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I was doing some work on my parents computer, and they're interested in trying Ubuntu or a derivative, but want their computer to dual boot between Windows and Linux so they can 'ween slowly' off of windows. However, they've had this interest in this setup before, and the Linux install just sat there, unused (to the point to where they didn't even notice when a relative, trying to get a usb drive to work, formatted over the Linux install.)

I've noticed that if I put windows on default, they'll always load into that. But if I default into Linux, they'll switch to windows initially because "that's where all their stuff is", and they'll get into a habit of always switching to windows at boot screen and not ever thinking about the Linux side.

So, I was reading askubuntu articles, and saw this gem to make Grub default to last used

Before this, I didn't even know dynamic choices were a thing. That got me wondering, and I haven't found a way yet as I've never been a grub guru...

Could I make grub alternate OS's? So they log into windows, next time it'll log into Linux, and they log into Linux, next time it'll log into Windows? Is this even possible?

Or, even better, could it tell the difference between a manual and an auto choice, and when they actually choose Linux for the first time, it'll make that the default for the next boot when they choose it.

lilHar
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    Putting one of the OS in a VM instead of dual-boot will let them use both simultaneously...which can be pretty cool. – user535733 Mar 13 '21 at 22:04
  • That is one options I am considering, taking their existing windows OS and turning it into a vm. – lilHar Mar 13 '21 at 23:30

1 Answers1

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Yes, it is possible. Write scripts that run automatically on boot, one for each OS ref, ref, that modify the boot default in grub:

  1. The script that runs in Windows would set Ubuntu as the default boot ref, and
  2. The script that runs in Ubuntu would set Windows as the default boot, ref.

All references are from SE (and googling similar concepts you can find quite a few similar others), so there is no need to copy the procedures here. Please post feedback if you try the solutions and something does not work.

sancho.s ReinstateMonicaCellio
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