How to Create a Custom and Visually Appealing Boot Loader for Dual Booting Elementary OS and Windows 10

Creating a visually appealing boot loader for dual booting Elementary OS and Windows 10 can enhance the overall user experience and make your system more personal. Using GRUB Customizer, you can customize the appearance and functionality of your bootloader. In this guide, we will walk you through the step-by-step process to achieve a custom and fancy-looking boot loader.

Step 1: Install GRUB Customizer

First, you need to install GRUB Customizer, a user-friendly tool for customizing the GRand Unified Bootloader (GRUB). To install GRUB Customizer on Elementary OS, follow these steps:

Open Terminal. Run the following commands to add the PPA and update your package list:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer
sudo apt update

Install GRUB Customizer:

sudo apt install grub-customizer

Step 2: Configure GRUB

Once GRUB Customizer is installed, you can start customizing your boot loader.

Open GRUB Customizer from the application menu. Modify the Boot Order to set your preferred default boot option. You can reorder the entries to prioritize either Elementary OS or Windows 10. To customize the appearance, go to the Apearance Settings tab: Set a custom background image. Choose or download a theme that suits your style from platforms like GNOME-Look or GitHub. You can also create your own theme if desired.

Step 3: Install Custom Themes (Optional)

If you wish to use a custom theme, follow these steps:

Download a GRUB theme from a reliable source like GNOME-Look or GitHub. Extract the theme files to the /boot/grub/themes/ directory. Edit the GRUB configuration file to use the custom theme: Open the /etc/default/grub file in your preferred text editor, e.g., nano or VI:

sudo nano /etc/default/grub

Add or modify the line to specify the custom theme:

GRUB_THEME/boot/grub/themes/your-theme-name/theme.txt

Update GRUB to apply the changes:

sudo update-grub

Step 4: Test the Boot Loader

After making your customizations, reboot your system to see the new GRUB bootloader with your customizations:

sudo reboot

Troubleshooting

If Windows does not appear in the boot menu, you may need to run:

sudo update-grub

Notes

Backup your data before making changes to the bootloader. If you encounter issues, you can always revert to the default GRUB settings by running:

sudo grub-install /dev/sda

This setup will give you a visually appealing bootloader for your dual-boot system with Elementary OS and Windows 10. Enjoy your customized boot experience!