Install grub to windows ntfs partition is possible?

miros84 · 11-02-2010, 01:54 PM

Hello
In HDD with 2 partition
sda1 windows xp
sda2 windows 7

1. It is possible to install grub? (Using live cd)

2. If not, if I create sda3 (ext3), and install grub there and boot both windows will be possible?

jefro · 11-02-2010, 03:14 PM

It is possible to in some cases to put grub in some other than normal place. Windows would pass off to grub if you wanted. Not normal but used to be very normal in lilo.

One can easily install grub but it tends to bork your MS loader.

It would help us if you were to tell a bit more about what distro you are trying to install maybe.

miros84 · 11-02-2010, 03:17 PM

No distro.
Windows xp in c:
Windows 7 in d:
And I want to install grub in MBR and boot both windows.
Is that possible?

yancek · 11-02-2010, 08:29 PM

Quote:

And I want to install grub in MBR and boot both windows.

Yes. The best way to do this is to create a dedicated Grub partiton with all the Grub files there, in your case sda3 formatted ext3 or other Linux filesystem. You will need to create a menu.lst file and you will need to point it to the windows 7 bootloader. Grub doesn't actually boot windows, the chainloader just points to the windows bootloader. Windows 7 detects xp and other previous windows, the reverse is not true. To boot vista or win 7 from xp, you would have to manually configure it. What this means is that if you install Grub, you will first see its menu then the windows boot menu.

I had a site explaining this bookmarked but it no longer exists, check this one or google:

http://rxezlqu.wordpress.com/2009/07...rub-partition/

It uses Legacy Grub so you will need to have a Linux distro which uses it, basically anything non-Ubuntu or Slackware. If you do the separate Grub partition, you will need to be sure to install to the mbr.

piratesmack · 11-02-2010, 08:51 PM

I'd recommend Grub4dos instead, since it can be installed from Windows and live on an NTFS partition.

Here are instructions to install to MBR from Windows:
http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/...s.htm#windows4

Then open notepad and copy/paste:

Code:

title Windows XP
find --set-root --ignore-floppies --ignore-cd /ntldr
chainloader /ntldr

title Windows 7
find --set-root --ignore-floppies --ignore-cd /bootmgr
chainloader /bootmgr

Save it as C:\menu.lst