Playing nice with other distributions

[madchaz]

Hello all. Long time gentoo user here, trying out kubuntu.

Basically, I am trying it out to put on some of my friend's PCs, as they have been asking me about Linux and I want to put something they can easily use and administer on there. Gentoo rocks, but it is not meant for newbies ;-)

Basically, I figured I would install it on my main desktop and have the installed append my grub config file to include it as well.

Unfortunately, when I told it where /boot was (sda2) it decided to wipe the whole content, even when I specifically told the installer not to format the partition. It did warn me it would delete stuff, but this kind of blows.

Is there a reason why the installer will not play nice with other distributions and try to use the existing bootloader? Especially when it is grub, chosen specifically because of this?

Opensuse was nice enough to at least not wipe my kernel from the folder and ask if I wanted to use the existing grub.conf file. Everything else about it sucked, but that part was nice.

[dibl]

Re: Playing nice with other distributions

"Last Linux wins" is the general rule for grub menu installation. If you tell the installer to install grub on the MBR, then previous grub installations will be over-written.

The Kubuntu installer offers the option to install grub on the root partition -- that would have been the better choice.

Then you would have to manually edit the boot menu for the prior Linux and point it to the newly-installed kernel.

[Qqmike]

Re: Playing nice with other distributions

Yes -- what dibl said (he beat me to the post! ).


Here's my five minutes worth of typing:

Yes, you can use GRUB all the way – that's the best way.
You have already installed GRUB to the Master Boot Record of your first BIOS boot drive (called (hd0)).
And,
Your existing GRUB config file can be edited to include a boot entry for your new Kubuntu (get that entry from /boot/grub/menu.lst in your new Kubuntu and copy it into your existing GRUB config file).

When you install Kubuntu,
> FIRST, use GParted Live CD to do any partitioning you need to do BEFORE running the Kubuntu Live CD Desktop installer.
On the Live CD Kubuntu Desktop installer:
> Step 4: choose Manual partitioning method
> Step 5: indicate which partitions are root (/), /home, and swap
> Step 6: click the Advanced button at lower right, then tell the installer to put GRUB in the root partition of Kubuntu (not in (hd0) because that would overwrite your existing GRUB installation in the Master Boot Record of the boot drive).
Step 6: Then click Finish.




This how-to explains the typical cases you'd encounter with GRUB when playing nice with other OSs.
(And somewhere in the posts that follow, I showed how to use GRUB to chainload LILO.)
How To GRUB Methods - Toolkit
http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3081671.0

[madchaz]

Re: Playing nice with other distributions

I already know how to make it do so by hand, just wish the installer did. Or at least not wipe /boot when I espressly told it to not format it. What is the point of not formating the /boot partition if the first thing the installer does on mounting it is rm -rf /boot/*?

[Qqmike]

Re: Playing nice with other distributions

Ok, I see now what you are saying.
Yes, I agree.
The installer WILL insist on formatting certain partitions, three that I know of: root (/), swap, and /boot.
Not good, I agree, in your case here.

[madchaz]

Re: Playing nice with other distributions

Not just in my case. Any case where you will want a shared /boot between distributions. After all, what is the point of making /boot a different partition if you do not share it?

I just think that, should the user specify they do NOT want to format /boot, it should leave it alone and just add it's own files there. It is then up to the user to make sure he does not have a name conflict, but someone who does this should be able to handle that.

[Qqmike]

Re: Playing nice with other distributions

A true “/boot” contains, as you know, not only GRUB files but also kernel (& initrd) files. (And a /boot partition takes some effort to maintain; e.g., keeping groot= straight; keeping the latest kernel(s) there; on and on -- too much hassle for me.)
I do not use such.

But I use a dedicated “GRUB partition” that contains only GRUB files (and my controlling menu.lst).
I don't call it anything (e.g., not /boot); it's just there as, for example, sdb1.
I have no problems that way when I change the OSs on the partitions.
In fact, since the menu.lst in the GRUB partition boots OSs using configfile, I very seldom have to change the menu.lst (as long as the partitions are the same).



Not that you need it, but here's my how-to on that (for others reading here):

How To GRUB Methods - Toolkit
http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3081671.0
Reply #10:
--- How to make a separate “GRUB partition.” (Dedicated to the GRUB files and make your PC boot from those GRUB files.) Reply #10