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Thread: GRUB select OS screen won't show!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
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    27

    GRUB select OS screen won't show!

    Hi!

    I used StartUp Manager in Linux to change to "0" the time GRUB shows the "Select OS screen" now I'cant choose which OS I want to boot.

    Since WinXP is selected as the default OS, I can only log into Windows.

    I've already tried to press the UP ARROW several times when the machine starts up but has no effect and the GRUB selection screen won't show up (This used to work on a desktop PC with GRUB and dual OS's).

    I'm on a laptop, is there any way to get to the GRUB select OS screen again?

    Thaks for any help in advance.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Bangalore, India
    Beans
    18
    Distro
    Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal

    Re: GRUB select OS screen won't show!

    try using the EasyBCD software to change the bootloader menus..

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Texas
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    29,807
    Distro
    Ubuntu 20.04 Focal Fossa

    Re: GRUB select OS screen won't show!

    Quote Originally Posted by Locobox View Post
    Hi!

    I used StartUp Manager in Linux to change to "0" the time GRUB shows the "Select OS screen" now I'cant choose which OS I want to boot.

    Since WinXP is selected as the default OS, I can only log into Windows.

    I've already tried to press the UP ARROW several times when the machine starts up but has no effect and the GRUB selection screen won't show up (This used to work on a desktop PC with GRUB and dual OS's).

    I'm on a laptop, is there any way to get to the GRUB select OS screen again?

    Thaks for any help in advance.
    Hi, you can boot the livecd and follow this guide to reinstall grub, but I know that there is a command to let you change the the 0 back to a new number but I do not know it.
    http://cinderbox.net/2011/03/10/how-...-installation/

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Beans
    27

    Re: GRUB select OS screen won't show!

    @wildmanne39
    GRUB is installed on my system but the time to show the OS selection Screen is "0", I dont think I need to reinstall it.
    Anyway going to give it a try thanks for the link.

    @axatrikx
    Thanks for the advice.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
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    Hidden!
    Distro
    Ubuntu Development Release

    Re: GRUB select OS screen won't show!

    Holding down the SHIFT key during boot should display the Grub 2 menu. If it doesn't, you can try intermittently pressing the ESC key.
    Back to Xorg...

    Retired.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
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    27

    Re: GRUB select OS screen won't show!

    Hi drs305, thanks for the tips but...

    Holding down the SHIFT key during boot or intermittently press the ESC key did nothing.

    Also tried it with a USB Keyboard, just in case, but no success!

    Thanks for the help

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
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    Ubuntu Development Release

    Re: GRUB select OS screen won't show!

    I'm working with the assumption your boot is controlled by GRUB2...

    The SHIFT option was the easiest solution - if it would work.

    You can edit the Grub2 settings by booting any linux LiveCD. Mount your Ubuntu partition and then edit the grub.cfg file. Find the "set timeout=0" lines and change them to "set timeout=-1" (there should be two). The -1 value will make the menu wait for your input. You don't need (or want) to run update-grub. Just save the file and boot. The menu should display, at which time you can change the settings in /etc/default/grub and change the GRUB_TIMEOUT setting.

    Change the XY values to your Ubuntu partition (example: sda5
    Code:
    sudo mount /dev/sdXY /mnt
    gksu gedit /mnt/boot/grub/grub.cfg
    Last edited by drs305; June 11th, 2011 at 06:42 PM.
    Back to Xorg...

    Retired.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
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    27

    Re: GRUB select OS screen won't show!

    mmm... well if ESC or SHIFT keys didnt work, I think I'm not using GRUB2.

    I'm trying what wildmanne39, axatrikx suggested booting Ubuntu from the CD/pendrive to access Linux and change the setting to 1 second on Startup Manager.

    (Dowloading...)

    @drs305
    Is there any way to do that from winXP?

    Many thanks for your quick response.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
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    Ubuntu Development Release

    Re: GRUB select OS screen won't show!

    There are some configurations where the keystatus check (which is what the SHIFT key invokes) isn't included in the Grub 2 configuration file.

    You could download and run the 'boot info script' while running the LiveCD to give us a good view of your boot status. If you can run it, please post the contents of RESULTS.txt. Get the script from the "BIS" link in my signature line. It's really the best way for us to avoid guessing.

    If you can't boot a LiveCD, you should be able to access linux files from within Windows. One app is Ext2Read. The grub files are simple text files (/boot/grub/grub.cfg) so you should be able to access and alter it from within Windows once you install a linux format reader.

    If it isn't Grub 2, the file you would edit would be /boot/grub/menu.lst, but I would be surprised if you weren't using Grub 2.
    Last edited by drs305; June 11th, 2011 at 08:09 PM.
    Back to Xorg...

    Retired.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Beans
    27

    Re: GRUB select OS screen won't show!

    Hi again, drs305

    I think I'm using GRUB2
    This is the path for it /boot/grub/grub.cfg

    I used Ext2Read, I can see the drive where Ubuntu is, but has no access to it (Windows keep saying if I want to format the drive). So I could not access Ubuntu from Windows that way.

    I tried other programas and on most I could access the whole Ubuntu partition from Win but could not write, just read.

    I used UNetbooting to load an Ubuntu ISO to a pendrive, and succesfully accesed ubuntu (not my session) and again I can see the grub.cfg but cannot write it.

    Any ideas on what to do I'm thinking in backing up and reformat the whole drive but have no time.

    Thanks for the help!

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