Installation on a grub4dos platform - SOLVED
 

I have a Windows installation (ntfs) on half this PC's HDD ~250gb (sda1) The other half of the disk is split into 3 logical partitions (ext2 and ext4). Two of the partitions contain various puppy linux distros (sda5 and sda6) and the third (sda7) is free. At present grub4dos is installed on the ntfs sector and controls which distro is booted. I would like to use sda7 (about 64gb) to try a mainline linux distro. However, I want a distro which will install without a boot loader, so that I can just make the necessary adjustments in grub4dos's menu.lst. I do not want the grub4dos/mbr setup disturbed in any way. The first distro I tried Lubuntu seemed to insist on wanting to store its own grub on sda1 so I bailed out. Is there a distro which will allow me to do what I have outlined?
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

there is no need to use "grub4dos"

just use the default bootloader from the linux install dvd

@ John VV Thanks for the reply. However, your suggestion is not an option. I have already said that I do not want to disturb my existing grub4dos/mbr setup.

@Wimpy

Is this a Puppy .exe install? Running like a wubi install inside of Windows?
I mention this because I run Slack0 5.7 inside of Windows 7. Puppy grub edits
Windows MBR so a choice of Windows or Puppy can be selected at boot screen.

Yesterday, I made room for MX-14 install.

http://forum.mepiscommunity.org/view...36441&start=10

My Puppy/Windows grub was not disturbed. I use grub 2 in MX-14 to boot everything.

If grub4dos on your box is installed to MBR and is not a wubi/.exe type of install.
Point whatever distro bootloader (grub, grub2) to root instead of mbr.
Then boot Puppy to run grub4dos again to add the Linux iso you installed to grub4dos boot entry.
I have done this before on multiboot puppy and other distro installs.

http://antix.freeforums.org/post20292.html#p20292

Either way. Depends on how you have Puppy and grub installed on how you approach this.
With a .exe wubi install. One needs to do nothing and just install grub2 to mbr.
With a grub4dos to mbr install and frugal or full installs on their own partitions.
One needs to re-run grub4dos again and maybe hand edit entries afterwards. Like I did.
Remembering to point Lubuntu or whatever to the root folder.

Not enough sleep so I over thought and missed part of what you said.

Worse comes to worse I'd think you can just put back grub4dos.

@rokytnji
The puppies - lucid, macpup,and precise are all frugally installed, and are booted by entries in menu.lst. A new puppy will have its iso unpacked into an appropriate folder on sda5 or sda6 and menu.lst adjusted to boot it (just like the first 3). I'm a newbie, so I have no idea what wubi etc mean. If I ever get a mainline linux distro installed I may eventually understand these things - as of now, some of your post is way above my head. Is there really no way one can tell a linux installation that you want nothing to do with its grub and will supply your own boot loader? If that is true, then I might as well forget it and stick to windows and puppies.

Yes. You still have to install the grub files. Just say/point it to go to root. Not MBR

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SfldACdCCo...204-mini_8.png

Just say No when that screen shows up during install. Next will come

http://i.stack.imgur.com/yWsRm.png

So point it to /dev/sda7 and installs the grub file to root of Lubuntu. Not MBR of Hard Drive where grub4dos sits.
After install is done. Then run grub4dos again so it includes Lubuntu. grub4dos will find the grub files for a reference
entry inside of your lubuntu install. Hope that makes sense.

As far as wubi/.exe goes. Ignore that, as I was very tired, and sun burnt, and blasted when I posted that.
I work in the Desert Heat and some of my computer gear in not in a A/C enviornment.
I have cooled down now am in my A/C part of my shop. Since it is the end of my work day.

@rokytnji Thanks I'll have another go. I did point it at sda7, as I said before - the distro was Lubuntu. That's reassuring.
I'll mark this thread as "Solved " when I've confirmed, though I'm confident you must be right.
@jefro The last time the "worst came to worst" was an episode with a crunchbang installation and I had to drag out a Hirens. Needless to say crunchbang has a headstone in my linux graveyard :)

@rokytnji
I was hoping to post this from within Lubuntu but FF crashed (while was typing) and I'm now back in Windows. I did as you suggested, but it still insisted on a place to put the grub bootloader. I pointed it at an expendable USB stick and the installation went through cleanly. It seemed to have crashed at the shutdown screen so I did a hard restart. I think this may have been a bad move. Next time I'll have more patience.

On reboot, it went to the old grub4dos menu.lst and I chose to boot Lucid puppy. There was a mild panic when re-running the grub4dos config - it had mounted the sda1 (ntfs) ro (never happened before) so it could not make any alterations to menu.lst or grldr. I removed the USB stick and rebooted into Lucid. This time the grub4dos went through cleanly. I now have Lubuntu as an option when booting.

I presume in making the hard reboot from Lubuntu I may have aborted the saving of some configuration files - although I'd chosen the UK keyboard and verified at installation it was actually using the US one on the forum.

Thanks again for the help and advice; I'll mark this thread as "Solved"