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Possible Duplicate:
How do I set Windows to boot as the default in the boot loader?
How do I change the grub boot order?

I installed a mainline kernel for testing purposes. I would like to set grub to boot from the older kernel by default.

I know I can set the GRUB_DEFAULT=0 setting for the first page of grub but how do I set it to boot by default from one kernel in the second page (Advanced page)?

I would prefer doing this without installing other software (ex. grub-customizer).

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@belacqua: It is not a duplicate. This question is about setting an older kernel that is not present in grub's first page of options as default. – To Do Nov 13 '12 at 13:14
It seems like this case should be covered in the earlier questions, even if the method needs to be update for 12.10, older kernels, etc.. – belacqua Nov 13 '12 at 15:26

marked as duplicate by belacqua, Stephen Myall, Mitch, Luis Alvarado♦, fossfreedom♦ Nov 13 '12 at 16:20

This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.

1 Answer

up vote 12 down vote accepted

First, make a backup copy of /etc/default/grub. In case something goes wrong, you can easily revert to the known-good copy.

sudo cp /etc/default/grub /etc/default/grub.bak

Then edit the file using the text editor of your choice (ie. gedit, etc.).

sudo gedit /etc/default/grub

Find the line that contains GRUB_DEFAULT=0 - this is what you'll want to edit to set the default. To know what to change it to, you must know where it is on the list (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.). For example, on my computer, I have:

  1. The Latest Kernel
  2. The Latest Kernel (Recovery mode)
  3. Previous Linux Versions
  4. Memory test (memtest86+)
  5. Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)

If you choose the "Previous Linux Versions", you will see:

  1. Old Kernel
  2. Old Kernel (Recovery mode)
  3. Older Kernel
  4. Etc.

Essentially, all the older kernels that are still installed. These are sub-choices, of a sort. So in my case, since "Previous Linux Versions" is 3rd on the boot list, the first kernel inside of it would be "2>0", the second "2>1", and so on; counting on the list starts at 2>0 since grub uses 0 as the first option, not 1.

In summary, if you want to use a kernel in the "Previous Linux Versions" menu, you'll want to change GRUB_DEFAULT=0 to GRUB_DEFAULT="2>x" (make sure to include the quotations), where x is the placement of the old kernel on the sub-list (assuming the "Previous Linux Versions" is third on the main list).

Save it, then build the updated grub menu.

sudo update-grub

I hope that wasn't too confusing; I might have babbled a little :/

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Thanks very much. It worked but: 1. GRUB_DEFAULT=0 doesn't have the quotation marks by default. Changing to 1>2 requires quotation marks. 2. The third item in the list is "2" because the count starts from "0". – To Do Nov 13 '12 at 13:17
@ToDo Changed. I think my zero has quotation marks because I've used grub customizer. Likewise, I thought it was 3>1 since that's how grub customizer listed it in the program; I confirmed that it is indeed 2>0 in the file, so I assume grub customizer does that to minimize confusion for less advanced users. – DaimyoKirby Nov 13 '12 at 21:25

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