Q I have installed Ubuntu on my home computer. All is working fine but I would prefer the computer to start Windows XP rather than Ubuntu if I don’t get to the menu in time.

Mike Freeman

A For some reason there is no option for changing the boot order in the Ubuntu System menu. Instead a configuration file needs to be edited. Thankfully this is not too complicated and, although there is software available for this, it is easy to edit this file directly.

Before making this change, make a note of the number of options in the boot list when the computer starts. But be sure to count the number of lines rather than the number of options, including the line that marks the Windows section.

Continue to load Ubuntu as normal. Click on the Applications menu, Accessories and Terminal. A window with a command prompt will appear. Type the following exactly as written but without the quotation marks:

‘sudo gedit/boot/grub/menu.lst’

Press Enter and then enter your password when prompted. The file will appear in a text editor.
Before changing anything, we will turn on the line numbers to make the options easier to find. Click on the View edit and then preferences. In the view section click on the Display line numbers option so that a tick appears, and then click on Close.

Scroll down to line 14 for the option of which operating system to boot. The default is 0, which means the first option in the list. This is because programmers count from 0 rather than one. Replace this with the line number of Windows in the boot menu but deduct 1 from the number first. On our computer the Windows option was on line 7 so we entered 6.

It is also possible to change the length of time the menu waits before loading the default. This option is on line 19 and is measured in seconds.

Click on Save and then close the window.