Grub menu
 

My Grub menu offers 3 choices.

Red Hat Linux (2.4.20-18.9)
Red Hat Linux (2.4.20-8)
DOS

1. Why are there 2 Linux choices? They both do the same thing.
Can I delete one of them? How?

2. DOS is default choice. How can I change default to Linux or
delete DOS altogether? I don't need the DOS and it doesn't
work anyway since I boot to Grub through Boot Magic and
DOS is not active at this point.

OK 1st there are 2 linux options for the differant kernels.
If you have used the top choice more than 3 times then
Yes you can delete the second choice.

Now how to change the file they way you want to make it look.
cp /boot/grub/grub.conf /boot/grub/grub.conf.bak

Now open /boot/grub/grub.conf
change default line to
default=0
this will boot your default to linux.
you can change the timeout down to about 4 if you donot want to see the grub screen for very long but I recommend not going below 4 just incase you ever have problems.

That set your default to linux now lets remove the DOS title and the second linux.

start on the second title
title Red Hat Linux (2.4.20-8) -
now delete this line down to the next title
that delets the second linux.

Do the same thing to DOS to remove.


Jason

When I try to enter /boot/grub/grub.conf even as root I get permission denied.

what are you editing the file with.

You can delete the old Kernel from your system, not just in the GRUB menu.

To obtain a list of all Kernels currently on your system, type
rpm -qa | grep kernel

This will give you a list of all Kernels installed on your system.

In your case, to remove the old kernel, type
rpm -e kernel-2.4.20-8

This will remove the kernel 2.4.20-8 from your system and from the GRUB menu.


As for the "permission denied", the permissions of the grub.conf file may prevent you from reading the contents.
The file permissions should be -rw-r--r-- (i.e. 644)

In virtual console "rpm -qa | grep kernel" gave me a list of kernels and I was able to delete "kernel 2.4.20-8" with "rpm -e kernel-2.4.20-8" Thanks!

I would also like to delete the DOS choice which doesn't work anyway. The only other kernel listed other than kernel 2.4.20-18.9
is kernel-pcmcia-cs-3.1.31-13. Can I assume that this is the DOS kernel?

NO

kernel-pcmcia is used by laptops (and some non-laptops) to support PCMCIA cards for expansion (Also known as "credit card adapters").
If you are using PCMCIA cards, you should leave it. If not, you can remove it.

As for Windows/DOS, all related files are stored on the Windows/DOS partition.
In the GRUB configuration file, you can remove the lines related to booting Windows/DOS unless you want to boot into Windows/DOS from GRUB.

Thanks to everyone's help I am making some progress. I can still not get into grub configuration. I always get permission denied. I login as root, go to a virtual console, and type in /boot/grub/menu.lst but perission is denied. What am I doing wrong?

I understand now.

/boot/grub/menu.lst is an ASCII file (i.e. text file), it is not a command.
(Actually, /boot/grub/menu.lst is a link to /boot/grub/grub.conf)

Use a text editor to edit /boot/grub/grub.conf.
I suggest pico. (for example: pico /boot/grub/grub.conf )
If you do not have pico, go into KDE or GNOME or whatever graphical interface you have installed on your system and use a text editor.

Also, if you want to know whether a file is a text file, binary, script, etc. Use the "file" command.

for example:
file /boot/grub/grub.conf

This will tell you what type of file it is.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Mission accomplished.

Your help has cleared up so much. As simple as it might seem to you, I was completely stumped and was beginning to think that linux was an OS for the insane. Now the lights are on and I can make some real progress in learning this operating system. I guess too many years working in the Windows enviroment has warped my thinking. Thanks again!

You're welcome.

And remember, Linux takes time.
There is alot of stuff. Even I don't know everything.
Don't give up.