You are not logged in.
I have an old laptop that doesn't always timeout and load the default kernel.
timeout is set to 5 in menu.lst
I feel like in the past this rarely happened.
Any thoughts?
I do need to press f1 every boot because the battery is dead and the bios says that the battery can't be identified / charged.
Does grub depend on or look at anything else that might be causing this to override the timeout?
Contents of /boot/grub/menu.lst
# Config file for GRUB - The GNU GRand Unified Bootloader
# /boot/grub/menu.lst
# DEVICE NAME CONVERSIONS
#
# Linux Grub
# -------------------------
# /dev/fd0 (fd0)
# /dev/sda (hd0)
# /dev/sdb2 (hd1,1)
# /dev/sda3 (hd0,2)
#
# FRAMEBUFFER RESOLUTION SETTINGS
# +-------------------------------------------------+
# | 640x480 800x600 1024x768 1280x1024
# ----+--------------------------------------------
# 256 | 0x301=769 0x303=771 0x305=773 0x307=775
# 32K | 0x310=784 0x313=787 0x316=790 0x319=793
# 64K | 0x311=785 0x314=788 0x317=791 0x31A=794
# 16M | 0x312=786 0x315=789 0x318=792 0x31B=795
# +-------------------------------------------------+
# for more details and different resolutions see
# http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GRUB#Framebuffer_Resolution
# general configuration:
timeout 5
default 0
color light-blue/black light-cyan/blue
# boot sections follow
# each is implicitly numbered from 0 in the order of appearance below
#
# TIP: If you want a 1024x768 framebuffer, add "vga=773" to your kernel line.
#
#-*
# (0) Arch Linux
title Arch Linux
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda1 ro
initrd /boot/kernel26.img
# (1) Arch Linux
title Arch Linux Fallback
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda1 ro
initrd /boot/kernel26-fallback.img
# (2) Windows
#title Windows
#rootnoverify (hd0,0)
#makeactive
#chainloader +1Offline
Is the countdown freezing, or is it counting all the way down but not booting, or...?
I have seen this on an older system with unreliable/loose/damaged RAM. You might also want to verify that your hard-disk is securely connected. Based on what you've said, sounds like hardware.
Offline
It isn't counting down at all. The grub screen pops up and there is no text at the bottom with the message and counting down.
However this morning when I booted the old guy up it didn't require me hitting f1 to bypass the message about the battery not being recognized/chargeable. The grub screen there DID count down and automatically boot the default kernel.
I'm pretty sure that the HDD is securely in place. It's the battery that causes the problem. Sometimes after travelling with the laptop I need to hit the side of the laptop to reseat the battery so that it makes contact so the laptop can turn on.
If there is a way to solve this then great. Otherwise I'm prepared to deal with it as it isn't a huge inconvenience.
Offline
Perhaps cleaning the battery contacts on both the battery and the computer interface with a small amount of contact cleaner or rubbing alcohol will solve the problem.
Prediction...This year will be a very odd year!
Hard work does not kill people but why risk it: Charlie Mccarthy
A man is not complete until he is married..then..he is finished.
When ALL is lost, what can be found? Even bytes get lonely for a little bit! X-ray confirms Iam spineless!
Offline