Boot disks with slack
 

Simple question: I want to install slack on my extra partition. I have Jamd on my main partition which I want to keep as I quite like it.

I am not too worried about installing slack, but all i need to know is if during the install, Slack will let me create a boot disk so I do not need to modify grub. What I want to do is have a boot disk for slack but continue to use Grub to get into Jamd.

Thanks,
dave

I don't think the Slackware setup offers to make a bootdisk. You should just skip the lilo installation and make a bootdisk from the images on the cd.

slackware 9.0 does prompt to make a boot disk, don't worry, your plan should work.

hope that helped,
Cam

Since it's a split decision, I'll be the tiebreaker and say, as far as I recall, you do get that option like cmack says. :)

Can't you create a boot disk by installing LILO on a floppy via lilo -b /dev/fd0 -v?

OK, I've always used LILO and never used Grub, so this may be a stupid question, but:

Won't Grub give you the choice of booting either Jamd or Slack? I mean, isn't that what it's for, to give you a choice of which OS you want to boot? Or is it just so difficult to configure that you don't want to try it?

Just wondering...

Enjoy!
--- Cerbere

Hi Cerbere

Both LILO and GRUB enable you to multiboot several OS's with ease - in Synedoche's situation I would just let Slack install LILO to the MBR and then put an entry into lilo.conf for JAMD from Slack.

Well, for one thing, I prefer Grub to Lilo. Second, I've had bad luck configuring my bootloader in the past and I thought if Slack gave me the option of creating a boot disk it would save me some trouble.

-dave

Well, can you?

I haven't had a chance to try yet-- my other hobby (my bass guitar) is sort of taking precedence at the moment. ;) I've just had it refinished and I am still putting it all back together.

I hope to try slack out on Sunday night or Monday.

-dave

I don't get it. I suppose making a boot disk may be less risky than configuring a bootloader and that may save some 'work' in the short-term. But keeping a boot floppy handy, yet clean, and then putting it in every time you want to boot into Slack . . . that sounds to me like more work. Oh well, that's the beauty of Linux: anyone can screw up, err I mean SET up their system to their own taste :-)

Enjoy!
--- Cerbere

Well let me put it this way:

1) I want to keep my bootloader (Grub) as it is.
2) I am not handy enough with Grub to easily add Slack to it
3) I am adding Slack to a partition that will likely change frequently as it is a "test" partition
4) If I like Slack enough, I will find it easier to copy the settings from the boot disk into Grub than coming up with them on my own

-dave