So I don't want to make an excessively long post, especially considering this is my first. The issue is fairly simple, I have an IBM server that is setup as dual boot, W2k3 Advanced server, and Redhat. It boots to the GRUB, and the default OS is Linux. The developers who setup RH on this machine are gone now, taking with them the passwords to get in (doh!).

So in short, this server needs to go out for a demo to a client like ASAP, but part of the demo requires a reboot, and I would like to have the default OS remain W2k3 Server.

Is this possible without reinstalling RH? I tried to use the GRUB editor, but whenever I tried to do the configfile command, it just said "unable to mount volume".

I'm lost. Thanks a lot for your help.

All you have to do is edit the file /boot/grub/grub.conf, and change the number on the 'default=' statement to point to appropriate entry. The first entry is '0', the next is '1' and so on. No other changes are necessary, no 'resaving grub' no writing the boot sector.

I apologize for not being so smart about this stuff, but I tried to do that already - I typed:

configfile (hd0)/boot/grub/menu.lst
and also
configfile (hd0)/boot/grub/grub.conf

I keep getting the error message "could not mount the selected partition"

What you want to do is (as root, from a command line):

vi /boot/grub/grub.conf

If you prefer a GUI editor:

gedit /boot/grub/grub.conf

You can boot Redhat without needing a password so that you can edit the file, by booting into single user mode

As I stated in my first post, I do not have the root password, so I cannot get a regular command line. In fact we have NO log on information. This is using bash level commands only. I hit "e" when GRUB starts, and then hit "c" to get a command line...

Following the 'booting into single user mode' procedure, you neeed no passwords. You can change grub.conf, and set new passwords as you see fit.

Hopefully this is my last question. Thankyou so much for your help, BTW.

I am in, I change the file. What is the command to save it?

I saw none, so I rebooted. Same thing. So I went back in to edit the file, it told me it was already being edited. How can I apply these changes?

You will need to delete the '.grub.conf.swp' which was created when you rebooted while editing the file.

If you are editing the file with vi, then you can save and exit with 'ZZ' (two capital Z, no quotes).

To reboot normally (just power cycling can cause file system damage):

shutdown -r now

You RULE. Thank you so much, this was critical - thanks to you I managed to get it done.