increase timeout value boot menu
 

hi, im a newbie in linux and im trying to increase the timeout value in my boot menu but cant seem to get it, im running a dual boot of linpus linux and winxp. heres what ive done

booted using livecd and then opening a terminal and typed

mkdir linpus
sudo mount -t ext3 /dev/hdc1 linpus
sudo nano linpus/boot/grub/grub.conf

default=0
timeout=10
splashimage=(hd0,0) /boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz
#hiddenmenu

title linpus linux lite
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/bzimage changes=/dev/hdc1 root=/dev/ram0 rw max_loop=255 init=linuxrc selinux=0 vga=0x311 splash=silent quiet loglevel=1 console=tty1 load_ramdisk=1 prompt_ramdisk=0 ramdisk_size=14000 from=/dev/hdc1 acpi=force ide0=noprobe ide2=noprobe ide3=noprobe lang=en
initrd /boot/initrd.gz

title linpus linux lite(rescue)
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/bzimage changes=/dev/hdc1 root=/dev/ram0 rw max_loop=255 init=linuxrc selinux=0 vga=0x311 splash=silent quiet loglevel=1 console=tty1 load_ramdisk=1 prompt_ramdisk=0 ramdisk_size=14000 from=/dev/hdc1 acpi=force ide0=noprobe ide2=noprobe ide3=noprobe lang=en
initrd /boot/initrd.gz

title windows os
rootnoverify (hd0,1)
chainloader +1

ive tried adding a # before the timeout, as i understand this will disable the timeouts but it still boots after 4 seconds

ive changed the timeout value to 30 and 900 but it still gives me only 4 seconds before booting to linpus

as of now the timeout value is at 10 but it still boots after 4 seconds

am i doing it right? any other solutions? ty

Linpus uses KDE. In your control center, there should be an option to edit the boot manager.

:~$grep timeout /boot/grub/menu.lst|grep -v "#"
timeout 10

There is no "=" between the word timeout and the number.

grub configuration file's named /boot/grub/menu.lst, and you're able to edit it from your linpus installation, without a booting in live-cd.

Since he has already edited the configuration file, one would think he knows what it's called.
Alas, good point about the not needed live-cd.

i dont really know what im doing, someone just taught me that from another forum and from googling it. so i dont know what its called. someone told me that i dont have a menu.lst and i have a grub.conf instead. i'll try to remove the =

Login as root .Then edit the grub file as
.
from here change the time value,.

Another way to confuse jundcb further... It's /boot/grub/grub.conf.

I might not change the /etc/grub.conf file. It is a link to /boot/grub/grub.conf and it is always better to change the file directly than through the link.

how do u edit the installation inside linpus?

ive tried

sudo nano /boot/grub/grub.conf
su
nano /boot/grub/grub.conf

but it tells me command not found

tried

alt+f2 kdesu kate /boot/grub/grub.conf and kdesu mousepad /boot/grub/grub.conf

it says command failed to run
failed to execute child process "kdesu" (no such file or directory)

also tried

gksu mousepad /boot/grub/grub.conf

tells me that using that command gives me root user privileges without the need for a password due to my systems setup, after closing that box nothing happens, i tried checking the box do not show this message again after that when i typed gksu mousepad /boot/grub/grub.conf nothing happens

I'd recommend going the same way you already walked - boot the live cd and do the same as you did before to edit that file.
Not the most elegant - but you know how you did it...

There is no "=" in the "default" nor in the "timeout" statements (...should not be...).
default 0
timeout 30

thx jomen, i was hoping to do it inside linpus so that i can learn some more about linux :)

mount
ls -al /boot
ls -al /boot/grub
you should see the file grub.conf (or: menu.lst) - if not then I don't know furter - if you do:

vi /boot/grub/grub.conf

(hit "i" to get to edit mode - hit escape followed by :wq to save the file)

sudo mousepad should work too

this is what i got

[linpus@LINPUS ~]$ mount
tmpfs on / type tmpfs (rw)
proc on /proc type proc (rw)
sysfs on /sys type sysfs (rw)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,gid=5,mode=620)
/dev/hdc2 on /media/disk type vfat (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev,utf8,shortname=winnt,uid=500)
[linpus@LINPUS ~]$ ls -al /boot
total 84
drwxr-xr-x 9 root root 4096 Jul 12 20:05 .
drwxr-xr-x 44 root root 4096 Jul 17 17:36 ..
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 18 07:13 .base
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 Jun 3 07:54 boot
drwxr-xr-x 14 root root 4096 Jul 17 17:36 changes
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 704 Mar 21 04:46 COPYRIGHT
drwxrwxrwt 6 linpus linpus 4096 Jul 12 21:01 data
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 17992 Jul 23 2007 GPL
drwxr-xr-x 7 root root 4096 Jun 3 08:01 images
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 389 Jul 23 2007 LICENSE
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 243 Jul 23 2007 livecd.sgn
drwx------ 2 root root 16384 Jun 3 07:52 lost+found
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 10 23:50 manual
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 232 Mar 21 05:01 README
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 0 Apr 18 07:13 .update.log

[linpus@LINPUS ~]$ ls -al /boot/grub
ls: /boot/grub: No such file or directory

What you have booted up here is the live-cd - not an installation on hd.
Attempting to change grub's config there is pointless and impossible.

Let's try to confuse you further then. Boot normally without livecd and type this in a terminal:
sudo sed -i '/timeout/s/=/\ /' /boot/grub/grub.conf

Same thing for the default line would be:
sudo sed -i '/^default/s/=/\ /' /boot/grub/grub.conf

If you don't use sudo, become root first with "su -".
If you don't have sed, try to figure out which editor linpus uses for console. Try pico, editor, mcedit, vi, or type "apropos editor" to see what the system gives you.

oh, but my external cdrom is not attached to my laptop and its also empty, is that possible not to have a menu.lst or grub.conf in my system?

Well, where did you find the stuff you pasted in your first post unless in grub.conf or menu.lst?

oh yeah, getting confused already lol, well i have grub.conf since i can see it if i type

mkdir linpus
sudo mount -t ext3 /dev/hdc1 linpus
cat linpus/boot/grub/grub.conf

but i cant edit it

Still on the live-cd I take it.
Is the mounted partition actually writable. Type "mount" and see if there's an "rw" after the line.
If not, type "sudo mount -o remount,rw -t ext3 /dev/hdc1 linpus".
Then type/paste in: sudo sed -i '/timeout/s/=/\ /' linpus/boot/grub/grub.conf
Or check which editor the live-cd comes with. Try "editor" for starters.

im not on the livecd, im doing this in linpus

Now I got confused by this then:So, can you find an editor for the console?

im just going to used the livecd, it'll save us all the trouble lol

i removed the = from timeout but the boot menu is still at 4 seconds

That means you may have an installation of linpus on /dev/hdc1.
But you are definitely not running that installation - from what you posted earlier.

You can edit /boot/grub/grub.conf on /dev/hdc1 as much as you like - as long as you are not booting from that partition it will be in vain.

How do you boot - how do you know what you boot.
How did you get your linpus installed?
I only have a copy of linpus.live and it does have no option to install it to hd.

it was pre installed on my lappy when i got it, i made a partition then installed xp, after that i used supergrub to get my boot menu but couldnt get it to work so i had to manual install grub to get my boot menu

...and how did you install grub?
From the output of "mount" one can only conclude that there is no harddrive mounted from which you are running your OS.
It looks exactly like the live cd.
One can see that /media/disk is the mountpoint for /dev/hdc2 - which could be your windows partition.

...which is not an easy thing to do - windows is difficult to install on anything other than the first partition of the first drive.
/dev/hdc is indicating that the drive is the secondary master AFAIK
Where is your primary master ( /dev/hda )?

From a live-cd I'd check which partition is which...
fdisk -l
and check the boot order in the BIOS

very confusing - you need a structured approach starting with the very simple

sudo grub
root (hd0,0)
setup (hd0)
quit

thats what i used for the manual install

i also booted from a livecd, went to applications-accessories opened a terminal and typed fdisk -l but nothing happens


i booted in linpus and typed fdisk -l

Disk /dev/hdc: 40.0 GB, 40000536576 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 4863 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hdc1 * 1 2432 19535008+ 83 Linux
/dev/hdc2 2433 4863 19527007+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)

also used supergrub and saw that my linux is hda1 and windows hda2

Let's see grub.conf again then. While having normally booted into the hd install paste here output of "cat /boot/grub/grub.conf". And don't mount anything, just type the command.

One of your entries in grub's configuration looks like this:
I have to admit that I have never seen a config like this before - especially the changes=/dev/hdc1 part.

Looks like your system is running in a ram-disk.
To save anything you would need to mount some external device (?) - or is this what the "changes=/dev/hdc1" is for (?).

I admit that I have no clue about this and have not found it in a quick manual and info lookup.
It seems you where editing the right config-file (...it seems...) and I don't know why changes are not working.
Sorry if I caused confusion! - I'll be out and just watching now :/
Someone will know...

Hmm, could be a knoppix beginner type hd install, which is basically a live-cd installed to your hd. Every time you boot it, it overwrites your changes from a skeleton file set.

it says no such file or directory

thanks for all the help jomen, makuyl

any other suggestions are welcome

Your distro could have menu.lst file then.
Type this and see if this is available:

cat /boot/grub/menu.lst

Preferably an "ls -l /boot/ /boot/grub/"

no such file or directory



[linpus@LINPUS ~]$ ls -l /boot/ /boot/grub/
ls: /boot/grub/: No such file or directory
/boot/:
total 72
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 Jun 3 07:54 boot
drwxr-xr-x 14 root root 4096 Jul 18 18:20 changes
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 704 Mar 21 04:46 COPYRIGHT
drwxrwxrwt 6 linpus linpus 4096 Jul 12 21:01 data
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 17992 Jul 23 2007 GPL
drwxr-xr-x 7 root root 4096 Jun 3 08:01 images
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 389 Jul 23 2007 LICENSE
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 243 Jul 23 2007 livecd.sgn
drwx------ 2 root root 16384 Jun 3 07:52 lost+found
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 10 23:50 manual
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 232 Mar 21 05:01 README

This is not a real hd install, is it? That would explain all the problems editing grub and such.
Is this like knoppix can be installed, a live-cd like setup running from your hd with an extra partition so save data to?
If so, and you like linux, I would suggest installing a real hd install, not a live-cd like thingy you cannot customize.
Or have you by chance booted from the cd again? If yes, show the output of those commands when running the hd install.

its a real hd install, and its impossible for me to boot from the cd by chance since ive got a mini laptop and it doesnt have a cdrom, im only using an external cdrom and its not plug in, besides i dont have a livecd of linpus. like i said i got this pre installed

naah - it is not a "real hd install" in the sense that is normally understood...

They made it somehow possible to boot a thing which looks like an image - like a live-cd - from harddisk.
A real hd install would look different.

Can you even save files, make changes which will be there next time you boot?
...plugging in a usb thumb-drive or similar for that purpose does not count ;)

I'm afraid you will have to install a real distribution - even linpus if you must - or you will have to ask them to explain to you how this thing works (and lets not forget: how it is kept up to date/how it is upgraded).

At this stage, my advise is to wipe the hd. Make three partitions, five if you want a separate home and a FAT partition to move data between windows and linux.
1:st partition: windows
2:nd partition: linux /
3:rd partition: linux swap
4:th partition: linux home
5:th partition: FAT for moving stuff. Nowadays not needed with large usb thumbdrives and external disks.

Get a nice and easy distro to start out with: Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Mandriva or some such. If someone says get Debian, Slackware or Gentoo, ignore him :).
A good distro to start out with has good documentation, like this: http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Hardy
Give us the specs of your laptop and well see what it should run on.

heres my specs
Processor VIA C7-M 1.0 GHz
Memory 1GB DDR2
motherboard qci il1
Harddisk 40GB
64mb vc


i just installed puppy linux on another pc, looks easy to use and fast. with my specs i dont think i can run some of the other distribution

Puppy is based on debian, so you can install also packages from debian. No quite as straightforwardly as with pure debian, but doable. If that's what you want to install, do it. You can always install something else when you grow tired of it. Most people install a forked distro like puppy first, and eventually move on towards the mother distro. I dare say yours will be debian in a year or two.
Those are not bad specs, you can run almost any linux, even with gnome or kde although they might not "fly". If you want something lighter, try this http://www.xubuntu.org/ . Full blown distro with large package repositories running a light window manager.
Another one with kde or xfce is http://sidux.com/ . They have an active support forum with bug warnings and such, and easy to use package installing/upgrading scripts. Also works as a live-cd so you can try it out.

I have not followed all of this post but beware those laptops....so have a recovery partition linked to bios and any change to partition table attempts a restore from the recovery partition.

use a live cd to check your true partitions before wiping the mbr please.

good luck

What I have told you was login as root.
Then edit /etc/grub.conf
The reason behind it is that its a softlink ,so its as good as editing actual file.
If anyone knows any issues regarding it post it with proof.
:tisk::tisk::tisk:

hi,
(First part of the message in English then repeated in French)
I am in the same confusing with the linpus Lite distribution from "aspire one" that I tried to install on an another computer from the recovery CD.
After install it cannot boot and I changed the grub.conf with no result
I dump the MBR and it seems that the bootloader is Lilo and not Grub but there is not file /etc/lilo.conf .
I don't know where to change the configuration file for lilo.
and I have no success to install grub on the boot disk : the MBR is not updated


J'ai le problème similaire avec une distro linpus lite tiré d'un CD de l'aspire one que j'ai voulu testé sur un autre PC.
Après avoir bidouillé en vain le grub.conf j'ai dumpé le MBR or il semble que grub n'est pas installé mais plutôt Lilo, pour autant il n'y a pas de fichier /etc/lilo.conf dans la distrib

try using supergrub.

Login as root
Edit the file where in this file there is a field called time out you can change it to whatever value you want.to make change press i or press insert key and then make changes.
I apologize for earlier post .