Oops.I am actually in Core4 right now!Sweet success.

I changed grub.lst
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.11-1.1369_FC4 ro root=/dev/hb1=/

to
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.11-1.1369_FC4 ro root=/dev/hb1/

And here I am.The only problem I saw was swap access was denied.Maybe there is still a fstab error.I don't see swap called out in grub.lst so I assume the problem would be in fstab.

This is the swap line

/dev/hdb2 swap swap defaults 0 0

It says cannot mount swap permission denied.System seems a little doggy even just surfing.But maybe thats all in the swap.

Alternatively you can amend the fstab to use the swap partition in hda. You only need one swap for all the distros.

Grub does not mention swap. Its duty is to boot up the kernel, hands over the control and bugger off. It is the kernel that demands the use of the swap and it gets it by loading the partition stated in fstab.

OK I can give that a whirl when I get home.

But did I call it out right.I am having troubles with that "LABEL" business so I went from

LABEL=SWAP-hdb2 swap swap defaults 0 0
to
/dev/hdb2 swap swap defaults 0 0

If I am doing that wrong I will not be able to call out any swap.

True but a Linux can work without a swap if you have a large ram installed.

The use of Label is particular to a small number of Linux. It is irritating if you have to move partition/disk around. Usually it doesn't create conflict but neither would a user knows much about the locations of the root /, /boot and swap locations. I myself prefer the /dev/hdxy location as it is a lot easier to see and remember. The Label is generated automatically and in my case with a large number of distros residing I got stupid label like /123456789012 as the installers keep adding numbers to make its own created label unique.

I did type it properly then? That is my worry.I thought maybe I used improper syntax.

Hi,

Sorry, but your statement is not correct! If you have multiple hard drives. Each can have a bootloader! Now if your statement states that you need one IPL then that would be correct. As you need the IPL for the start of a OS. If your first drive is ide0 then that would have the IPL which could load alternate IPL/SPL on ide1, ide2 or ide.... Which could allow you to start other OS or whatever. Yes, you don't need to be stuck with just the ide0 as your boot device. BIOS can be used to select most boot devices. Once you have selected an alternate boot the IPL can be set to point other device assignments.

If you want, you could put lilo/grub on ide0 to load choices for MBR or Superblock to load another OS even another bootloader such as lilo/grub which in turn could point to other OS on a bootable partitions on another drive (within existing drive also).

Chaining the launch for bootable partitions on existing partitions for multiple drives is a good option for multi-boot.
This nesting of options using lilo/grub is a good feature that allows you to have stanzas' that provide the means to do the boot of many different configurations.

Example would be to have winxp on ide0 with mbr with lilo/grub on it. Within the config file you have the stanzas' to select
/dev/hda1 with winxp and a stanza to select linux on /dev/hdc4 for a bootable partition with another lilo/grub to allow you to choose distributions on /dev/hdb1 , /dev/hdb2, /dev/hdb3 etc. Or select /dev/hdd as another OS. You are not fixed to a set rule!


HTH!

The above statement is incorrect. Any drive can have a MBR on it, as can a USB drive, floppy, CD or DVD. And most BIOSs will permit you to boot from any drive with a MBR. Each MBR can (and usually does) invoke a different boot loader.)

All GRUB (LILO, GRUB2, whatever) does is let you control the boot process in somewhat more detail that a simple (512 byte, I think) MBR block of code does.

The problem with moving a drive with, for example, a GRUB MBR on it is that the location of the file to be loaded by the boot process (for GRUB, the "Stage 2" files) are hard coded by physical drive number, and that number changes when the drive is moved, so the boot fails.

To fix it, all you need to do is boot from a rescue disk and re-install the loader on the MBR of the drive from which you wish to boot. (Specified by the GRUB "root" command, for example.)

And having a GRUB boot floppy avalable before playing with your drives can be very handy since you can use the GRUB built-in editor to get the changes you need in the config file correct before you change the "actual" grub.config file.

gwsandvik,

I don't have any problem with your post. My earlier Post #9 was an attempt to correct the misconception.

Many Linux users are not aware an OS can be booted both directly and indirectly. AwesomeMachine's assertion is based on booting everything directly with one boot loader. Your and my approach is to freely use both direct and indirect booting.

It is quite a lengthy subject to describe the difference between direct and indirect booting. The easiest way to visulise it is in any dual boot arrangement a Linux always boots itself directly (by naming the kernel and initrd) but indirectly with Windows (using chainloading because Windows does not have a kernel).

What most Linux users do not realise is a Linux can also boot all other fellow Linux indirectly (in addition to directly) in exactly the same way it boots a Windows. When a Linux boots a fellow Linux it boots effectively its boot loader and so the "nesting" effect is created. That explains why a Lilo can boot another Lilo, Grub, NTldr etc, etc.

WOW I thank you all for helping me and putting the time in to follow up on this thread.

You have all helped me piece together the boot process.

You guys have made it possible for me to boot my Fedora Core4 install.

I just need a little more help getting the swap file working.In my above post was my syntax or the way I formed my fstab correct.I tried to do away with the "LABEL" reference and use just hd*# .I am just not sure I typed or formed the line properly.

What should a proper fstab line read for a swap entry?

OK I looked closer to the boot message as it flew by.It states

"swapon could not open swap: Permission denied"

Can this have something to do with SEL

Hi,

I went back and read your post# 9. No problem for me. I do agree that a lot of Linux users don't understand the concept of multiple IPL/SPL control. Yes the direct/indirect use can confuse some.

A little research will produce a lot of knowledge. Most users just want the easy way. You can tell by the way most just jump to get help without checking any reference. I know that problems can be complex to some but if broken down to individual terms the problem won't seem as big.

As for my examples, I tried to make it simplistic. After reading the post again I would have gone into more detail but that would be overstated detail. I don't want to seem to talk down but I come from academia where you must be explicit. At times it can be difficult to break things down to a form someone will understand in lay terms.

I do enjoy helping others with problems but most people cannot even present their needs properly.

I have tried to be courteous and respectful at every turn. I have stated my problems as clearly as possible. Tried to proof read my post before replying.

I guess this is a polite way to say I should be able to figure it out my self. I have used google and other tutorials. Sorry, sometimes times it just takes someone who can pull all the tid bits you get here and there into coherency.

Thank you everyone. I did not not mean to bother you with this or stretch out my problem.

can564,

Your post is read by many viewers as well. When someone try to correct a certain misconception, which may be of no interest to you now, it helps the general understanding of the situation and hopefully assist the original poster to correct his/her thought on the subject.

You have to accept that their contributions are for the good of the general understanding of your thread, even though it may appear unrelated to you at the moment. I am confident that you will find the connection eventually.

You will note that my initial join-up to your thread is more to do with correcting misconceptions. Members of the forum have a duty to put right anything that isn't accurate. This is the Internet and we all want to believe in it.

Everybody could be wrong but by offering his/her opinion on the subject we could see the common ground and correct our own mistakes. At least this is the way I thought we are learning Linux here. If I don't put forward my thought I will never known how wrong I could be.

Therefore posters to your thread also gain benefit in addition to yourself.

---------------------------------------------------------

Regarding your entry in the fstab in Post #18. I can confirm the line is alright as I have just check it against my FC2 record. It should work if your hdb2 is partition type 82. I could not offer you an explanation if it doesn't work, except to try to use the swap in hda as already suggested in Post #17.

In the box where I run 100+ systems the 97 Linux in 2 IDE (hda & hdc) and 2 Sata (sda & sdb) use one swap hda5 so I don't see a problem if you nominate one swap for both distros in two disks of hda and hdb.

I am very sincere in my thanks to everyone!I'm sure at times it is sometimes a thankless position.

Sorry to sound a little bitter.

As far as the permission problem with swapon using fstab.I set all permissions to r,w,e.Still no luck.Then followed my hunch and disable SEL.That did the trick.It is now a completely functioning install.

Again I sorry and thanks to all.

You see you are not contributing to the subject by confirming SEL. is the culprit behind. At least I can learn something from it and can bear this in mind.