Make GRUB (GRUB2) Remember Last Choice on Linux

Cyrus Kao10 Jan 2022

Last modified on 24 Apr 2023 @ 05:46:13.

Having multiple boot options managed by a boot manager like GRUB is a common thing on Linux or a Windows dual-boot machine, but to select the os/kernel in a 5 seconds window is a pain in the ass. So how about making GRUB remember your last boot choice?

Backup GRUB

First, backup your current GRUB configuration /etc/default/grub to /etc/default/grub.backup, in case anything goes wrong:

$ sudo cp /etc/default/grub /etc/default/grub.backup

Edit GRUB

Open the GRUB configuration /etc/default/grub with the text editor of your choice:

vim (command-line editor for advanced user)
```
$ sudo vim /etc/default/grub
```
nano (easy to use command-line editor)
```
$ sudo nano /etc/default/grub
```
gedit (editor with graphical interface, default text editor of Ubuntu and distros with GNOME)
```
$ sudo gedit /etc/default/grub
```
or
```
$ gedit admin:/etc/default/grub
```
/etc/default/grub opened with gedit

Add or edit the parameters GRUB_DEFAULT and GRUB_SAVEDEFAULT:

/etc/default/grubGRUB_DEFAULT=saved
GRUB_SAVEDEFAULT=true
Plain text

Make GRUB Configuration

Generate GRUB configuration:

Debian/Ubuntu-based Linux
```
$ sudo update-grub
```

Arch Linux/Manjaro

$ sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

RHEL/CentOS/Fedora

$ sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg

Now, the selected boot option will be remembered for the next boot up.

Comments

Configure PPPoE DSL Connection on Arch Linux/Manjaro with pppoe-setup

Most ISPs (Internet Service Providers) offer multiple dynamic IP addresses and even come with a static one. To take advantage of that, we'll be setting up a PPPoE (Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet) DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) connection on our own machine to obtain an independent IP address.

Two Ways to Install Packages from AUR on Arch Linux/Manjaro

Just like Debian/Ubuntu's package manager apt, Arch Linux/Manjaro has its own package manager called pacman to help you install packages. But the story doesn't end there. On Arch-based Linux you can even install community-maintained packages from AUR (Arch User Repository), which is a lot like PPA (Personal Package Archive) of Ubuntu.

Auto-Renew Let's Encrypt Free Certificates for Nginx on Linux

More than 75% of all websites use HTTPS nowadays. Serving content over HTTPS is not only good practice for search engine optimization (SEO), but essential for security reasons, especially for those requests containing sensitive information.

Create/Remove/Resize Swap Space without Modifying Partitions on Linux

When a Linux machine runs out of physical memory (a.k.a random-access memory - RAM), the swap space will be used instead. It literally swaps data from your RAM to your disk space to free up memory. In some perspectives, it even speeds up your CPU too, since when the less the memory is free, more time the CPU spend on GC (Garbage Collection).

Table of Contents

Comments