How the hell do I edit grub.conf?

RicksonCrazy · #1 20th February 2008, 02:23 AM

so I have windows xp and fedora 8.

sda1 is windows xp

sda2 is ext3 formated and fedora 8 on it.

I want to open grub.conf and put these lines in there for dual boot:

"
title windows xp
rootnoverify(hd0,0) ( I think this is correct. so windows is on very first partition of my single hard drive)
makeactive
chainloader +1.

but I can't open the grub.conf.

I used this code 'username All = (all) nopasswd: all'>>etc/sudoers.

but then what texteditor can I use to open grub.conf. or how do I open it with gui text editor?

remember your help is Sincerely apreciated.
Thank you.

#2 20th February 2008, 02:26 AM

Title edited for content. Please moderate your language on this forum.

Wayne

kevmif · #3 20th February 2008, 02:40 AM

You need to use the command line

The file is owned by root.

Open a terminal window and type the following:
su -
rootpassword

gedit (or kedit, vi, emacs or whatever bloody editor you want to use) /boot/grub/grub.conf

You can then save the file.

RicksonCrazy · #4 20th February 2008, 04:06 AM

thanks kevmif.

this is what needs to be done:

open terminal:
type su
type kernell password

type echo 'username All = (All)NoPasswd:All'>> /etc/sudoers

click enter.

navigate to /etc/ folder
type cd .. to go up the directory
type cd directoryName to go into directory
type ls to see all files and folders in directory.

then once you are in /etc/ folder
type gedit grub.conf

just wrote it out for others. took me a while to find out on the internet.

sideways · #5 20th February 2008, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RicksonCrazy

type echo 'username All = (All)NoPasswd:All'>> /etc/sudoers

You definitely SHOULD NOT do that.

You just needed to type this

Code:

su -
gedit /etc/grub.conf

Note that /etc/grub.conf is just a soft link to the actual file /boot/grub/grub.conf

RicksonCrazy · #6 22nd February 2008, 01:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sideways

You definitely SHOULD NOT do that.

You just needed to type this

Code:

su -
gedit /etc/grub.conf

Note that /etc/grub.conf is just a soft link to the actual file /boot/grub/grub.conf

ok thanks. so what's the problem with that "echo ....etc" command?
what does it do? are there any permanent changes done to the system after typing
"echo .....etc" command?
yes I have seen that grub.conf is also in boot/grub folder.
and thank again.

sideways · #7 22nd February 2008, 02:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RicksonCrazy

ok thanks. so what's the problem with that "echo ....etc" command?
what does it do? are there any permanent changes done to the system after typing
"echo .....etc" command?
yes I have seen that grub.conf is also in boot/grub folder.
and thank again.

it allows your 'username' to execute commands with root privilege without a password (permanently).
That's really not very secure. However on a home system it might be convenient, I probably shouldn't have been so alarmist

Also, the proper way to edit the /etc/sudoers file is by using 'visudo' as root (it will parse basic errors for example)

better just to add your username to the following section of the sudoers file like this

Code:

## Allow root to run any commands anywhere
root    ALL=(ALL)       ALL
username   ALL=(ALL)       ALL

Now you must enter your password to run a sudo command

eg

Code:

sudo yum update
sudo gedit /etc/grub.conf

This is how ubuntu is set up for example. (Note that the sudo password lasts for a few minutes, so you don't have to keep entering it for lots of sudo commands in quick succession)

RicksonCrazy · #8 15th April 2008, 02:17 AM

so is there any way to undo what I did?
I mean I don't want any user to run root commands.
how do I undo these changes:

"username All = (all) nopasswd: all'>>etc/sudoers"

Thanks.

Bslagowski · #9 15th April 2008, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RicksonCrazy

so is there any way to undo what I did?
I mean I don't want any user to run root commands.
how do I undo these changes:

"username All = (all) nopasswd: all'>>etc/sudoers"

Thanks.

Code:

su -
visudo

Scroll to where that line is ("username All = ... etc) so that the cursor is at the start of the line. Pressing "x" will delete it character by character. Once you've deleted it press the colon key (thats the " : " key) and type wq. Press enter. You should be back at the terminal. Whew!

You might also be interested in the "vitutor" program. It teaches you the basics of vi. I don't think fedora has it installed by default but it should be a quick yum install away. Get it and at least familiarize yourself with the basics. My personal opinions aside, knowing at least the rudimentary workings of vi/vim is pretty important.

RicksonCrazy · #10 23rd April 2008, 04:35 AM

Thank you. is it a big deal if I use gedit instead of vi? so yes I deleted that line.

w5set · #11 23rd April 2008, 06:55 AM

OHHHH MYYYYY!!!
You used gedit to edit grub.conf??????

Ahhh...never mind....

You just broke the purists hearts doing that.... hehe

Just remember to leave/put a empty line after the last line in grub....as most other scripts too.
and always just save as a plain text file --but not a ".txt" (a "dot"txt) like grub.conf.txt.....(just hit save...not save as)
Gedit works good...and usually it's default is a backup file (something.bak) so you could go back to the original if ya need to by renaming the old (bak or similar named) file
Always make a backup for the file to be edited if it's a system file.
That can save your bacon if editing is wrong/fubar, etc.