Enable GRUB menu and timeout

Even if you don't multiboot several operating systems it might be useful to show GRUB menu and give a little timeout to pick the right item.

Process is straightforward on Ubuntu - just edit following file:

sudo nano /etc/default/grub

Find following default values:

GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=hidden
GRUB_TIMEOUT=0

And change them to following:

GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=menu
GRUB_TIMEOUT=5

Don't forget to propagate GRUB configuration:

sudo update-grub

I have recently ran that on Linux Mint and it showed following:

Sourcing file `/etc/default/grub'
Sourcing file `/etc/default/grub.d/50_linuxmint.cfg'
Sourcing file `/etc/default/grub.d/60_mint-theme.cfg'
Generating grub configuration file ...
Found theme: /boot/grub/themes/linuxmint/theme.txt
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-5.3.0-45-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-5.3.0-45-generic
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-5.3.0-42-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-5.3.0-42-generic
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-5.0.0-32-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-5.0.0-32-generic
Adding boot menu entry for EFI firmware configuration
done

Note that it mentions theme /boot/grub/themes/linuxmint/theme.txt - this might be a good chance to give your bootloader some personal touch :)

This post initially published March 31, 2020 as blog entry.