How to edit GRUB4DOS menu? (Solved)

[benali72]

I have Fossapup64 9.5 frugal installed on my boot partition, and installed GRUB4DOS along with it.

I wish to alter the GRUB4DOS menu that displays (not a single line of it, which I could do with the GRUB "E" command, but rather other parts of the thing, like the DEFAULT selection and TIMEOUT parameters).

I should add -- this is an old MBR disk and I have BIOS (not UEFI).

How do I edit the GRUB4DOS parameters?

Thank you.

[Marv]

In your boot partition, you should find a file named menu.lst. Just open it in Geany or another text editor and edit away. The header and first menu entry of one of mine is:

Code: Select all

# menu.lst produced by grub4dosconfig-v1.9.2

color white/blue black/cyan white/black cyan/black
#splashimage=/splash.xpm

timeout 5
default 4
# Frugal installed Puppy
 
title LxPupSc64 21.04 +4, synaptics touchpad driver, 5.16.5 64b kernel
  uuid 2988-C05D
  kernel /LxPupSc64/vmlinuz net.ifnames=0 pmedia=ataflash pdev1=sda1 psubdir=LxPupSc64 pfix=copy,fsck ipv6.disable=1
  initrd /microcode/microcode-update-20220207-64.cpio /LxPupSc64/initrd.gz

I try to keep the titles up to date so I somewhat know what I am doing. My save file names also reflect the current version and at least the kernel version in the optional characters part of the name. In this instance, the first two entries (one a pfix=ram boot) are a stable version of LxPupSc64, a bit back from the current version with the newest kernel, which is #4, the default boot. In general I try to keep the active pups to six or fewer, more than that and I lose focus.

[bigpup]

Do not adjust the timeout too low.

That is there for a good reason.
Allows you time to select a different entry, before the default one boots.

Advanced Menu
These menu entries, are to allow it to still boot, when normal boot does not work, for some reason.
Gives you troubleshooting modes of operation.

[benali72]

Thanks for your feedback, Marv.

Yes, what you're talking about is exactly what I've always done in the past.

I normally just edit the menu.lst file and I'm done. (For background, I installed Puppy frugally with GRUB4DOS and checked the option to create a traditional menu.lst file).

But this time, the menu.lst file stored in the top level in my Puppy partition has contents that are not at all what I'm seeing displayed in the boot menu.

And when I search the Puppy partition, I find no other menu.lst files that I could edit.

I'll try editing the errant menu.lst file anyway and see if that changes anything.
Thanks.

[benali72]

I re-installed Fossapup64 95, and edited the menu it gives you towards the end of the install process. I was able to make the changes I wanted and my problem is solved.

But something's definitely different with GRUB4DOS because the only menu.lst I can find to edit does not match the boot menu I see when I boot the computer.

I'll mark this solved but if anyone knows why this happens, please post. Maybe GRUB4DOS has been changed?

[Phoenix]

It may be looking at a different file depending on the system booted off of. This will mean you might have to look at vesamenu... etc etc....

[bigpup]

If you tell us how you are exactly installing Grub4dos boot loader.
What version of Grub4dos Config?
That would help to understand why you are not getting the menu.lst, you think you should be getting.

Well, the entries have changed a little with newer versions of Grub4dos Config program.

Not knowing for sure what files you have in the frugal install.
You could have the menu.lst that is in the ISO that is setup for booting a live install of Fossapup64.
Grub4dos Config is going to install a completely different one.
So you could have both.
They will be different in what the entries are.

This is my menu.lst, made by using Grub4dos Config program v 1.9.3

# menu.lst produced by grub4dosconfig-v1.9.3
#color white/blue black/cyan white/black cyan/black
splashimage=/splash.xpm
timeout 10
default 0

# Frugal installed Puppy

title Puppy fossapup64 9.5 (sdb3/fossapup6495)
find --set-root uuid () 24a14d90-6d75-4276-a6a0-ef026f8d07cf
kernel /fossapup6495/vmlinuz pdrv=24a14d90-6d75-4276-a6a0-ef026f8d07cf psubdir=/fossapup6495 pmedia=atahd pfix=fsck
initrd /fossapup6495/initrd.gz

title Puppy precise 5.7.1 (sdb1/precise571)
find --set-root uuid () 5111EF974B5DB59D
kernel /precise571/vmlinuz pdrv=5111EF974B5DB59D psubdir=/precise571 pmedia=atahd pfix=fsck
initrd /precise571/initrd.gz

title Puppy slacko 6.3.2 (sdb2/slacko632uefi)
find --set-root uuid () 1361-B01D
kernel /slacko632uefi/vmlinuz pdrv=1361-B01D psubdir=/slacko632uefi pmedia=atahd pfix=fsck
initrd /slacko632uefi/initrd.gz

title Puppy slacko64 8.2.1 (sdb2/slacko64821)
find --set-root uuid () 1361-B01D
kernel /slacko64821/vmlinuz pdrv=1361-B01D psubdir=/slacko64821 pmedia=atahd pfix=fsck
initrd /slacko64821/initrd.gz

title Puppy tahr 6.0.5 (sdb2/tahr605_PAE)
find --set-root uuid () 1361-B01D
kernel /tahr605_PAE/vmlinuz pdrv=1361-B01D psubdir=/tahr605_PAE pmedia=atahd pfix=fsck
initrd /tahr605_PAE/initrd.gz

title Puppy tahr 6.0.6 (sdb2/tahr606k4130uefi)
find --set-root uuid () 1361-B01D
kernel /tahr606k4130uefi/vmlinuz pdrv=1361-B01D psubdir=/tahr606k4130uefi pmedia=atahd pfix=fsck
initrd /tahr606k4130uefi/initrd.gz

title Puppy upupbb 19.03 (sdb3/bionicpup3280+2uefi)
find --set-root uuid () 24a14d90-6d75-4276-a6a0-ef026f8d07cf
kernel /bionicpup3280+2uefi/vmlinuz pdrv=24a14d90-6d75-4276-a6a0-ef026f8d07cf psubdir=/bionicpup3280+2uefi pmedia=atahd pfix=fsck
initrd /bionicpup3280+2uefi/initrd.gz

title Puppy buster 8.0 (sdb3/buster80uefik41956)
find --set-root uuid () 24a14d90-6d75-4276-a6a0-ef026f8d07cf
kernel /buster80uefik41956/vmlinuz pdrv=24a14d90-6d75-4276-a6a0-ef026f8d07cf psubdir=/buster80uefik41956 pmedia=atahd pfix=fsck
initrd /buster80uefik41956/initrd.gz

title Puppy LxPupSc 18.06 (sdb3/LxPupSc1806Mk64)
find --set-root uuid () 24a14d90-6d75-4276-a6a0-ef026f8d07cf
kernel /LxPupSc1806Mk64/vmlinuz pdrv=24a14d90-6d75-4276-a6a0-ef026f8d07cf psubdir=/LxPupSc1806Mk64 pmedia=atahd pfix=fsck
initrd /LxPupSc1806Mk64/initrd.gz