Tip: How Change Default OS in Dual Boot Ubuntu

Rai    Linux, Tips     boot, boot loader, default, grub, Linux, Microsoft, operating system, ubuntu, windows

My Acer 5570 Notebook is setup to dual boot Windows XP, for my online games and other Windows applications, and Kubuntu 7.10, my main operating system for stuff that I do most of the time like web browsing and blogging. Then my brother and I are now sharing the same notebook and he prefers Windows over Linux, not that I refuse to introduce him to Ubuntu but he had to use Microsoft Office for his office documents.

Windows and Ubuntu dual-boot systems are set boot Ubuntu first by default, so I decided to change the dual-boot order to default to Windows, since my brother will be using the notebook more.

To make Windows the default operating system in dual boot Ubuntu, follow these steps:

1. Press Alt+F2 to open the run dialog box.
2. Type in sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst. Type in root password.
3. Edit the line that looks like this:

default 0

Change the number to the equivalent order of Windows in the operating system list in GRUB boot screen. The number 0 means that GRUB will boot the first operating system, and so on. If Windows is in the 4th line, change the number to 3.

4. Save the file and exit.
5. Reboot to check the change.

Windows should boot as default.