How do I get the Windows Bootloader as Default?

[timo0060]

Hello everyone, as it says in the title, I would like to get the winodws bootloader as the default bootloader instead of the Fedora one. I don't mind the Fedora bootloader, but I use windows more so it gets annoying. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

[stratman4300]

You would have to re-install the windows boot loader, via the windows repair console from a winXP/Wista/7 bootable CD.

Do you simply want Windows to be the default booted OS?

you can edit /boot/grub/menu.lst with your favorite editor and change the default=0 line to whatever entry windows is in your grub list.

For example: if Windows is listed 2nd in your grub list, change that line to

default=1

That should do it for you!

[timo0060]

I don't want windows to be the default os to be booted, I just want the bootloader to be windows by default. But i don't have a windows os disk to repair on, so I guess I'll just have to get use to it. Thanks for your help.

[stoat]

Well, it won't take long to get used to it. After all, boot loaders are pretty simple things that are finished with their job in seconds. One is pretty much like another, and GRUB is a good boot loader IMO. I recommend that you leave everything as it is now. But there are ways to restore the MS (or MS-like) bootstrapping code to the master boot record and make Windows again boot directly from BIOS without having your Windows installation disk. Knowing how to do that will come in handy if you decide to remove Fedora from this hard drive since that will bust the GRUB boot loader and nothing will boot.

One idea is the Super Grub Disk. It's a free and popular utility that usually is used to re-install GRUB in the master boot record. But it also can write syslinux to the master boot record which will cause the active partition to be booted (just like the original MS boot strapping code does). You won't see any difference from before you installed Fedora.

Another way is to download an MS-DOS boot disk image and use it to create a boot disk. Those are usually floppy images, but it's easy to create a DOS boot CD from a floppy IMG file if you don't have a floppy drive. Then the traditional fdisk /mbr DOS command can restore standard MS boot strapping code to the master boot record and the active partition will be booted. Warning: the sites with those Windows boot disk images sometimes can deliver malware.

Lastly, but importantly, if the active partition was changed by Anaconda to the the Fedora boot partition (it happens), then you also will need to change that back to the partition with the Windows boot loader files. The Super Grub Disk will do that (at least it did for me once). That DOS fdisk command will not. But any partition manager can do it. You can even do it in Fedora with gparted or fdisk right now before you restore the master boot record. Fedora will still boot just fine without its boot partition being marked active. There is some special and sort of esoteric reason that Anaconda starting doing that a few versions ago.

Good to know, but still, I recommend that for now you leave the GRUB boot loader alone. The potential exists to make a big mess while changing the boot loader. Someday, you may find yourself forced into to doing this. That's a different matter.

[stratman4300]

One idea is the Super Grub Disk. It's a free and popular utility that usually is used to re-install GRUB in the master boot record.

I didn't even know that utility existed.

That'll come in handy for me from time to time I'm sure.

Thanks stoat!