Edit boot order from GRUB screen?

[saximus]

Hello,

I have just run into a problem. I just installed ubuntu studio on my computer and it won't start.. Until I get this problem fixed, I can't access ubuntu, and I can't change the boot order from within ubuntu..

So my question is: is it possible to edit the boot order from the GRUB screen itself instead of doing it from within ubuntu?

As of now, I have a computer that boots to a non-functioning OS by default.. not very practical I'll try to fix the OS itself later..

I really hope someone can help me!

- saximus

[aliov]

Hello,

I have just run into a problem. I just installed ubuntu studio on my computer and it won't start.. Until I get this problem fixed, I can't access ubuntu, and I can't change the boot order from within ubuntu..

You need to boot into your ubuntu partition in order to change the Grub configuration , you can do it from a live CD ,usually this file is called menu.lst and located in /boot/grub , for the order you can play with them by changing the order of the lines or by changing the default value,

But what do you mean it won't boot ?

Regards.

[devils casper]

Hi and Welcome !

As of now, I have a computer that boots to a non-functioning OS by default.. not very practical I'll try to fix the OS itself later..

Can't you select another OS in GRUB Menu using Up/Down keys?
You can set correct kernel options and edit other configs from GRUB Menu too but you must know where the problem is.

[saximus]

You need to boot into your ubuntu partition in order to change the Grub configuration , you can do it from a live CD ,usually this file is called menu.lst and located in /boot/grub , for the order you can play with them by changing the order of the lines or by changing the default value,

But what do you mean it won't boot ?

Regards.

Hello,

thanks for the tip about live CD - i tried it, but it wouldn't let me change the settings as I was not authorised while in the live CD OS. It seems like I have to get into my Ubuntu Studio OS in order to fix the GRUB menu. The problem is that the Ubuntu OS won't start.. I've explained the whole thing in the following link:

Ubuntu Studio 7.04 not starting - Ubuntu Forums

It seems like I'm in a bit of trouble with this one..

Hi and Welcome !


Can't you select another OS in GRUB Menu using Up/Down keys?
You can set correct kernel options and edit other configs from GRUB Menu too but you must know where the problem is.

Yes, I can use the Up/Down keys, but I need to boot to XP by default until I am more steady in using Ubuntu.. Is it possible to change default boot OS directly from GRUB, and if so; how would I do that?

Hope that someone can help! Thanks for the replies so far guys!

[bigtomrodney]

You can find a list of Grub commands here.

The main point everyone was trying to make is that you can change this setting within Ubuntu and that it would actually be wasier to do than to try and edit it from the Grub prompt. It would only involve you booting into Ubuntu once. and changing one character in a file.

[saximus]

You can find a list of Grub commands here.

The main point everyone was trying to make is that you can change this setting within Ubuntu and that it would actually be wasier to do than to try and edit it from the Grub prompt. It would only involve you booting into Ubuntu once. and changing one character in a file.

Yep - but I can't get into ubuntu because it for some reason doesn't work on my system..

I am quite thick sometimes, but I have understood that I can edit GRUB from within ubuntu - the problem is that I can't get into my ubuntu OS

[danvds3]

If you can't get into ubuntu studio, boot up in XP and reinstall with a different Distrobution of linux

You can also restore your original boot loader (xp only), but you'll have to grab some sort of guide.

If you get into a live cd and mount your Ubuntu Studio partition to /mnt

For example, if ubuntu studio was sda5:

mount /dev/sda5 /mnt

Then

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

or

sudo gedit /mnt/boot/grub/grub.conf

Then change away!

[devils casper]

Yep - but I can't get into ubuntu because it for some reason doesn't work on my system..

Why its not working? Post exact error message here.
Boot up from Ubuntu LiveCD, mount / partition of Ubuntu and edit boot/grub/menu.lst file.

[saximus]

Why its not working? Post exact error message here.

If I try starting Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.20-15-generic I get the following messages:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Starting up...
Loading, please wait...
[2.620568] irq 18: nobody cared (try booting with the "irqpoll" option)
[2.620687] handles
[2.620720] [<f887ff10>] (usb_hcd_irq+0x0/0x60) [usbcore]
[2.620832] Disabling IRQ #18
[33.488448] ata3.00: failed to set xfermode (err_mask=0x40)
[68.581428] ata3.00: failed to set xfermode (err_mask=0x40)
[103.674404] ata3.00: failed to set xfermode (err_mask=0x40)

Check root = bootarg cat/proc/cmdline or missing modules, devices: cat/proc/modules/ls/dev

ALERT! /dev/disk/by-uuid/de7ae1ff-5ea0-4e0f-ac95-039851411383 does not exist. Dropping to shell!

BusyBox v.1.1.3 (Debian 1:1.1.3-3ubuntu3) Built-in shell (ash)
Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands
/bin/sh: can't access tty; job control turned off
(initramfs)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seems like there is a problem with irq #18. I tried to find irq 18 in my BIOS in order to adjust its PnP settings, but I couldn't find it. The highest irq I could find was #15. Do you know what #18 refers to and why I wouldn't be able to find it?

[devils casper]

Highlight Ubuntu title In GRUB Menu and press 'e'. Select 'kernel' line and press 'e' again. Add irqpoll at the end of line and hit 'Enter' key.
Press 'b'. Ubuntu will boot up.