Booting Gentoo and Kubuntu from 2 hard drives [solved =)]

[Smatt454]

I have two harddrives (one with Gentoo Linux, and one with Kubuntu). I would like to configure grub so that I can boot without going into my bios everytime)

any ideas (the Kubuntu harddrive is master)

[Qqmike]

Re: Booting Gentoo and Kubuntu from 2 hard drives

How To GRUB Methods - Toolkit
http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3081671.0

Lots of ideas.
If Gentoo uses GRUB, no problems -- follow the How-To.

If Gentoo uses LILO installed to its boot partition, I'm pretty sure we can chainload it from GRUB (let me know about that).

Edit: You may need your Gentoo Handbook:
http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handboo...ook.xml?part=1

I googled on "dual boot Gentoo" and got many useful links and examples. Sounds like you can use GRUB in the MBR of your main drive (the first in BIOS boot order), and where you put Kubuntu. Then edit the GRUB menu.lst of the Kubuntu partition to contain a boot entry for Gentoo. Or, as I implied, if Gentoo has LILO and if it is installed to the Gentoo root partition, then you could chainload Gentoo from the Kubuntu GRUB boot menu (called /boot/grub/menu.lst) using something simple such as:

title Gentoo etc & whatever you wish to call it here
root (hdx,y)
chainloader +1

where (hdx,y) is GRUB notation for the hard drive hdx and the partition y where you installed Gentoo.
(GRUB counts from zero, so the second hard drive is hd1, and the first partition is partition 0, so that would be, for example, (hd1,0).)

While messing around, you might find it handy to have a copy of Super Grub Disk Live CD,

Super Grub Disk, new site: http://supergrub.forjamari.linex.org/

Your project looks quite doable, and there may be just a few usual details to sort out (as there always are!).

[Smatt454]

Re: Booting Gentoo and Kubuntu from 2 hard drives

thanks, for now i think i'll try taking my grub.conf from gentoo and put the section with "Title=Gentto.." in my kubuntu grub.conf

default 0
timeout 30
spashimage=(hda0,0) /boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz

title=Gentoo Linux 2.8.22-r9
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/kernel-genkernel-x86-2.6.22-gentoo-r9 root=/dev/ram0 init=/linuxrc ramdisk=8192 real_root=/dev/hda3 udev
initrd /boot/initramfs-genkernel-x86-2.6.22-gentoo-r9

[Qqmike]

Re: Booting Gentoo and Kubuntu from 2 hard drives

Ok, I see. Interesting. I'm not familiar with Gentoo and never would have guessed the kernel line there! (Maybe that's where the Handbook comes in, explaining some of those options/parameters.) Not exactly straightforward (as Kubuntu kernel statements basically are). So you put that into Kubuntu's /boot/grub/menu.lst (on the 2nd hard drive, I see). And does it all work OK?

[dibl]

Re: Booting Gentoo and Kubuntu from 2 hard drives

Yep, that's how I set up a "second" Linux in my Kubuntu "master" boot menu.

But, that splash image will need to be located in your master /boot/grub/splashimages directory. So if it's in the Gentoo system, you'll need to copy it into the Kubuntu /boot/grub/splashimages directory.

[Smatt454]

Re: Booting Gentoo and Kubuntu from 2 hard drives

i already knew that i had to copy the splash image over, but thats for your concern

it turns out my method was right. all i needed to do was look in the comments in the /boot/grub/menu..1st file.

turns out, the format Qqmike gave me was for windows boots.

Thanks for your help (i now understand grub a little more)

anyone trying to boot 2 OS's from 2 hard drives, please remember that for linux OS's use the


title=Linux
root (hdx,y)
kernel
initrd
format and use the
title=Windows
root (hdx,y)
chainloader +1
format for windows

NOTE: when i switched gentoo to slave, i forgot to edit /etc/fstab file on gentoo (i needed to change all instances of hda to hdb, as i was switching the gentoo hard drive from master to slave) if you are attempting to complete a similar task, please do not forget this


THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE

[Qqmike]

Re: Booting Gentoo and Kubuntu from 2 hard drives [solved =)]

I need to correct what you said, Smatt454. You’ve missed some key points in your understanding.

Smatt454: “turns out, the format Qqmike gave me was for windows boots.”

Then you said:
anyone trying to boot 2 OS's from 2 hard drives, please remember that for linux OS's use the
title=Linux
root (hdx,y)
kernel
initrd


First,
the format I gave you (using chainloader) will work to boot Windows, but it is not for Windows, per se. It is for *any* operating system that can be booted by chainloading (including Windows). If your Gentoo, when installed, had LILO installed to the root partition of the OS, then GRUB could boot it by chainloading. It’s a common situation. Has nothing to do with Windows at all. And it’s easy, which is why I asked you if you had installed LILO when installing Gentoo.

Second,
of course, the boot entry for Linux is title, root, kernel, and initrd (for those distros that use the initrd ram disk). We all know that. The issue—and the problem—is specifying the correct format for the specific Linux kernel in the kernel statement and then specifying the right kernel options to pass to the kernel at boot time so the specific Linux kernel at hand will actually boot. What you gave there is nothing more than the generic template for a boot stanza.