GRUB is all better

By the way, I finally got my grub file working, with some initial help from rancorbeast. I used a Ubuntu 10.04 Server disc that I picked up at GHC. My current grub (with most of the comments edited out for ease of reading):

default 0

timeout 20

# hiddenmenu

title Ubuntu 10.04

uuid 97da0f78-1a67-4dfa-9239-70cf44363b26

kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-25-generic root=UUID=97da0f78-1a67-4dfa-9239-70cf44363b26 ro

initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-25-generic

quiet

title Recovery mode (Ubuntu 10.04)

uuid 97da0f78-1a67-4dfa-9239-70cf44363b26

kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-25-generic root=UUID=97da0f78-1a67-4dfa-9239-70cf44363b26 ro single

initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-25-generic

title Windows 7

root (hd0,0)

savedefault

makeactive

chainloader +1

----

As you can see, I'm not using a splash page, and I have Ubuntu and Windows 7 dual-booting. My grub menu is not hidden but if it were I would have a nice long 20-second delay so it wouldn't catch me by surprise on its way by.

I have a somewhat haphazardly partitioned hard drive; originally the machine (Thinkpad T400 and I love it) came with Vista. I installed Ubuntu 10.04, then did a clean install of Windows 7 over Vista. Naturally this trashed my grub menu and I had to go get it back, etc., see above. Of course what update-grub created had duplicates of everything, a link to a nonfunctional grub2 loader and a memtest, and no Windows. So I fiddled, and now it's all better. -shrug- Not complicated, but a good thing to play with.

PowerTop for Ubuntu

http://www.linuxpowertop.org/powertop.php

I noticed recently that my laptop gets about 30% more battery life under Vista than under Ubuntu 10.04. Which is not how these things should be! So... Powertop. It's pretty cool. Still fiddling with it. Link above for screenshots and faq.