Creating manual bootloader entries in YaST
Hello people. I've installed Fedora 5 and ZenWalk 2.4 alongside my default-boot SUSE 10.0 for testing purposes. I did not want to disturb my SUSE GRUB so I told Fedora's and ZenWalk's installers not to install any boot-loader. Now I am unable to boot into them without a boot-loader entry in /boot/grub/menu.lst I am however at a loss how to create the entries. The YaST bootloader setup asks for: Kernel Initial RAM Disk Root Device VGA Mode Other Kernel Parameters However I don't know what to give as entries. Fedora is located at /dev/sda9 and ZenWalk at /dev/sda10. This is the only HDD on my system, so I presume the GRUB IDs would be hd(0,8) and hd(0,9) -- but beyond that I know not what to do. Last time when I installed Fedora 4, I used the SUSE installation DVD's repair feature to create a new boot loader -- and that feature automatically identified and created an entry for Fedora 4. But now it does not detect Fedora 5, or ZenWalk. Please advise. Thanks. -- Tux #395953 resides at http://samvit.org playing with KDE 3.52 on SUSE Linux 10.0 $ date [] CCE +2006-04-06 W14-4 UTC+0530
On Wednesday, April 05, 2006 @ 10:11 PM, Shriramana Sharma wrote:
Hello people.
I've installed Fedora 5 and ZenWalk 2.4 alongside my default-boot SUSE 10.0
for testing purposes. I did not want to disturb my SUSE GRUB so I told Fedora's and ZenWalk's installers not to install any boot-loader. Now I am unable to boot into them without a boot-loader entry in /boot/grub/menu.lst
I am however at a loss how to create the entries. The YaST bootloader setup
asks for:
Kernel Initial RAM Disk Root Device VGA Mode Other Kernel Parameters
However I don't know what to give as entries. Fedora is located at /dev/sda9 and ZenWalk at /dev/sda10. This is the only HDD on my system, so I presume the GRUB IDs would be hd(0,8) and hd(0,9) -- but beyond that I know not what to do.
Last time when I installed Fedora 4, I used the SUSE installation DVD's repair feature to create a new boot loader -- and that feature automatically identified and created an entry for Fedora 4. But now it does not detect Fedora 5, or ZenWalk.
Please advise. Thanks.
--
Tux #395953 resides at http://samvit.org playing with KDE 3.52 on SUSE Linux 10.0 $ date [] CCE +2006-04-06 W14-4 UTC+0530
Shriramana: Here's some ideas straight off of the top of my head (may not be worth much). You can look at your /boot/grub/menu.lst (assuming you use grub) to see how it handled Fedora 4. That will give you an idea of what sort of entries to enter for Fedora 5. If it's pretty basic, you should be able to just create another line more or less like it for your Fedora 5. If it contains specifics, then use the Fedora 5 CD to boot into that system and dig for the information you'll need to make the appropriate grub modification. As for Zenwalk, since you have no previous entry in grub to guide you, you may just have to boot it from its installation CD and take a look. If it seems to follow a similar pattern as SuSE and Fedora, you might be able to hack your way to a valid grub entry via some trial and error. Having said all of this, if you use Lilo instead of Grub, I'm not sure if the same approach would work. Beyond that, maybe there's a better approach, but maybe this will stimulate additional ideas on your end. Meanwhile, maybe someone else can give you a better approach (solution?). Greg Wallace
On 06/04/05 23:10 (GMT-0400) Shriramana Sharma apparently typed:
I've installed Fedora 5 and ZenWalk 2.4 alongside my default-boot SUSE 10.0 for testing purposes. I did not want to disturb my SUSE GRUB so I told Fedora's and ZenWalk's installers not to install any boot-loader. Now I am unable to boot into them without a boot-loader entry in /boot/grub/menu.lst
Naturally. Not installing any boot loader at all makes no sense whatsoever. You should always install a distro's native boot loader somewhere. With multiboot, additional distros should always have their boot loaders installed to their /, or, if you use one, their /boot. This gives you the flexibility to later switch any you choose to the mbr if you wish, or to use any boot loader you choose, no matter the type or source. When you install to the / or /boot, you know exactly the required grub or lilo entries that OS installer felt appropriate for the distro, and they can easily be copied to any of the boot loader config files for any of the other distros you have installed. -- "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them." Ephesians 5:11 NIV Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 Felix Miata *** http://mrmazda.no-ip.com/
On Wednesday, April 05, 2006 @ 10:59 PM, Felix Miata wrote:
On 06/04/05 23:10 (GMT-0400) Shriramana Sharma apparently typed:
I've installed Fedora 5 and ZenWalk 2.4 alongside my default-boot SUSE 10.0 for testing purposes. I did not want to disturb my SUSE GRUB so I told Fedora's and ZenWalk's installers not to install any boot-loader. Now I am unable to boot into them without a boot-loader entry in /boot/grub/menu.lst
Naturally. Not installing any boot loader at all makes no sense whatsoever. You should always install a distro's native boot loader somewhere. With multiboot, additional distros should always have their boot loaders installed to their /, or, if you use one, their /boot. This gives you the flexibility to later switch any you choose to the mbr if you wish, or to use any boot loader you choose, no matter the type or source. When you install to the / or /boot, you know exactly the required grub or lilo entries that OS installer felt appropriate for the distro, and they can easily be copied to any of the boot loader config files for any of the other distros you have installed.
In my previous post, I had assumed that the boot loader information was installed in the os but not written to the mbr. If no boot loader was installed at all, you might be better off re-installing those new os's and letting them install their boot loaders. You can always get SuSE back by booting from the SuSE DVD and then re-writing the MBR once you're in there. Greg Wallace
Thursday, 06 April 2006 09:44 samaye, Greg Wallace alekhiit:
you might be better off re-installing those new os's and letting them install their boot loaders. You can always get SuSE back by booting from the SuSE DVD and then re-writing the MBR once you're in there.
I got the Fedora 5 entry by reinstalling Fedora and allowing it to install its own GRUB (which does not detect and include boot menu items for other Linux distros BTW), and then using the SUSE DVD to install a new boot loader. This time it detected the Fedora 5 installation and created an entry automatically. (Last time I had not installed Fedora's GRUB so YaST@DVD did not know how to configure the item for Fedora 5, I presume.) -- Tux #395953 resides at http://samvit.org playing with KDE 3.52 on SUSE Linux 10.0 $ date [] CCE +2006-04-06 W14-4 UTC+0530
participants (3)
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Felix Miata -
Greg Wallace -
Shriramana Sharma