I’ve been dual booting Manjaro KDE alongside Windows 11 from past few years and was ext4 file system, and the grub screen used to remember my previously selected boot option, ex: when I selected Windows 11 and reboot the system, the boot option on grub screen used to stay on Windows 11 and booted into it. But recently I reinstalled the Manjaro with BTRFS file system, and every time the boot screen defaults to Manjaro, which causes inconvenience when there are updates in Windows 11 and requires multiple restarts, which is a feature i guess is missing in Manjaro when selected BTRFS file system, and by adding that feature would be more convenient to users who are dual booting their systems.
That’s not supported and Manjaro can’t do anything with this.
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That is correct.
The last selected entry is stored in /boot/grub/grubenv and grub does not support writing to the grubenv on btrfs filesystem.
If you want a specific entry to be default - you can use
grub-set-default <number>
The number can be deduced from list the menu entries e.g.
awk -F\' '/menuentry / {print $2}' /boot/grub/grub.cfg
Example (using root)
# grub-editenv list
menu_auto_hide=1
boot_success=1
saved_entry=gnulinux-6.15.0-rc7-1-MANJARO x64-advanced-cafce1fc-a404-48b9-b7e8-00ec59a4e2c0
recordfail=1
The list numbering is 0-based (meaning the first entry is 0 the second is 1)
# awk -F\' '/menuentry / {print $2}' /boot/grub/grub.cfg
Manjaro Linux (Kernel: 6.15.0-rc7-1-MANJARO x64)
Manjaro Linux (Kernel: 6.15.0-rc7-1-MANJARO x64 - fallback initramfs)
Manjaro Linux (Kernel: 6.14.8-1-MANJARO x64)
Manjaro Linux (Kernel: 6.14.8-1-MANJARO x64 - fallback initramfs)
Manjaro Linux (Kernel: 6.12.30-1-MANJARO x64)
Manjaro Linux (Kernel: 6.12.30-1-MANJARO x64 - fallback initramfs)
UEFI Firmware Settings
Set list item number 4 as default
# grub-set-default 'Manjaro Linux (Kernel: 6.12.30-1-MANJARO x64)'
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Hehe, I had the same issue and know the best solution for me without grub.
That’s not what we mean or want. No need to post stuff about setting a default entry.
Exactly, that’s super annoying in dual boot.
If you want to use grub or need full Manjaro support, you kind of have to live with this unsolved issue. Sad but true.
I don’t know why Manjaro doesn’t offer a different bootloader in the installer. But if It wants to keep grub as default bootloader for everyone, that’s fine by me. I don’t really care.
It is a Windows issue - nothing to do with Manjaro Linux.
This is a known limitation of grub and btrfs.
How can you know that - you are not the OP?
Because grub supports both EFI/GPT and BIOS/MBR.
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I faced the same issue in the past, I know the pain:
There is a different bootloader support both.
Please focus on offering a solution and clearly demonstrate what the solution looks like. Or admit that a simple solution isn’t possible.
Arguing doesn’t get anyone anywhere.
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I can think quite a few ways around this, which are not supported, so I don’t want to recommend any hacks.
I
But a safer way, as @linux-aarhus pointed out, you can still set the default at any time in Linux. (Just not remember the choice within the grub menu itself.)
If the endless update loops of Windows updates is the primary concern, you can just leave the default to boot Windows. (Or toggle the default as needed.)
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Using rEFInd as the primary bootloader (while leaving Grub in situ) is another possible workaround. rEFInd will continue to boot the last booted OS which solves the Windows issue for the sake of WindowsUpdate; for Manjaro, set whichever desired kernel as default (as previously mentioned).
Regards.
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