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This is probably simple to explain/resolve but I need help with dual booting.

I have win7 installed. I just installed Ubuntu. Before the Ubuntu installation, I took the necessary steps. Such as create new partition, assign for storage space and also swap space. Once, I started installation everything went smoothly. However, after confirming "no" to import settings from win7 to Ubuntu (such as mozilla firefox settings etc. for users) I restarted the computer to complete the install.

Naturally, in a dual boot situation the PC displays which system to start (win7 or Ubuntu). I don't get this screen. It just boots directly to Ubuntu. I need to be able to choose either win7 or Ubuntu.

Any help is appreciated, thank you.

I know my win7 loader is in dev/sda1 and I think that I also updated the grub...PLEASE HELP

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1 Answer 1

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You need to set timer in grub so when it loads you can choose which OS to boot. To do so follow this steps

  1. Open Terminal
  2. In the terminal enter sudo gedit /etc/default/grub
  3. Locate the line GRUB_TIMEOUT and set the value 10 for example. So it will look like this GRUB_TIMEOUT="10"
  4. In order to see the grub menu you have to comment the following line GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0. To comment a line you should add # at the begging. So it will look like this #GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0
  5. Save the file and close it.
  6. Then update the grub config by executing command sudo update-grub Now you should be able to see boot menu where is your Ubuntu and Windows listed.

In order to reinstall grub we are going to use tool called Boot-repair Actual quote from Ubuntu community wiki


To repair GRUB follow these steps:

  1. boot your computer on a Ubuntu live-CD or live-USB.

  2. choose "Try Ubuntu"

  3. connect internet

  4. open a new Terminal, then type:


  5. Press Enter.

  6. Then type:


  7. Press Enter

Using Boot-Repair

Recommended repair

  1. launch Boot-Repair from either : the Dash (the Ubuntu logo at the top-left of the screen) or by typing 'boot-repair' in a terminal

Hope this help to restore access to your systems.

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Nikki Kononov, I tried the things that you said. It still does not work. Here is what it looks like: # If you change this file, run 'update-grub' afterwards to update –  ed-2012 Oct 12 '12 at 19:15
Is there any other options? Thank you! –  ed-2012 Oct 12 '12 at 19:19
you forgot to put quotes on GRUB_TIMEOUT=10 they needed! so it must look like GRUB_TIMEOUT="10" –  Nikki Kononov Oct 12 '12 at 19:44
just put in the quotes...its still not working. I know I did the install correctly because Ubuntu is showing installed on only 68.00GB that I allocated for it...what do you think might be the problem?? I appreciate your help and effort! –  ed-2012 Oct 12 '12 at 19:52

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