Editing the Grub.cfg file (boot menu)

Editing the boot menu was easy. I probably even took a couple unnecessary steps to get my desired results. I wanted Windows XP to be at the top of the boot menu list on start up. All you have to do is edit the Grub.cfg file located in boot/grub/...

However, the file itself is read only so editing it is easier if open the terminal and type in

sudo gedit path-to-grub.cfg

There you will find many blocks of code. Each block of code represents a start up option and the first block of code is the default operating system to boot if you do not specify otherwise on start up. All you have to do is look for the Windows XP block of code and copy paste it to the top (after the comment lines that appear next to the pound characters - not before).

After a Month of Using Windows XP

I'm using Ubuntu again. I'm just trying to change the boot menu so that Windows XP appears first since I've decided to keep Windows XP as my dominant operating system. There's nothing wrong with Ubuntu exactly, I've just been using Windows for too long. I'll be on and off, once I get this boot menu fixed.

One Month into Ubuntu 10.04

I've been using Ubuntu for a whole month now at least. I can do 90% of the things I did on Windows XP. I still need to get a web camera that supports Ubuntu. I downloaded Skype, GIMP, Google Chrome, Brasero Disc Burner, Pidgin. I spend most the time browsing the web now but I recently got back on track with my C++ coding hobby. I'll have to write a post on how to create a program in C++ without an Integrated Development Environment (only using the terminal and a text editor). Using the terminal more often is a significant difference from Windows XP. I never used the terminal (also known as console or even 'DOS box') in Windows but on Ubuntu, and maybe even most Linux systems, using the terminal for installing software is very common.

why Struggling Between OS's (Operating Systems)?

I've been writing about operating systems on my twitter and on my Facebook and on forums that have little to nothing to do with operating systems. I decided that I should try writing more extensively about my experience with different operating systems here. My interest in all the different operating systems out there for the average personal computer consumer sparked in me about a month or so ago when my Windows XP partition was corrupted. I did not have a boot-able repair disc; I was forced to dive into a new learning curve and install a linux-based operating system onto a flash drive to boot my computer.

I got my computer running on Ubuntu 10.04 with a flash drive to start backing up all my data before Murphy's Law had a chance to delete all the files on my hard drive. I got all my data backed up thanks to Ubuntu and I even burned an image of a Windows XP onto a disc so I could get could use Windows again. However, after I ran Windows again for half an hour, I decided I would be safer yet equally capable by using Ubuntu as my main operating system.

I've been using Ubuntu for a month now, getting used to its differences from what I was used to after 12 years of using Windows OS's. I'm not going to make the same mistake I did for so many years, limiting myself to one operating system. From now on, I'm going to keep an open mind about the different operating systems out there and bring whoever reads this blog in on the adventure.