Ubuntu – How to set the grub timeout and the grub default boot entry

bootdual-bootgrub2

In Ubuntu 12.04 (or above), how do I set the GRUB time and the default OS (that I see at boot time) as I'm dual-booting Windows (7/8) and Ubuntu (12.04 or above)?

Best Answer

  • Press Alt + F2, type gksudo gedit /etc/default/grub press Enter and enter your password.

  • You will see the following contents:

    GRUB_DEFAULT=0
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=true
GRUB_TIMEOUT=10
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

  • You can change the default from 0 to any number, corresponding to the entry in the Grub bootup menu (first entry is 0, second is 1, etc.)

  • You can change the "hidden timeout" (no menu); and also display the countdown (GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=false)
  • You can force the grub menu to show by commenting out the two GRUB_HIDDEN lines with a # at the beginning of the line

  • And set the grub menu timeout (default is 10 seconds)

  • Make your changes, press Ctrl + S to save and Ctrl + Q to exit

  • Important: Open a terminal with Ctrl + Alt + T and type sudo update-grub to apply the changes you just made
  • Reboot and you should see your timeout/default entry change

Linked Question:

Related Question