With each kernel update, a new entry is placed in Grub to provide a way to boot that specific kernel version.
I have about 5 at the moment and, to be honest, once I have confirmed I can boot into the new kernel version, I never go back to a previous version.
I'd like to manage the items in this list from the desktop rather than edit the file, is there a way to do this using the GUI from within Ubuntu itself?
Yes, remove the packages.
Load up synaptic and search for
linux-image
. Click the first column to sort by packages that are actually installed and then click the green boxes to alter the state.You're looking for packages that look like:
linux-image-2.6.31-ubuntu10
. Don't removelinux-image
as that will stop updates coming in.Just mark the ones you don't want anymore and then click apply. I would suggest (if you're happy with it) removing all but the current kernel and the one before it (just in case).
When you're done, click apply and grub gets cleaned up.
You can install a program called StartUp-Manager.
The package is called
startupmanager
. You can search for this in the Ubuntu Software Centre or Synaptic or run:sudo apt-get install startupmanager
in a terminal.It allows you to select the what grub entry is default, the number of seconds grub waits until it automatically boots and other options, such as resolution.
It is a good idea to uninstall old kernels from synaptic though.
Daniel Richter has developed a GUI configuration tool to allow users to change the Grub 2 settings without using the command line. The application allows the user to add, remove, freeze, rename and reorder boot menu items. It will also allow changes to the Grub 2 configuration settings such as background image and menu timeout.
you can use it and install it follow this GUIDE
if you want deep in GRUB 2 you can read this GUIDE too
so thx to DANIEL
It's not GUI based, but the easiest way to remove previous linux images is to issue the simple command :
This will remove ALL cruft from your system, not just linux kernels. Anything that isn't used by another package will be removed that that command.
If you simply must have a GUI, then start Synaptic then click on the "Status" button at the bottom left, then choose the "Installed (Auto Removable)" filter from the list above it. Then choose everything in that list (shift or control clicking or use CTRL-A), and right-click to select "Mark for Removal".
For example, below, I'm running the 2.6.35.27 kernel, so if I want to remove the previous 2.6.35.25 kernel :
Well, Ubuntu Tweak has a nice simple interface for killing old images and headers and all. Seems to me to be simple enough to be foolproof. Crappy quick and dirty screenshot. It will autopopulate and not show anything related to the current kernal. Not associated with the project, but it's worked well for me in the past.
Personally I use the following setup (grub legacy):
This works because Ubuntu automatically updates
/vmlinuz
,/initrd.img
symlinks to point to latest installed kernel and initramfs image (and.old
companions to point to previous ones).This will not work with
/boot
on separate partition though.I can't understand why Ubuntu doesn't use this by default and constructs unbearably ugly and crutchful workarounds which fill bootloader screen with excessively redundant and useless lines. In my opinion, the screen should look at least like this:
The four Ubuntu lines already feel redundant. Now imagine a dozen of almost-the-same lines which differ in some digits only (and all mean just "boot Ubuntu"!) — and you have to select the proper one. Nightmare!