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tuxedo - 29.12.2006, 01:53 Uhr
Titel: Tweaking GRUB menu.lst

I have just installed 2006-01-RC4 on dev/hda3 and XP on /dev/hda1 plus Windows 2000 on /dev/hda2

The mbr restore procedure of the Kanotix installer does not fully recognise my setup by getting my partitions muddled up a bit, although, after reinstalling all OS's several times only to try get the mbr records right, it finally worked, but in a somewhat roundabout way.

These are the last entries of the GRUB menu.lst file which the Kanotix installer generated: ...

Code:

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

title Windows 2K/XP/2003 (hda1)

chainloader (hd0,0)+1

title Windows 2K/XP/2003 (hda2)

chainloader (hd0,1)+1

... the first title entry loads into a non-graphical DOS style sub-menu which I think was created by my last XP repair install from where I can therafter boot 2K or XP.

The second title entry leads to a non-functional screen with an error which says "A kernel file is missing from the disk. Insert a system diskette and restart the system".

There is definitely a functional XP on hda1 and a functional Windows 2000 on hda2, but I'm not quite sure in case I'm actually I'm booting from the Linux root partition. I had set the Linux reiserfs partition as active. Kanotix booting works fine in any case.

How should the entries in the GRUB configuration file appear in order to boot already at the GRUB stage, directly into either XP or Window 2000?

In other words, what should the entries be in the menu.lst file to boot either:
XP on hda1
OR
Windows 2K on hda2

Many thanks for any tips! This is how my current partition table looks like:

stryder - 29.12.2006, 05:39 Uhr
Titel: RE: Tweaking GRUB menu.lst

Don't know very much, but my menu.lst has it this way:

rootnoverify (hd0,0)
makeactive
chainloader +1

HTH.

penguin.ch - 29.12.2006, 06:57 Uhr
Titel:

Two more versions:

Code:

title Windoze XP

rootnoverify (hd0,0)

chainloader +1

title Windoze 2K

rootnoverify (hd0,1)

chainloader +1

Code:

title Windoze XP

chainloader = (hd0,0)+1

title Windoze 2K

chainloader = (hd0,1)+1

HTH
Birdy

tuxedo - 29.12.2006, 09:36 Uhr
Titel:

Thanks - I'll test around with the above bits of code.

drb - 29.12.2006, 11:54 Uhr
Titel:

Mine is as follows :

Code:

title Windows 95/98/ME (hda1)

root (hd0,0)

makeactive

chainloader +1

title Windows 2K/XP/2003 (hdb1)

chainloader (hd1,0)+1

drb

Kano - 29.12.2006, 12:04 Uhr
Titel:

To boot from 2nd hd you need before chainloader:

map (hd0) (hd1)
map (hd1) (hd0)

tuxedo - 30.12.2006, 10:21 Uhr
Titel:

All installations are on the one and same physical hardrive, and all are primary partitions:
/dev/hda1 ntfs <- XP
/dev/hda2 ntfs <- Windoze
/dev/hda3 Reiserfs <- Kanotix
/dev/hda4 Linux-swap

I could not get any of the above the posted examples to work, but thanks anyway for posting them .

I think the problem is in fact besides GRUB, and has something to do with some DOS log-in procedure on both separate Windows partitions, which was maybe configured by the Windows install CD, whether it was XP, 2K or perhaps a service pack upgrade. Who knows!

In any case all operating systems will boot, which is the main point.

A GUI GRUB menu editor for mere mortals would have been nice however....

stryder - 31.12.2006, 00:34 Uhr
Titel:

Out of curiousity, how do you boot the windows OSes presently?

tuxedo - 31.12.2006, 07:46 Uhr
Titel:

When selecting windows from GRUB it switches over to what I believe must be a Windows bootloader on either hda1 (ntfs) or /dev/hda2 (ntfs) which one of the windows installation must have put there, from where I can select XP or 2K. It looks like a black DOS style screen.

penguin.ch - 31.12.2006, 08:08 Uhr
Titel:

tuxedo hat folgendes geschrieben::

It looks like a black DOS style screen.

This is the Windoze boot loader (at least in "2K style").

gs - 31.12.2006, 08:10 Uhr
Titel:

one of your Windows contains a file "boot.ini" - the file tells Windows which version to boot. You can look at the file with an editor and, as root if you wish, modify it to boot as default either this or that......

stryder - 31.12.2006, 13:04 Uhr
Titel:

I think gs is right - This is my XP boot.ini:

[boot loader]
timeout=1
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect

tuxedo - 31.12.2006, 14:57 Uhr
Titel:

Found it! Thank you for the excellent Microsoft support!

Also, on GRUB when logging in, what purpose do the 2 different entries for Kanotix serve?

For example, on a standard 2005-04 install there may be:

-> Debian GNU/Linux, kernel
-> Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.14-kanotix-9
-> Windows 2K/XP/2003 (hda1)

Does it make any difference whether loading the first of the second option?

drb - 31.12.2006, 15:59 Uhr
Titel:

On 2005-04, the first option was the default which was followed by . . . the default.

later kernel update scripts removed this first option.

drb

tuxedo - 31.12.2006, 16:40 Uhr
Titel:

Thats what I suspected as I've seen the same thing on other distros too, so one can safely remove one or the other from the menu.

tuxedo - 01.01.2007, 20:27 Uhr
Titel:

I opted for a plain old LILO which is installed on the mbr and functioning well. Does anyone know off-hand the commands for copying this onto a rescue-floppy?

michael7 - 28.01.2007, 14:14 Uhr
Titel:

tuxedo hat folgendes geschrieben::

On GRUB when logging in, what purpose do the 2 different entries for Kanotix serve?

For example, on a standard 2005-04 install there may be:

-> Debian GNU/Linux, kernel
-> Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.14-kanotix-9
-> Windows 2K/XP/2003 (hda1)

Does it make any difference whether loading the first of the second option?

If you should add kernels, they will be added to the GRUB menu.lst so that you can boot any of them. The first selection, however, will boot the latest kernel.