We all know that the GRUB loading menu that greets many of upon boot isn’t the most stylish or modern looking interface – even adding a poorly pixelated picture background can’t save it from looking lame.

Getting a gorgeous, animated and informative boot-loader is no longer a dream thanks to ‘Brand New Universal Bootloader’ (more commonly referred to as ‘BURG’.)

Admittedly, “BURG” may sound like something from the depths of Star Trek mythology but a bevvy of cool features and enhancements make it an option well worth considering if you like to beautify your system.

Install BURG

Whilst this method is straightforward be aware that you are dealing with a delicate area of your system and, as such, things can and will go awry without due attention or intention!

Add the BURG PPA:-

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ingalex/super-boot-manager

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install burg burg-themes

Install BURG to your Master Boot Record

Install burg to your MBR using the command below. Substitute ‘hd0’ with an alternative drive if needed.

sudo burg-install “(hd0)”

Update BURG entries

You MUST run this step or you may be left scratching your head upon reboot when nothing shows up

sudo update-burg

Theming

Now for the juicy stuff; the reason you’re probably installing burg – themes!
Selecting a burg theme is simple: reboot and when you see the default BURG screen press the ‘T’ button on your keyboard. A long list of themes will present itself to you. Using your arrow keys select one from the list and then hit enter for it to be applied.
Here are a selection of some popular themes: –
Sora
Radiance
Ambiance theme
Coffee

Previewing Your GRUB Menu

You can preview your GRUB theme without rebooting providing you have first done all of the above steps.

After installation run the command: –

burg-emu

A new window will open displaying your GRUB menu. To close it press the ‘c’ button on your keyboard and type ‘exit’.

Official BURG website code.google.com/p/burg

burg grub2 Ubuntu