want to change menu 1st

[oracle1]

I want to change my grub menu Ist file to change the boot order and default timeout and kate wont let me save the file how to I get permission to save the file?

[arochester]

Re: want to change menu 1st

*sudo first

Use the command:

kdesudo kate (location)

[aged hippy]

Re: want to change menu 1st

If i may say so, that's menu.lst, a lowercase 'L' -- not menu.1st

[oracle1]

Re: want to change menu 1st

OK the mistake I have made has turned out to be more complex than I thought. I installed XP first no probs. then I put 9.04 on no probs. This hardcore freak I have been dealing with said that *ubuntu was too friendly and that If I wanted to learn anything I should use debian. Ok no probs I put in a final 80 gb partition into my drive and I install debian. My probs now begin, Kubuntu wont reset and locks in the boot when asked to restart, XP and debian are rebooting ok. I tried to alter menu.1st in kubuntu. I figure out how to save the file and it still doesn't change the bootloader. I figure the relevant file is in debian so i look for it there, and it wont let me in and as an O/S is very unfriendly. I like 9.04. SO now I have a 5 second default into debian and windows and ubuntu at the other end. When I boot xp it asks wether i want to use the debian installer or load into windows a now unwanted step. I want to end up with XP first Kubuntu second and Debian third with a 20 second timeout. Also the unwanted step asking about the installer or xp is messy i just want it to clean boot into xp by default so my wife and kids ends up with xp and can use the pute

[oracle1]

Re: want to change menu 1st

the debian uninstaller in windows has removed the extra step in the xp boot so that is solved all I have to do now is sort the order and the timeout

[kevinc]

Re: want to change menu 1st

When you install more than one OS, and allow them to write their loader to the MBR, the last one wins.
1. Windows only - boots windows.
2. You add Kubuntu - Kubuntu writes GRUB to the MBR and allows you to boot either Kubuntu or Windows.
3. You add Debian or another distro - ask it to write GRUB to the / partition and not the MBR.

However, if Debian has taken over the MBR, there is an easy solution.

Set you bios to boot from optiocal drive, insert Kubuntu live CD or alternate CD, boot from it but choose RESCUE rather than INSTALL. It will ask you for language, keyboard then ask which partition to mount as /. Give it your Kubuntu / partition such as /dev/sda5, then go to a root console in Kubuntu. If your /boot partition is on a separate partition, mount it - as it will only be mounted if it is on your / partition (usual). Then type in a terminal

grub-install [install-device]

where [install-device] is your MBR - this will write a new MBR and Kubuntu should give you access to Kubuntu and Windows and Debian. If not, you can then edit your menu.lst using

sudo nano /boot/grub/menu.lst

or another editor instead of nano. If there is no entry for Debian, mount the Debian partition, copy the relevant lines from Debian /boot/grub/menu.lst and add them to the end of Kubuntu /boot/grub/menu.lst

save and reboot - then you should have a new boot menu with all of the OS's listed.

[aged hippy]

Re: want to change menu 1st

The menu.lst you must change is the one in /boot/grub/ of the last OS you installed, as you installed XP, then Kubuntu, then Debian, you need to change the menu.lst of the Debian installation in the 80Gb partition you added, not the Kubuntu installation.

You will also need to alter the Kubuntu /etc/fstab to reflect the new partition and its UUID.


Edited to add:

I always was a sloow typist.

[oracle1]

Re: want to change menu 1st

I have edited menu.lst in debian and have everything booting, let me test and I will then try ang et kubuntu to see the debian partition

[oracle1]

Re: want to change menu 1st

sorry guys thanks for the help!

[oracle1]

Re: want to change menu 1st

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'vol_id --uuid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
# / was on /dev/sda5 during installation
UUID=4be56fe3-7cfc-49de-a3ec-7ea949b909a8 / ext3 relatime,errors=remount-ro 0 1
# swap was on /dev/sda6 during installation
UUID=6182436f-0a03-4c02-9171-b45e02da6a64 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/scd0 /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0

[aged hippy]

Re: want to change menu 1st

I take it that's your fstab from the Kubuntu installation.

What you need to do is to open a terminal, and type

sudo blkid

into it, open etc/fstab with Kate or another editor as root, and add the UUID of the new partition to it, then into the terminal type

sudo mount -a

and Robert will (hopefully) be a male relative.

[oracle1]

Re: want to change menu 1st

how do I determine the UUID of the debian partition?

[aged hippy]

Re: want to change menu 1st

sudo blkid will give you that.

... from my previous post.

[oracle1]

Re: want to change menu 1st

thanks for your help aged hippy i have put in the new uuid but its not working is there any format I should be using to enter the UUID, I just wacked in blkid and got

/dev/sda1: UUID="840C78330C7821FA" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda5: UUID="4be56fe3-7cfc-49de-a3ec-7ea949b909a8" TYPE="ext3"
/dev/sda6: TYPE="swap"
/dev/sda7: UUID="e6f55a5d-cc41-4da6-8ac3-c6d5e4d4565a" SEC_TYPE="ext2" TYPE="ext3"
/dev/sda8: TYPE="swap"
oracle1@oracle1-desktop:~$

so I modified fstab from


# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'vol_id --uuid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
# / was on /dev/sda5 during installation
UUID=4be56fe3-7cfc-49de-a3ec-7ea949b909a8 / ext3 relatime,errors=remount-ro 0 1
# swap was on /dev/sda6 during installation
UUID=6182436f-0a03-4c02-9171-b45e02da6a64 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/scd0 /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0

to

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'vol_id --uuid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
# / was on /dev/sda5 during installation
UUID=4be56fe3-7cfc-49de-a3ec-7ea949b909a8 / ext3 relatime,errors=remount-ro 0 1
# swap was on /dev/sda6 during installation
UUID=6182436f-0a03-4c02-9171-b45e02da6a64 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/scd0 /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0
#debian partition
UUID=e6f55a5d-cc41-4da6-8ac3-c6d5e4d4565aUUID ext3


and I am getting a mount point does not exist error

[Fintan]

Re: want to change menu 1st

Try this.
instaed of:

#debian partition
UUID=e6f55a5d-cc41-4da6-8ac3-c6d5e4d4565aUUID ext3

The UUID at the end should not be there.

#debian partition
UUID=e6f55a5d-cc41-4da6-8ac3-c6d5e4d4565a /media/sda8 ext3 relatime,errors=remount-ro 0 1

You have to give the debian partition a place to mount to (/media/sda8)

Now you can do:

sudo mount -a

as AH suggested.