How to change the time for OS selection menu in GRUB?

Question

I have Windows 7 and Ubuntu 12.04 in my system and i saw that the default time for os selection menu is only 10 sec, as i am new to Linux can anyone tell me how to increase this time?

score 48 · Accepted Answer · edited Jan 16 '13 at 03:44

48

Press Alt + F2
Type command, gksu gedit /etc/default/grub
change the GRUB_TIMEOUT value to 15 or 20 as required. (value in second) or Setting timeout to -1 will make GRUB wait indefinitely until you manually select an entry and hit enter, It should look like

GRUB_TIMEOUT=10
save it. Close gedit. Now open a terminal and run

sudo update-grub

edited Jan 16 '13 at 03:44

simplePerson43

2,563

answered May 10 '12 at 18:38

Web-E

21,418

I required root privileges to edit the grub file else it was giving access denied error as mentioned here – RBT Dec 06 '17 at 00:07

score 14 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 15 '12 at 14:47

You need to edit /etc/default/grub file by opening a terminal and running this command: sudo gedit /etc/default/grub

You need to set the value of GRUB_TIMEOUT to how long (in seconds) you want the grub menu to appear. GRUB_TIMEOUT is actually the number of seconds before the default entry is automatically booted. If you want to see the menu for 10 seconds which is the default, then do:

GRUB_TIMEOUT=10

Also, make sure that you add # before the GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0 line:

#GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0

Then do a sudo update-grub and reboot.

John T · Answer 3 · 2012-05-11T01:51:41.063

I used to use startup manager, as pointed out by Chad--24216, but alas, it's no longer being maintained, nor is it in the repositories.

It has been superseded by "grub-customizer", which while up to date, is also not in the standard repositories. To to add and install it simply do the following at the terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer

Press enter to confirm adding the PPA

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install grub-customizer

Press Y to confirm

You can now launch grub-customizer in the usual ways. If you ignore the complete list you'll see when it first launches, and just press "Preferences" button on the toolbar you'll get a nice summary dialog where you can change the timeout value and default menu item, as shown below:

Grub Customizer preferences screen

Sources:

Startup Manager is dead

Grub Customizer PPA

Grub Customizer is good but sometimes creates issues when upgrading the distro, So avoid it until one needs it and remember to remove this before distro upgrade — Md. A. Apu, Dec 16 '23 at 18:07

Ashu · Answer 4 · 2012-07-15T15:19:55.323

4

There are two ways to do it

Start-up Manager (Development discontinues)
Grub customiser (Not in the official repositories as yet)

Using Start-up manager (available upto 12.04)

Install it by typing:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install startupmanager

Open up start-up manager
Change the timeout setting to 10 secs

Using Grub Customiser

To to add and install it simply do the following at the terminal (You need to add a PPA):

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer

Press enter, then type

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install grub-customizer

And press Y to confirm
Click on the General tab and change the time out to 10 secs

Hope that helps.

edited Jul 15 '12 at 15:19

answered Jul 15 '12 at 14:38

Ashu

9,482

1

Is startup manager installed by default?. Also I heard, that project is dead now. – Anwar Jul 15 '12 at 14:43
@AnwarShah the op hasnt specified his OS version... the older OS has startup manager, doesnt it? – Ashu Jul 15 '12 at 14:48
In that case, you can clarify the OP. Also, I don't think startup manager was included in the previous releases – Anwar Jul 15 '12 at 14:49
@AnwarShah i'll include the option for newer versions of ubuntu also. – Ashu Jul 15 '12 at 15:05
@AnwarShah edited my answer.. see if it fits what you wanted. – Ashu Jul 15 '12 at 15:20
I am not the OP. But yes, your answer now look good. Thanks – Anwar Jul 15 '12 at 15:21
Sorry guys, I forgot to include that, but I am running 12.04 . Thank you for your help. – FallenArchangel Jul 16 '12 at 16:02
Thanks For This Answer! I'm using 12.04 And I customized time of GRUB by using "GRUB Customizer"! The Second Way U noted above! Thank U Very Much! – Gaurav Sep 13 '12 at 08:50

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered May 11 '12 at 00:01

0

Web-E's answer is really the best way to do it. However, if you want a GUI way of modifying GRUB that doesn't involve editing a file, you can download an install "startupmanager" from USC or Synaptic. Or with Universe repo enabled, you can open Terminal and install by typing:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install startupmanager

answered May 11 '12 at 00:01

Chad--24216

1,211

startup manager package is not available in 12.04 . – Web-E May 11 '12 at 02:04

score 0 · Answer 6 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:24

0

You need to change the timeout for grub.
Have a look at this guide for really simple instructions on changing grub's timeout / os selection time :