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Customize the menu of bootloader Grub on a multiboot computer
Do you have a multiple bootable computer, on which you've installed more than one version of Linux Mint? Then it can be useful to customize the Grub menu entries, so that it's clearer for you which Linux you'll boot.
This is how:
1. Boot the "secondary" Linux whose menu entry you want to change. So not your primary Linux that's on the first line of the boot menu, to which the dominant Grub belongs!
2. In that secondary Linux you launch a terminal window.
(You can launch a terminal window like this: *Click*)
3. Then copy/paste into the terminal:
xed admin:///etc/lsb-release
Press Enter.
4. Now the fun part starts. Apply the desired entry modification in the last line of that text file.
An example is easiest: for instance like this, for a secondary Linux Mint 21.3 Virginia:
DISTRIB_ID=LinuxMint
DISTRIB_RELEASE=21.3
DISTRIB_CODENAME=virginia
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Coffee mug"
Save the modified file and close it.
5. Then in the terminal:
sudo update-grub
Press Enter.
6. Optional: Don't you want to be forced to repeat this hack in the future, because of a future update for lsb-release? Then lock the modified file to its current version by locking the package it belongs to, so that updates won't be able to spoil the fun:
sudo apt-mark hold base-files
Press Enter.
Note: this locking may have some negative security implications, although they don't seem to be big. If you wish to undo the locking, then this is the command to use:
sudo apt-mark unhold base-files
7. Reboot your computer, and this time boot your primary Linux (the one on the first line of your Grub menu).
8. Then in the terminal:
sudo update-grub
Press Enter.
9. Reboot your computer again: the secundary Linux should now be called Coffee mug (21.3) in your Grub menu.
Want more tips?
Do you want more tips and tweaks? There's a lot more of them on this website!
For example:
Speed up your Linux Mint!
Clean your Linux Mint safely
Avoid 10 fatal mistakes
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