Grub Customize Setting

Defination:

GRUB 2 is the default boot loader and manager for Ubuntu since version 9.10 (Karmic Koala). As the computer starts, GRUB 2 either presents a menu and awaits user input or automatically transfers control to an operating system kernel. 

GRUB 2 is a descendant of GRUB (GRand Unified Bootloader). It has been completely rewritten to provide the user significantly increased flexibility and performance.

GRUB 2's default menu will look familiar to GRUB users but there are a great number of differences beneath the surface.

Difference:

On a new installation of Ubuntu 9.10 or later with no other installed operating systems, GRUB 2 will boot directly to the login prompt or Desktop. No menu will be displayed.

Hold down (right) SHIFT to display the menu during boot. In certain cases, pressing the ESC key may also display the menu.

No /boot/grub/menu.lst. It has been replaced by /boot/grub/grub.cfg.

There is no "/find boot/grub/stage1" at the grub prompt. Stage 1.5 has been eliminated.

The main Grub 2 configuration file, normally located in the /boot/grub folder, is grub.cfg.

 It is the product of various scripts and should not normally be edited directly.

grub.cfg is overwritten by certain Grub 2 package updates, whenever a kernel is added or removed, or when the user runs update-grub.

The menu list of available Linux kernels is automatically generated by running update-grub.

The user can create a custom file in which the user can place his own menu entries. This file will not be overwritten. 

By default, a custom file named 40_custom is available for use in the /etc/grub.d folder.

The primary configuration file for changing menu display settings is called grub and by default is located in the /etc/default folder.

There are multiple files for configuring the menu - /etc/default/grub mentioned above, and all the files in the /etc/grub.d/ directory.

Partition numbering has changed. The first partition is now 1 rather than 0. The first device/drive is still hd0 by default (no change). These designations can be altered if necessary in the device.map file in the /boot/grub folder.

Automated searches for other operating systems, such as Windows, are accomplished whenever update-grub is executed. 

Operating systems found will be placed in the Grub 2 menu.

Changes made in the configuration files will not take effect until the update-grub command is executed.

Customize:

1.Install grub-splashimages

>>sudo apt-get install grub-splashimages

The default install directory is :/usr/share/images/grub.And in the directory you will see some images that have been already installed yet with the format.tga.

 If you do not fond of them, just make your own by some tools (eg: Format Factory), convert one of your favourite wallpaper into the format of .tga (TGA or TARGA format is a format for describing bitmap images, it is capable of representing bitmaps ranging from black and white, indexed colour, and RGB colour, the format also supports various compression methods).

2.Edit the file /etc/default/grub

>>sudo chmod 777 /etc/default/grub

This step can makes you be the root user,so you can edit it directly. Find the variableGRUB_BACKGROUND, 

give it a value “/usr/share/images/grub/~.tga”, ~.tga is the picture you like. So, it’s like that:

 GRUB_BACKGROUND=“/usr/share/images/grub/~.tga”. Be careful of the semicolon and save it.

3.Input such command in terminal:

>>sudo update-grub

>>sudo reboot

Now just waiting for your PC reboot and guess how wonderful it is.