How to fix GRUB after Windows breaks it, and how to edit the GRUB menu

Posted by Rob Kam on Super User See other posts from Super User or by Rob Kam
Published on 2009-10-04T08:27:31Z Indexed on 2010/05/12 19:55 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 597

Filed under:

grub

|

bootloader

|

dual-boot

I had Windows XP and Ubuntu both installed. I could easily boot into either until Windows "fixed" the bootloader so that it now only boots into Windows.

I guess there is no way to prevent Windows from doing this. So instead when it happens how do I quickly restore the GRUB bootloader?

Also while I'm here: How do I edit the GRUB menu, to hide options I don't want and to change the default boot OS?

© Super User or respective owner

Related posts about grub

grubx64.efi cannot find grub config or grub files, boots to grub console

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
Sony VAIO with Insyde H2O EFI bios will not boot into GRUB EFI The answer to this question was immensely helpful to me and my new Vaio Z3. The issue that I am having now is that after replacing bootmgfw.efi with grubx64.efi and renaming, it boots directly to grub console. I dont even get a menu where… >>> More
Dual booting on separate hard drives

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
I have windows XP professional installed on 1 hard drive and Ubuntu 10.10 on my second hard drive. On start up the computer completely skips the grub menu and boots straight into 10.10. I have tried running os-prober with the windows hard drive mounted and then updating grub but it didnt work. Any… >>> More
When I shutdown the computer, it restarts

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
I am unable to shutdown. Whenever I try to shutdown, it reboots. I am running Ubuntu 12.10. I have run the boot-repair and this is the result: Boot Info Script 0.61.full + Boot-Repair extra info [Boot-Info November 20th 2012] ============================= Boot Info Summary: =============================== … >>> More
How to fix GRUB after Windows breaks it, and how to edit the GRUB menu

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I had Windows XP and Ubuntu both installed. I could easily boot into either until Windows "fixed" the bootloader so that it now only boots into Windows. I guess there is no way to prevent Windows from doing this. So instead when it happens how do I quickly restore the GRUB bootloader? Also while… >>> More
Server Hangs on booting grub, Just displays "GRUB C"

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
Hi I have install oracle linux 4.5 on server twice but having same problem. The server hangs on booting just displays "GRUB C" i don't know why is it happening. Please advice is it the drive issue. >>> More

Related posts about bootloader

Bootloader error Ubuntu 12.04, system goes to Grub-rescue instead of booting

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
I am trying to install ubuntu 12.04 on my system but it is constantly giving me bootloader install fail error. I have tried to lot to solve this issue but reading articles over the internet but still no gain. Firstly since the bootloader was not getting installed I tried to install it on all the… >>> More
Install GRUB bootloader without installing Linux.

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I have Windows 7 installed on the system and I want to create a separate WinPe bootable partition which system can fallback when things go wrong. Now Win7 does give this option and i might also edit the BCD store to make changes in the boot menu of Win7 or could use EasyBCD. I dont want to use these… >>> More
Looking for a free bootloader

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I've heard recommendations from other people before that simply having a bootloader can make it so much easier to add and remove operating systems from my system. What is the best (preferably free) one to have? >>> More
Where to install Ubuntu bootloader on a Mac?

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
I'm trying to install Ubuntu on a Mac, but I can't get it to boot with default mac bootloader or rEFI. It shows up as "Windows" On the mac bootloader and shows up as "Linux" on rEFI. I'm not sure where should I install the bootloader to during installation. Here's my partition table: sda : Hard… >>> More
Ubuntu 12.04 Bootloader failed to install

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
Sorry about the excessively long question, but I figured giving more information would be better. I recently bought a new desktop for myself, running Windows 7. It has two hard drives, and I wanted to install Ubuntu on a small partition on the second hard drive. I created 25GB "free space" in Windows… >>> More