Re: Ubuntu

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

 



On Sun, 27 Jan 2008 11:48:16 -0700, Karl Larsen wrote:

> I have tried to load this software as another to keep an eye on, but
                                     ^^^^^^^^^^^
> when I do load it it takes over Grub! I didn't see any way to stop it
> from doing this. Has anyone else had success? If so let me know what to
> do.

	I take that to mean what you really have is neither a straight 
Fedora problem, nor a straight Ubuntu problem, but a multi-boot problem 
involving both. Right?

	After much effort and with lots of help online, I have just 
managed to make my testbed machine triple-boot, reliably, with Fedora 8, 
Ubuntu 7.10, and CentOS 5.1; I'm not quite sure what I did, nor how, but 
I can outline it.

	First, back up your data; the next step will wipe *everything* -- 
leaving you with not even an OS.

	Now download and burn a CD with DBAN, boot to it, and tell it 
autonuke. It will take several hours.

	Then partition the hard drive; use knoppix, or gparted or 
qtparted on a live CD. I made a separate /boot partition first, then one 
for each OS, and a swap partition. 

	Boot from the install medium for the first OS; do the manual 
install, making sure you install only into the partition you want; let it 
build you a grubbery in /boot. I did CentOS first. Make a note of what in 
in any grub.conf a/o menu.lst you can find.

	Install gparted or qtparted or both in each OS as you go -- not 
to partition with, but to look with. Keeping track of what's on which 
partition is going to grow into a major pain.

	Now do the like with the second OS -- I used Fedora. It will 
probably wreck your ability to boot to the first one.

	So boot to what you can, and command mkdir /TEST. Then start 
running "mount -t ext3 /dev/sdax /TEST" for x = 1 to whatever your last 
partition is. (In CentOS and Ubuntu, use hda, not sda.)

	Whenever a partition does mount, do "cd /TEST," then ls, and 
drill down to find any grub.conf a/o menu.lst in any OS but the one 
you're running.

	In another terminal or terminal tab, su to root, and do the same 
inside the one you're running.

	Copy and paste, adding each OS's boot data to the boot record for 
the other. It should now boot to both.

	If you add a third, as I did, expect it to wreck your ability to 
boot to at least one of the others. Apply a similar remedy.

	As I said, I'm not sure; I *think* the above is what I did. But I 
notice that what's in /boot is *not* all the boot data, but that for one 
OS (the last, iirc), and some directions to chainload.

	You may have to do something similar to all the above *again* 
whenever one OS updates its kernel. Or the chainloading from the 
dedicated /boot partition may spare you that. Be sure at least that you 
do save the boot data for the new kernel, where you can get to ti even if 
not to its OS.

	It's not pretty; but if you put the testbed -- *after* all the 
installing -- behind a KVM switch along with your main machine, it's very 
convenient once it's running.

-- 
Beartooth Staffwright, PhD, Neo-Redneck Linux Convert
Remember I know precious little of what I am talking about.


[Index of Archives]     [Current Fedora Users]     [Fedora Desktop]     [Fedora SELinux]     [Yosemite News]     [Yosemite Photos]     [KDE Users]     [Fedora Tools]     [Fedora Docs]

  Powered by Linux