Re: [gentoo-user] Installing Gentoo: Grub, alternate GNU/Linux system on another partition
On 5 December 2011, at 23:43, Neil Bothwick wrote: ... I wouldn't bother, Mint already has Grub2, which makes adding extra distros a piece of cake. Install Gentoo, without a bootloader, reboot into Mint and run sudo grub-update. This one. Everyone else who is replying is part of a conspiracy to confuse and cloud the issue. What version of Grub you're using isn't so important as the principle that *you already have a bootloader, so there's no need to install another one*. Just skip the bootloader section of the Gentoo install completely and add Gentoo to the option list of your exiting bootloader configuration. Were you installing Gentoo alongside an existing installation of another distro that used Grub 0.9x (for instance) then this could be done (for instance) by booting to the other distro and entering `mount /boot vi /boot/grub/grub.conf`. Stroller.
[gentoo-user] Installing Gentoo: Grub, alternate GNU/Linux system on another partition
I'm giving Gentoo another try, having been using Ubuntu for quite a while, and more recently Mint. I would like to be able to access Mint until the Gentoo system is working as I'd like it. I have gotten through the install, for the most part, up to grub. I can see how to edit the grub.conf file for my Gentoo partition. However, it isn't clear to me from the examples how to write a grub.conf entry for Mint's root (/) partition, on /dev/sda8. I am asking for advice on writing the grub.conf file. Here are the various partitions involved: Gentoo: /boot /dev/sda1 //dev/sda2 Mint(/boot is not separate) / /dev/sda8 The Mint kernel is using an initramfs, while I have manually configured the kernel on Gentoo, at least for now. Grub 2 is not transparent to me. The kernel is: /boot/vmlinuz-3.0.0-13-generic the initrd-img file is: /boot/initrd.img-3.0.0-13-generic My grub.conf file for gentoo would look like this: ### default 0 timeout 30 #splashimage=(hd0,0)/boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz title Gentoo Original root (hd0,0) kernel /boot/kernel-3.0.6-gentoo-r1 root=/dev/sda2 ### I have a few other questions of a more or less minor nature. Perhaps better to ask them separately. Alan Davis
Re: [gentoo-user] Installing Gentoo: Grub, alternate GNU/Linux system on another partition
On Mon, 5 Dec 2011 12:23:28 -0800 Alan E. Davis lngn...@gmail.com wrote: I'm giving Gentoo another try, having been using Ubuntu for quite a while, and more recently Mint. I would like to be able to access Mint until the Gentoo system is working as I'd like it. I have gotten through the install, for the most part, up to grub. I can see how to edit the grub.conf file for my Gentoo partition. However, it isn't clear to me from the examples how to write a grub.conf entry for Mint's root (/) partition, on /dev/sda8. I am asking for advice on writing the grub.conf file. Here are the various partitions involved: Gentoo: /boot /dev/sda1 //dev/sda2 Mint(/boot is not separate) / /dev/sda8 The Mint kernel is using an initramfs, while I have manually configured the kernel on Gentoo, at least for now. Grub 2 is not transparent to me. The kernel is: /boot/vmlinuz-3.0.0-13-generic the initrd-img file is: /boot/initrd.img-3.0.0-13-generic My grub.conf file for gentoo would look like this: ### default 0 timeout 30 #splashimage=(hd0,0)/boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz title Gentoo Original root (hd0,0) kernel /boot/kernel-3.0.6-gentoo-r1 root=/dev/sda2 ### I have a few other questions of a more or less minor nature. Perhaps better to ask them separately. Alan Davis Dual boot scenarios get tricky, it is vital to assume nothing. You left out a lot of info, so I have to make some reasonable assumptions. Reply with corrections if we're going to wrong route. You can only have one primary bootloader, either grub from Gentoo or grub2 from Mint, it cannot be both. But it looks like that's what you do have. Seeing as you intend to drop Mint eventually, you must uninstall grub2 and all it's files from Mint. Your supplied grub.conf will only work if you have a boot - . symlink present on /dev/sda1. Gentoo normally does this for you. For Mint you probably need something like this: title Mint root (hd0,7) kernel /vmlinuz-whatever_mint_uses root=/dev/sda8 ro quiet splash any_other_mint_params initrd /initrd-whatever_mint_uses You can pick up the correct kernel and initrd arguments from /boot/grub/grub.cfg on /dev/sda8 by looking in the menuentry sections. -- Alan McKinnnon alan.mckin...@gmail.com
Re: [gentoo-user] Installing Gentoo: Grub, alternate GNU/Linux system on another partition
On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 4:34 PM, Alan McKinnon alan.mckin...@gmail.com wrote: Dual boot scenarios get tricky, it is vital to assume nothing. You left out a lot of info, so I have to make some reasonable assumptions. Reply with corrections if we're going to wrong route. You can only have one primary bootloader, either grub from Gentoo or grub2 from Mint, it cannot be both. But it looks like that's what you do have. Seeing as you intend to drop Mint eventually, you must uninstall grub2 and all it's files from Mint. Not *exactly* true. Grub can chainload any bootloader that's visible to BIOS. At minimum, that means you could have grub on /dev/sda chainload grub on /dev/sdb. I'm uncertain if it means you could chainload a bootloader stored in the first 512 bytes of /dev/sda8, but I suspect so. Your supplied grub.conf will only work if you have a boot - . symlink present on /dev/sda1. Gentoo normally does this for you. So do most distros I've touched. Just an FYI. I think your instructions will work fine for him, though. I was going to offer some grub1 stanzas, but I wasn't sure if real_root was necessary. -- :wq
Re: [gentoo-user] Installing Gentoo: Grub, alternate GNU/Linux system on another partition
On Mon, 5 Dec 2011 16:49:21 -0500 Michael Mol mike...@gmail.com wrote: You can only have one primary bootloader, either grub from Gentoo or grub2 from Mint, it cannot be both. But it looks like that's what you do have. Seeing as you intend to drop Mint eventually, you must uninstall grub2 and all it's files from Mint. Not *exactly* true. Grub can chainload any bootloader that's visible to BIOS. Yes, you are correct, this can be done. I figured I wouldn't mention it as it gets confusing. Selecting Gentoo from grub should load Gentoo. Selecting Mint from grub and finding ... grub ... is just wierd. Few things baffle users as much as that. Yes, been there done that :-) At minimum, that means you could have grub on /dev/sda chainload grub on /dev/sdb. I'm uncertain if it means you could chainload a bootloader stored in the first 512 bytes of /dev/sda8, but I suspect so. That works too, I once had a system set up just that way. The maintenance reduced me to tears -- Alan McKinnnon alan.mckin...@gmail.com
Re: [gentoo-user] Installing Gentoo: Grub, alternate GNU/Linux system on another partition
On Mon, 5 Dec 2011 12:23:28 -0800, Alan E. Davis wrote: I'm giving Gentoo another try, having been using Ubuntu for quite a while, and more recently Mint. I would like to be able to access Mint until the Gentoo system is working as I'd like it. I have gotten through the install, for the most part, up to grub. I can see how to edit the grub.conf file for my Gentoo partition. However, it isn't clear to me from the examples how to write a grub.conf entry for Mint's root (/) partition, on /dev/sda8. I am asking for advice on writing the grub.conf file. I wouldn't bother, Mint already has Grub2, which makes adding extra distros a piece of cake. Install Gentoo, without a bootloader, reboot into Mint and run sudo grub-update. It will scan your disks, detect the Gentoo setup and add a menu entry to Mint's bootloader. It is even sensible enough to recognise that the installation is Gentoo and name it accordingly. If you decide to dump Mint, you'll need to install Grub2 on Gentoo and copy the config file over, but that's all. -- Neil Bothwick Everything takes longer than expected, even when you take into account Hoffstead's Law. - Hoffstead's Law signature.asc Description: PGP signature
