I put the new ubuntu-10.04.1-desktop-i386 in a hp computer. - ubuntu linux. This is my first ubuntu install. I have a red hat linux 9 in my pc.

The hp liteon cd drive did not detect ubuntu boot cd. Other systems did ubuntu cd linux boot well. I updated cdrom firmware still no good. It was on xp-pro sp2. Even knoppix and other boot no way. xp and win98 boot cd detected.

So ....got Universal-USB-Installer-1.7.9.3 from PenDrive Linux. When they first started selling flash usb drives it was called thumb drive. Probably a brand. Calling Pendrive no good, pen is very narrow. Call em Flash Thumb Drives or even ThumbDisk.

Now Installed ubuntu from bootable USB ThumbDisk. It went thru well. Some errors in last, reboot the PC ....Ubuntu was there. Things have become lot easier now.

You have to be logged in admin root. The old mantra on terminal was, after some study, was supposed to be. To edit the grub boot screen and set default.
 
gksu gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst

This dont work anymore. The new way is easier. It is Grub 2

I did all in GUI no terminal.

Edit with the gedit ...............

/etc/default/grub

"This file contains information previously found in the upper section of /boot/grub/menu.lst. It contains settings primarily affecting Grub's menu display. This file can be edited by root to make changes to these settings; they will be imported into grub.cfg when "update-grub" is executed."

in gedit deafult was 0 changed it to 4 as xp was the fourth on my boot screen -- save file

and run/execute

update-grub

/boot/grub/grub.cfg   would have changed. do not edit this.

I may have made mistakes in documentation.