doubt regarding boot loader while installing multi distros

hello all,
i'm planning to install 4 distros of linux on my system

currently i've XP, Redhat 9, Slackware 10.1.
boot loader is of RH in MBR.
in /etc/grub.conf of RH i've made entries of slackware and haven't installed lilo of slackware anywhere.
But suppose somehow grub fails, i won't be able to access slackware without re-installing grub of RH.

Now leaving 10 GB for XP i'm going to format rest of the hard drive.
But still have some doubts about boot loader.

i'm planning to install SuSE 9.3, vector linux, slackware 10.0, Rh 9.

will have to make one /boot and one /home common for all, but i've never done this before.
How to do this???

The steps which i'm planning to follow:::

1> Well what i'm thinking is that during the installation of 1st distro i'll make 2 partitions ( for /boot and /home ) as common one using reiserfs. and 2-3 partitions for other distros.
2> will install the boot loader of 1st distro on MBR
3> will start installing 2nd distro.............but where should i install its boot loader ( obviously not in MBR )
4> if i don't install its bootloader any where, then after its installation i can make its entry into the bootloader file of already installed distro.
.........
but again the same problem.......if some day the 1st distro gets corrupted then it won't allow me to entre other distros......

so i think i'm making mistake somewhere...

plz. guide me.

regards

Good Q's, you see the problems in multi-Linux installations.

I have done a lot of these (10 or 20 in the last year) & posted here on it a lot (Google shows 60 for "grub" from me). If you wouldn't mind reading http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...43#post1680143 it is fairly comprehensive & represents an attempt to set forth most of what know about this in one place.

One thing I don't go into there is the distinction between a boot loader & a boot manager. In GNU/Linux this distintion is blurred because both lilo & GRUB can perform both functions through chain loading.

... one /boot and one /home common for all

Don't do either. I think the problems w/ a common /boot are covered in the reference above. A common /home is a bad idea because the configuration files it contains are generally unique to each distro. What you can, & IMO, should do is set up a "large" common date partition, IMO hd_5.

1> Well what i'm thinking is that during the installation of 1st distro i'll make 2 partitions ( for /boot and /home ) as common one using reiserfs. and 2-3 partitions for other distros.

See above.

2> will install the boot loader of 1st distro on MBR

This can work, but w/ 4 distros, it is probably easier in the long run to install a separate boot manager. See reference.

3> will start installing 2nd distro.............but where should i install its boot loader ( obviously not in MBR )

You are so right. Put the bootloader for the 2nd & all subsequent distros in the 1st sector of their root (/) partitions. Finding this option in the installer is not always easy or obvious.

4> if i don't install its bootloader any where, then after its installation i can make its entry into the bootloader file of already installed distro.

You can, but that is much more difficult than letting it write its own menu.lst/lilo.conf & then chaining to it.

but again the same problem.......if some day the 1st distro gets corrupted then it won't allow me to entre other distros......

That is why I like a separate boot manager. It doesn't matter if that is a separate "Master" installation of GRUB -- my current preference -- or something else like GAG.

so i think i'm making mistake somewhere...

Not at all, you are one the few posters I have seen ask think about this & ask before starting


Please post any further Q's; & of course, your results.

"but again the same problem.......if some day the 1st distro gets corrupted then it won't allow me to entre other distros......"

U wil have only ONE bootloader in ur MBR

so In anycase u need to take care of the bpotloder on ur MBR
if that is blown away then u ned to boot from ur CD and chroot to that partion and install ur bootloader again lese chroot to any other partion and install another bootloader on ur MBR

regards