GRUB & XP w/out Chainloading: Possible?

Computer Guru · 06-14-2006, 02:48 AM

Hey all,

Just for the sake of saying I did it, and for the know-how that comes along, I'd like to somehow boot my XP from grub without chainloading into NTLDR.
Is it possible?

Lenard · 06-14-2006, 05:38 AM

No it is not possible (currently) see;

http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/man...OS_002fWindows

pixellany · 06-14-2006, 07:43 AM

If you were a developer writing grub-II, you probably COULD do this. However, since chainload works, the developers are not likely to go farther.

Computer Guru · 06-14-2006, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pixellany

If you were a developer writing grub-II, you probably COULD do this. However, since chainload works, the developers are not likely to go farther.

Could you possibly expand on that?
Because I'm a developer working with (not on) GRUB2...

pixellany · 06-14-2006, 11:42 AM

You mean you have an early version of grub-II. Where did you find that?

My comment was not unique to any version of GRUB---the point is this: Since chainloading works, there is little motivation to do it any other way. And with GRUB -II in the works, there is for sure no motivation to add such a feature to 0.97, 0.999---whatever it is now.

Computer Guru · 06-14-2006, 12:23 PM

My issue with chainloading isn't that it doesn't work (it does) but that it requires delicacy in dealing with the MBR.
For instance, to get GRUB2, NTLDR, and Vista BT on one MBR, you need to install XP/2k/2k3 then Vista then Linux - anything else breaks the chain.

However, if one could do away entirely with the other two, GRUB2 suddenly becomes an amazing bit of software.

Hence I return to my question: Would have to be done?

Many thanks,
CG