Grub's menu is hidden by default because most users will use a default system instead of vacillating between both operating systems equally. Because Ubuntu installs the grub bootloader, it automatically makes Ubuntu the default choice. To access the menu, one must press 'Esc' within the first three seconds of the computer starting to boot (a message on the screen prompts you as to when).
If you would like Ubuntu to be the default but still have easier access to the boot menu, follows these instructions to make the menu visible:
- Startup Ubuntu as usual
- Press Alt-F2 (i.e., depress 'Alt' and, without releasing it, press 'F2') for a 'Run Application' dialogue box
- Type 'gksudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst' (without the quotation marks)
- When prompted, enter your password. See "Ubuntu Root Access" if you have trouble at this point. You will then be presented with a GEdit window in which the configuration file for grub is reflected.
- Around the 23rd line of the file, you will see the word "hiddenmenu" on a line by itself.
## hiddenmenu
Insert a hash mark (American "number symbol" or "pound sign" [opens in new window]) in front of it so that the line looks like this in context:
# Hides the menu by default (press ESC to see the menu)
hiddenmenu## hiddenmenu
# Hides the menu by default (press ESC to see the menu)
# hiddenmenu - Save the file
- Close the application
When the computer is next booted, you will see a menu of available boot options. This will, however, still have a three second limit before Ubuntu is booted. If you would like to lengthen that pause, see "Setting Lead Time for Booting Ubuntu" to learn how. If you would like to make Windows XP, Windows Vista, or another operating system your default instead of Ubuntu, see "Setting the Default Operating System."