I like Ubuntu, but one thing that has always annoyed me about it was that it adds a lot of different Grub menu items that I never use. This isn't the end of the world, but I like to have my menus nice and neat, and this menu is not nice and neat at all.

The only thing I currently use Grub for is to choose if I want to boot into Windows, Ubuntu, or any other operating system I might have installed at the time. This tutorial will show you how to remove the old versions of the Linux kernel, the recovery mode options, and remove the memory test (memtest86+) options.

1. Removing the memory test (memtest86+)
2. Removing the old Linux kernels
3. Removing the recovery mode options
4. Changing the default timeout duration, default Grub option, and Grub resolution

Now, some of you might be saying "don't get rid of those options, you might need them later on!" My answer to that is two part. First of all, how often do you check your ram for errors or boot into recovery mode? If you're like me, then the answer is never. The second reason I believe you can safely remove those options from the menu is because you can just use the Ubuntu live recovery CD to fix any problems you might run across. So keeping all these options on there is useless and nothing but annoying for me. But enough with my ranting. I assume you are reading this because you have already decided that you want to get rid of these menu options, and just want to know how to do it.

Removing the memory test (memtest86+)

Removing the memory test menu items is easy. All you have to do is uninstall the memory test program. There other are ways to remove the menu listing without uninstalling the program, but I don't see any reason to keep it around. If you ever need to test your ram, all you need to do is use the Ubuntu live CD that you used to install Ubuntu.

So, to get rid of memory test (memtest86+) click on System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager. Then in the "Quick search" window, type memtest. Then click on the little green square box next to memtest86+ and select "mark for complete removal". Then click apply, and the program is now removed from your computer and also from your Grub boot menu.

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Removing the old Linux kernels

Every time that Ubuntu updates the Linux kernel to a new version (during automatic updates), it leaves the old one remaining on your on your computer. After a while these will litter your Grub menu with additional menu options. The way that the newer versions of Grub work, is that if your remove or add a kernel, it automatically shows up in the Grub menu. So to get rid of the additional Linux kernels listed in the Grub menu, simply uninstall them. Some people like to keep a couple old versions of the kernel lying around, but I like get rid of all of them except the one I am currently using. If for whatever reason I need an older version, I just reinstall it.

So, to get rid of the older versions of the Linux kernels, click on System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager. Then In the "Quick search" window, type "linux kernel image". Then click the square above the check boxes to order the list by installed packages.

Then click on the little green square box next to the Linux kernel (they have names that look something like "Linux-image-2.6.32-23").

Then select "mark for complete removal". Then click apply, and the program is now removed from your computer and also from your Grub boot menu. As a bonus you will also recover some space on the hard drive which the kernel was previously taking up.

Note: You will have to do this every time that the Linux Kernel is updated.

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Removing the recovery mode options

Removing the recovery mode options from the Grub menu is a little bit different than simply uninstalling the package. Instead, you need to edit a file. First you need to open up the console by going to Applications > Accessories > Terminal. Now you need to change directories to the one containing the file you want to edit. Type

cd /etc/default

Next you need to edit the file called "grub". To do this type

gksudo gedit grub

For those of you who don't know, the gksudo command is the same as sudo, but needs to be used used for applications that have a graphical user interface (GUI). Scroll down in the file to where it says

# Uncomment to disable generation of recovery mode menu entries
#GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_RECOVERY="true"

The # sign means that something is a comment. To uncomment the item, remove the # sign in front of the line to make it look like this

# Uncomment to disable generation of recovery mode menu entries
GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_RECOVERY="true"

Save the changes and close the text editor. The changes will not work until you tell Ubuntu to update Grub. To do this, return to the console and type

sudo update-grub

The console will tell you that it is generating a file called grub.cfg, and after a few seconds it will tell you it is done. Now the Grub menu will no longer have the recovery mode options listed.

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Changing the default timeout duration, default Grub menu option, and Grub resolution

By now the Grub menu listings should look the way we want, but there are still a few changes we can make to customize the Grub menu even further. These changes can be done using an application called StartUp-Manager. To install this program click on Applications > Ubuntu Software Center. Then in the search box type "StartUp-Manager" and click the Install button next to the StartUp-Manager application.

After the StartUp-Manager is installed, you can access it through System > Administration > StartUp-Manager.

Under the "Boot options" tab, you can type in a new value for the Timeout time. This will change how long Grub will wait before automatically loading the default choice. To change the default choice you can use the drop-down menu. To change the display resolution you can also use the drop-down menu. Changing the display resolution will make the Grub menu look sharper, but it will also make the text smaller. Choose something that you personally think looks good.

After doing this, click the Close button, and the settings will be applied. You are now done! The Grub menu should now be much less cluttered, and much less annoying!

If you want to read more about Grub, you can go here http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1195275. I used some information from that post as a reference in my writeup.

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