can easily choose which entries you want to appear in the grub menu, rename them, set timeout, set default boot, set kernel parameters, change text and background colour and more.

You set default boot entry here (click Preferences):