Can I remove Grub so I automatically boot to Windows

English Install/Boot/Login
1

Hi there,

Having a slight problem… I installed opensuse 11.2 today on my external hard drive and everything is running great, but I want to see if I can make a modification to the way my computer boots.

I share this computer with others and they are not going to be happy to have to wait for the boot menu to start when they turn on the computer in order to choose which OS to run (Especially since if they do not make a choice it auto runs opensuse after a few seconds).

What I would like is if opensuse can be “out of sight, out of mind” and only load when I put in the live cd and then choose to boot from my external… is it possible to do this?

I am not a computer wizard and do not work in the industry, so if you could please speak in lamens terms I would really appreciate it… Thank you so much for the help!

2

The obvious alternative is to install GRUB only on the external disk and use the BIOS SETUP to change the boot order when you want to load openSUSE.

3

You could change the order of the OS’s in the /boot/grub/menu.lst file and make Windows the first. Also can control the time out value there.

4

Yast - System - Boot loader

Set windows to default and the timer to 1 sec, you’ll just get a glimpse of the menu.

5

Great, Thank you. Is it possible to revert back to my old bootloader that I had before though, then when I want to use opensuse I just manually boot to my external, or use the live cd to boot?

6

I’m not following…sorry…:slight_smile:

7

Sorry about that. I want to be able to start my computer and not have the boot menu screen come up at all, but just go straight to windows. Just like it did before I installed opensuse. Then when I am using the computer and want to run opensuse I can plug in my external HD and insert the live cd, allowing me to boot that way.

The reason is, once I unplug my external hard drive and restart my computer, the computer has an error and freezes before I can boot anything (the boot loader is on the external now, with windows it was on my internal HD). So now the only way for my computer works at all now is with the external plugged in allowing the boot menu to start.

8

Put grub on the external drive and the windows MBR on the internal set the boot sequence to external first so if the external is plugged in it will boot to grub if not plugged in then the second drive in the boot is the Windows drive and you get a direct boot into Windows.

I think that is the best you can do and still have a “dual” boot system.

9

Would it be too much to ask how I would do this, because it seems a little out of my realm.

10

You need to fix the MBR of the windows drive so there is no trace of grub, it should be just as if windows is installed. Use your windows DVD to repair the bootmgr and bcd.

I think all you need then is supergrubdisk: Super Grub Disk Homepage
It should be able to boot SUSE for you

11

Awesome, so I made a recovery disk for windows, went into dos and use bootrec.exe /fixmbr and that got rid of the grub, thanks a lot!

12

Great - Well done