Comment 21 for bug 103297

I suggest that there are actually two issues worth separating in this bug report:

   1. The original post about the default kernel changing away from Windows
   2. The noisier issue about manually editing kernels in the "AUTOMAGIC" section of the file

Both can be fixed by a better understanding of how the update-grub command works. I have read the grub-configuration-improvements specification and it seems to address only problem 2 (though it does so very well).

Returning to problem 1, then.

When the Ubuntu installer detects the Windows operating system it will create extra stanzas in the menu.lst file for it at the bottom of the file under the divider "Other operating systems". Notably these stanzas are placed under the "AUTOMAGIC" section that can dynamically grow new entries as new Ubuntu kernels are installed. If you wish to boot into Windows by default then you can do so by changing the default stanza number but when a new Ubuntu kernel is installed the number for the Windows stanza will change and the default will change.

The simple solution, as I have implemented successfully on my father's computer, is to move the non-Ubuntu stanza that you want as the default above the "AUTOMAGIC" section and set default back to 0.

Hope this helps.

It might be worth detecting this problematic situation and prompting the user at update-grub time too (note added to specification).