Ubuntu Sharing » grub 2

Add OS logos into Grub2 boot menu using BURG

admin — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:57:35 +0000

There’s a great theme that add OS logos into grub2 boot menu list.Follow is how to install this.

Step1:Install and configure burg project.
See the step1 and step2 in this post:http://ubuntuguide.net/decorate-grub-2-boot-loader-using-burg

Step2:
Download the theme (sora-v0_3.tar.gz) from http://groups.google.com/group/burg-devel
Then,extract it into /boot/grub/themes

cd /boot/grub/themes/
sudo tar xzf ~/Downloads/sora-v0_3.tar.gz

change “~/Downloads” to the path you downloaded this package.
Step3:
Edit /etc/grub.d/40_custom:

sudo gedit /etc/grub.d/40_custom

choose one code and add into this file:
code:

. /boot/grub/themes/sora/theme.cfg

. /boot/grub/themes/sora/clean/theme.cfg

. /boot/grub/themes/sora/extended/theme.cfg

Step4:
Run this command to create grub.cfg:

sudo update-grub

Note:Edit /boot/grub/themes/sora/theme.cfg and change screen resolution in this line:

set gfxmode=”1920×1200″

3 Ways Setting XP/Vista/Windows 7 as default bootup OS In Grub 2

admin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:14:56 +0000

This tutorial shows how to set default boot up OS in Grub 2 in 3 ways.And in my opinion the third one should be the best one,also the easiest one.
Following use XP as example.
Method 1:
Edit /boot/grub/grub.cfg and change XP to the first entry in grub 2.
By default this is read-only file,so change its permission in terminal(Applications/Accessories/Terminal):

sudo chmod 755 /boot/grub/grub.cfg

Then open this file:

sudo gedit /boot/grub/grub.cfg

Cut this section:

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry "Microsoft Windows XP Professional (on /dev/sda1)" {
	insmod ntfs
	set root=(hd0,1)
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 48142b45142b34fa
	drivemap -s (hd0) ${root}
	chainloader +1
}
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###

Paste it between following two sections:

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###
set menu_color_normal=cyan/blue
set menu_color_highlight=white/blue
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
menuentry “Ubuntu GNU/Linux, with Linux 2.6.31-14-generic” {
insmod ext2
set root=(hd0,6)
search –no-floppy –fs-uuid –set ff848303-508a-46d6-b275-0c263f7b8938

Close and save this file.
Note:If you run update-grub for some reasons,all things you do will back.You need to do again to set this default OS.
Mathod 2:
Count in /boot/grub/grub.cfg(start number 0),and in my case XP is 4.

So edit /etc/default/grub

sudo gedit /etc/default/grub

change Grub_default=0 into Grub_default=4

Note:This method won’t change grub menu order.However,when you upgrade kernel,the previous number will change and you need to set this again.
Method 3:edit /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober
/etc/grub.d/30_os-prober could be found in following section in /boot/grub/grub.cfg

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry "Microsoft Windows XP Professional (on /dev/sda1)" {
	insmod ntfs
	set root=(hd0,1)
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 48142b45142b34fa
	drivemap -s (hd0) ${root}
	chainloader +1
}
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###

First,make a backup:

cd /etc/grub.d
sudo cp 30_os-prober 30_os-prober_backup

Then,change “30″ in filename to the number bewteen “5″ and “10″ (without 5 and 10).For instance:

sudo mv 30_os-prober 08_os-prober
sudo update-grub

Decorate Grub 2 boot loader using BURG

admin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:16:11 +0000

BURG is a program based-on Grub 2,BURG uses new menu list,screen layout and shortcut keys that all easily customized.Following is tested in Ubuntu Karmic.

Update: Burg has released a first version front-end GUI called Burg-Manager. Read more

1.Install BURG
Edit source.list file(Open terminal from Applications/Accessories/Terminal):

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

add following into the file and save it.

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/bean123ch/burg/ubuntu karmic main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/bean123ch/burg/ubuntu karmic main

Add GPG key:

gpg --keyserver subkeys.pgp.net --recv 55708F1EE06803C5
gpg --export --armor 55708F1EE06803C5 | sudo apt-key add -

update and install:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install grub-pc

Then,write the new startup code into MBR:

sudo grub-install "(hd0)"

2.Download themes:

wget http://grub4dos.sourceforge.net/themes.tar.bz2

Extract it to /boot/grub/themes:

sudo tar -xjf themes.tar.bz2 -C /boot/grub/themes/

Then,edit /etc/default/grub:

sudo gedit /etc/default/grub

delete the “#”(without quotes) before this:

GRUB_TERMINAL=console

3.Now,edit /etc/grub.d/40_custom:

sudo gedit /etc/grub.d/40_custom

copy and paste following into this file:
set gfxmode="640x480" set gfxfont="Unifont Regular 16" loadfont /boot/grub/themes/fonts/unifont.pf2 loadfont /boot/grub/themes/fonts/aqui.pf2 loadfont /boot/grub/themes/fonts/edges.pf2 loadfont /boot/grub/themes/fonts/lime.pf2 loadfont /boot/grub/themes/fonts/7x13B.pf2 loadfont /boot/grub/themes/fonts/smoothansi.pf2 loadfont /boot/grub/themes/fonts/Helvetica-Bold-14.pf2 insmod vbe insmod png insmod coreui load_config /boot/grub/themes/proto/theme.txt

the last line will load the theme.You can change this line to :
ubuntu theme:
load_config /boot/grub/themes/ubuntu/theme.txt
winter theme:
load_config /boot/grub/themes/winter/theme.txt
proto theme:
load_config /boot/grub/themes/proto/theme.txt
Now,use this command to create grub.cfg file:

sudo update-grub

ubuntu

proto

winter

For more Burg details see:https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Burg/

Manually adding/removing entries to Grub 2 Menu

admin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:12:45 +0000

Grub 2 Menu entries can be added to grub.cfg automatically or manually,and grub.cfg is updated when update-grub is run.
Manually adding entries to Grub 2

Entries to grub.cfg can be manually inserted by creating a file in the /etc/grub.d folder.

The name of the file determines the order in the menu. 30_os-prober entries will be placed before 40_custom entries, which will be placed before 50_my-sample entries.
Any created file must be made executable. This can be done as root by running “sudo chmod +x /etc/grub.d/filename“.
The files in the /etc/grub.d folder will be read and the contents included in grub.cfg when the “update-grub2” command is executed as root.

A sample entry. This file creates a menu item for running the SystemRescueCD (previously installed) from a partition created on sda10. Folders and files must have been copied to the correct location in accordance with the SystemRescueCD if you wish to actually use this entry.

Quote:

#!/bin/sh
exec tail -n +3 $0
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries.  Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment.  Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
echo "Adding SystemRescueCD" >&2
menuentry "System Rescue CD" {
set root=(hd0,10)
linux   /sysrcd/rescuecd subdir=sysrcd setkmap=us
initrd  /sysrcd/initram.igz
}

Tip: If you want to have your custom entries at the top of the menu (say you want custom titles), create a new file and name it “07_xxxx”. Since the files in /etc/grub.d/ are read sequentially, those in “07_custom” will be placed before those of “10_linux”. I recommend not naming a custom menu file lower than 06 so that any theme run from 05_debian_theme is allowed to run before any custom menu is created. After creating the file, run sudo update-grub and then check the value of “DEFAULT” in /etc/default/grub. If it doesn’t point to the correct menuentry, change the value of DEFAULT to the correct menuentry value.
Removing entries
* To remove a user-created menu entry, remove the applicable file from the /etc/grub.d folder.
* If a custom file contains multiple entries, individual items may be removed and others retained.
* Once the file has been removed or edited, run “update-grub2″ to update grub.cfg.

Read: Original text

How to restore Grub 2 after reinstalling Windows XP/Vista/Win7

admin — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:32:12 +0000

After reinstalling Windows in the computer dual boot with both Windows and Ubuntu Linux,you need restore grub because mbr has been rewritten.This tutorial shows how to restore grub 2.

Update:Today I ghost my XP system,but after restore grub,I cannot boot into XP by clicking the old windows option in grub menu.So you’d better to run this command to renew the grub2 boot list after trying following method:

sudo update-grub

1).Using grub4dos
First download grub4dos from here.
1. For XP user,copy the file “grldr”(without quotes) from grub4dos package to C:\.Edit boot.ini (hidden file in C:\) and add this line to the file:

c:\grldr="grub4dos"

For Vista/win7 user,copy the file “grldr”,”grldr.mbr” to C:\.Create boot.ini file in the root directory of C:,copy and paste following into this file.

[boot loader]
timeout=0
default=c:\grldr.mbr
[operating systems]
C:\grldr.mbr="Grub4Dos"

2. Now,create menu.lst in root directory of C:,its content:

timeout 0
default 0
title grub2
find --set-root /boot/grub/core.img
kernel /boot/grub/core.img
boot

Restart computer,and select boot from Grub4Dos.Then select boot up Ubuntu in grub menu.
Once login,use this command to install grub into mbr:

sudo grub-install /dev/sda

2).Using Ubuntu 9.10 livecd or higher
Here assuming the Ubuntu partition is sda7,and /boot partition is sda6 (if you have a separate /boot partition).
Boot up ubuntu from the livecd,open terminal and run:

sudo -i
mount /dev/sda7 /mnt
mount /dev/sda6 /mnt/boot  #skip this one if not have a separate /boot partition
grub-install --root-directory=/mnt/ /dev/sda

If you miss “grub.cfg” file,use following to recreate:

mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc
mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev
mount --bind /sys /mnt/sys
chroot /mnt update-grub
umount /mnt/sys
umount /mnt/dev
umount /mnt/proc
exit

3).Using the cd/usb boot up with grub
Boot up the cd/usb,press c in grub menu.Type:

grub>find /boot/grub/core.img
grub>root (hdx,y)   (previous command will output the x,y)
grub>kernel /boot/grub/core.img
grub>boot

After the boot command,you’ll go into grub2 menu.Select to boot up ubuntu,and run this command to restore grub:

sudo grub-install /dev/sda

Fix Grub 2 Error 11: unrecognized device string

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:14:24 +0000

If you upgraded Grub 2 in the dual boot with both Windows and Ubuntu machine.When you reinstall Windows and then restore the grub 2,you may encounter “error 11: unrecognized device string” after select Ubuntu in grub menu.Following shows how to fix this error:

Select Chainload into GRUB 2 in this screen and press E

Select the line start with “root” and press E in next screen.Then change the “root” into “uuid”(without quotes),press enter and then press B.You will back to grub menu,select Ubuntu and boot up.

Once login,open terminal and type:

sudo upgrade-from-grub-legacy

Add Background Picture to Grub 2 on Ubuntu 9.04

admin — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 03:04:26 +0000

If you have your Grub upgraded to Grub stage 2 on ubuntu,you may enjoy adding a background picture to the Grub,so that your grub looks great when you boot up the computer!

First,make sure you have grub 2 upgraded.

Then,install grub2-splashimages by this command in terminal:

sudo aptitude install grub2-splashimages

Now,open up a file folder and navigate to filesystem->usr->share->images->grub.You’ll see many images,select one and copy the filename(without the extension .tga) to clipboard.

In terminal,run this command:

sudo gedit /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme

Find the line “for i in {/boot/grub,/usr/share/images/…}…” and change it to for i in {/boot/grub,/usr/share/images/grub}/Fly-Angel.{png,tga} ; do. Here “Fly-Angel” is the filename of the picture.

Now,update and reboot to see the effect!

sudo update-grub

sudo reboot

Step by step GRUB 2 Upgrade guide in ubuntu 9.04

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:53:43 +0000

This tutorial tells you how to upgrade you Grub to Grub stage 2 in ubuntu 9.04 step by step.

First,you need run this command in terminal window:

sudo aptitude install grub-pc

Select Yes when prompt,and just press Enter when seeing Linux Command Line: screen.

Now,reboot computer by this command:

sudo reboot

You will see a screen with “Error 11:…” and just press anykey to continue.

Select Chainload into GRUB 2 in this screen and press E

Select the line start with root and press E in following screen.

After grub edit > in next screen,change root to uuid,press enter and them press B

Select Ubuntu in above screen,and run this command when you back to ubuntu:

sudo upgrade-from-grub-legacy

sudo reboot

Done.