[Request for testing] ISO to detect and boot (almost) any operating system.

Didier Spaier · 07-17-2019, 01:12 PM

Hello,

Next Slint ISO will rely on GRUB 2.04 for:

booting the installer
and also the USB boot disk to be used in case of booting issue of the installed system from the hard disk or SSD, in both Legacy and EFI modes.

Good bye isolinux, lilo and elilo for that!

In both cases the GRUB boot menu will include an entry allowing to detect and boot (almost) any installed OS, as already do Slackware's and Slint's USB boot disk, but with enhancements, allowed by using GRUB 2.04 in both Legacy and EFI modes, and benefiting of the features of the last Super Grub Disk.

This menu entry should detect and boot FreeDOS, MS-DOS, FreeBSD, Windows, Linux and MacOS in various contexts, including:
_ legacy and EFI modes on i386 and x86_64 architectures,
_ partition tables acorn, amiga, apple, bsd, gpt, msdos, sun, sunpc,
_ LVM, RAID, LUKS and geli encrypted volumes,
_ serial terminals with these settings: port 0 aka com0, speed 9600 bauds, 8 data bits, one stop bit, parity none.

Please test as much of these abilities as possible.

In http://slackware.uk/slint/x86_64/sli...ting/WIP/grub/ you will find test.iso, a compressed tarball iso.tar.xz with all the files used to build the ISO, and detailed instructions.

Of course I hope that this can be useful also for Slackware.

Happy testing!

linus72 · 07-17-2019, 03:24 PM

Nice!
It works on my laptop, Dell Inspiron 1545, but I only have linux systems, all just regular partitions, etx4, no Windows, etc
I only have slackware 14.2 and current, and Debian Bullseye/sid installs

scdbackup · 07-19-2019, 01:46 PM

Hi,

i downloaded
http://slackware.uk/slint/x86_64/sli.../grub/test.iso
and put it onto USB stick (~ 2005)

Code:

  dd if=test.iso bs=1M of=/dev/sdc

Then i put the stick into my BIOS-only test PC of 2010:

Code:

  CPU:  AMD Athlon II X4 620 Quad-Core
  Mainboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA74GM-S2H AM2 GLAN RAID.
  Award BIOS v6.00 PC

It boots to a GRUB menu with two options. I choose the second one
(after Didier told me to do so).

The machine has, matching its age, old Debian 5 (ext3), FreeBSD 8 (UFS),
and OpenSolaris 134 (ZFS).
The detection result is mediocre and the boot result even worse.

First messages after choosing the boot menu option is

Code:

error: procfs does not support UUIDs.

and then four times

Code:

error: unknown filesystem

Then appears a long GRUB menu where navigation is quite slow, scrolling is
very slow, and impatiently entered arrow-key presses during waiting time
for movement get discarded.

There are five Linux kernels, each offered with and without "(single)":
vmlinuz-2.6.32-5-amd64, vmlinuz-xen, vmlinuz-2.6.27.7-9-xen,
vmlinuz-2.6.27.7-9-default, vmlinuz-2.6.26-2-amd64.
I did not test the "-xen".
"-default" causes fast scrolling console text. I believe to see it reports
"free magic is broken at ...hex.number...". Finally it reboots to BIOS.
The two "-amd64" immediately reboot into BIOS.
So none of the Linux offers works.

FreeBSD gets listed as ten menu entries with any combination of
{(hd1,msdos1,bsd1),(hd1,msdos1)} x
{normal,single,verbose,safe mode,Default bootloader}
(hd1,msdos1,bsd1) boots with "normal" and "Default bootloader".
(hd1,msdos1) boots with "normal" but runs into some bootloader command
mode with "Default bootloader".
"Default bootloader" offers me several BSD boot modes. It is the boot path
which the GRUB on the hard disk takes if i choose FreeBSD in its menu.
"normal" boots directly into FreeBSD kernel startup. Some messages in
the beginning look unfamiliar. But i get a login prompt.

Solaris is not offered at all. (Due to ZFS ?)

Have a nice day

Thomas

Didier Spaier · 07-19-2019, 03:14 PM

Hello,

Quote:

Originally Posted by scdbackup

It boots to a GRUB menu with two options. I choose the second one (after Didier told me to do so).

I will make that clear in the instruction and remove the timeout, thanks for the heads-up.

Quote:

First messages after choosing the boot menu option is

Code:

error: procfs does not support UUIDs.

and then four times

Code:

error: unknown filesystem

I get similar messages, do not know where they come from. They also show booting the most recent Super Grub Disk downloaded from sourceforge:

Code:

wget https://sourceforge.net/projects/supergrub2/files/2.04rc1s1-beta4/super_grub2_disk_2.04rc1s1-beta4/super_grub2_disk_hybrid_2.04rc1s1-beta4.iso

I will try to insmod more GRUB file system modules, including procfs and see what happens.

Quote:

So none of the Linux offers works.

Are you sure all kernels have an associated initrd? If not setting root=UUID=<fs-uuid> can't work. But if not you'd get a kernel panic, not a reboot so that can't be the reason, I think.

It would be interesting to know if you get better results using super_grub2_disk_hybrid_2.04rc1s1-beta4.iso (also for testing the Solaris boot entries).

Quote:

Solaris is not offered at all. (Due to ZFS ?)

I don't know. However, the zfs module is inserted by /boot/grub/grub.cfg

@All: Thomas also helped me to get test.iso boot on my laptop also in BIOS aka Legacy mode, modifying the xorriso command built by grub-mkrescue to overcome what seems to be a firmware limitation or bug. I will upload an updated ISO. Thanks Thomas!

Best,

EDIT: following new suggestions from Thomas I will try new options tomorrow, before uploading a new version.

scdbackup · 07-20-2019, 02:08 AM

Hi,

see the grub.cfg of the test machine. It is hosted by the Debian 5 installation as
/boot/grub/grub.cfg and can boot all three operating systems on the machine.

Regrettably the forum software does not allow me to attach it. (Because .cfg ?)
So inline:

Code:

#
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
#
# It is automatically generated by grub-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
#

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then
  load_env
fi
set default="0"
if [ "${prev_saved_entry}" ]; then
  set saved_entry="${prev_saved_entry}"
  save_env saved_entry
  set prev_saved_entry=
  save_env prev_saved_entry
  set boot_once=true
fi

function savedefault {
  if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then
    saved_entry="${chosen}"
    save_env saved_entry
  fi
}

function load_video {
  insmod vbe
  insmod vga
  insmod video_bochs
  insmod video_cirrus
}

insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos8)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set e3378181-54dc-4fe3-97e2-d7f2b6c1d296
if loadfont /usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2 ; then
  set gfxmode=640x480
  load_video
  insmod gfxterm
fi
terminal_output gfxterm
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos8)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set e3378181-54dc-4fe3-97e2-d7f2b6c1d296
set locale_dir=($root)/boot/grub/locale
set lang=en
insmod gettext
set timeout=5
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos8)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set e3378181-54dc-4fe3-97e2-d7f2b6c1d296
insmod png
if background_image /usr/share/images/desktop-base/spacefun-grub.png; then
  set color_normal=light-gray/black
  set color_highlight=white/black
else
  set menu_color_normal=cyan/blue
  set menu_color_highlight=white/blue
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
menuentry 'Debian GNU/Linux, with Linux 2.6.32-5-amd64' --class debian --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
        insmod part_msdos
        insmod ext2
        set root='(hd0,msdos8)'
        search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set e3378181-54dc-4fe3-97e2-d7f2b6c1d296
        echo    'Loading Linux 2.6.32-5-amd64 ...'
        linux   /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-5-amd64 root=UUID=e3378181-54dc-4fe3-97e2-d7f2b6c1d296 ro  quiet
        echo    'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
        initrd  /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-5-amd64
}
menuentry 'Debian GNU/Linux, with Linux 2.6.32-5-amd64 (recovery mode)' --class debian --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
        insmod part_msdos
        insmod ext2
        set root='(hd0,msdos8)'
        search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set e3378181-54dc-4fe3-97e2-d7f2b6c1d296
        echo    'Loading Linux 2.6.32-5-amd64 ...'
        linux   /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-5-amd64 root=UUID=e3378181-54dc-4fe3-97e2-d7f2b6c1d296 ro single 
        echo    'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
        initrd  /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-5-amd64
}
menuentry "FreeBSD-8.0 STABLE on Partition 1" {
        insmod part_bsd
        insmod part_msdos
        insmod ufs2
        set root='(hd0,1,1)'
        kfreebsd /boot/loader
}

menuentry "Solaris snv 134 on Partition 3" {
        set root=(hd0,3)
        chainloader +1
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### END /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry "Debian GNU/Linux, linux 2.6.26-2-amd64, eSATA 1.5Gbps (on /dev/sda5)" {
        insmod part_msdos
        insmod ext2
        set root='(hd0,msdos5)'
        search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 5badec4b-751e-47e1-a3c5-f8555d680cc4
        linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.26-2-amd64 root=UUID=5badec4b-751e-47e1-a3c5-f8555d680cc4 ro
        initrd /boot/initrd.img-ts
}
menuentry "Debian GNU/Linux, linux 2.6.26-2-amd64 (on /dev/sda5)" {
        insmod part_msdos
        insmod ext2
        set root='(hd0,msdos5)'
        search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 5badec4b-751e-47e1-a3c5-f8555d680cc4
        linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.26-2-amd64 root=UUID=5badec4b-751e-47e1-a3c5-f8555d680cc4 ro
        initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.26-2-amd64
}
menuentry "Debian GNU/Linux, linux 2.6.26-2-amd64 (single-user mode) (on /dev/sda5)" {
        insmod part_msdos
        insmod ext2
        set root='(hd0,msdos5)'
        search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 5badec4b-751e-47e1-a3c5-f8555d680cc4
        linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.26-2-amd64 root=UUID=5badec4b-751e-47e1-a3c5-f8555d680cc4 ro single
        initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.26-2-amd64
}
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries.  Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment.  Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
if [ -f  $prefix/custom.cfg ]; then
  source $prefix/custom.cfg;
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###

Have a nice day

Thomas

scdbackup · 07-20-2019, 03:04 AM

Hi,

i tried super_grub2_disk_hybrid_2.04rc1s1-beta4.iso .

The result is about the same as with test.iso in my previous experiment.
FreeBSD boots, Linux is offered but fails, Solaris is missing in the
self detected list. All in all this list is the same as with test.iso.

Other than test.iso it also added items from grub.cfg on hard disk.
Interestingly, the normal Linux item from this list fails exactly the same
way as the self detected item.

First self-detected menu item which immediately reboots:

Code:

menuentry 'Linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-5-amd64 (hd1,msdos8)' 'hd1,msdos8' 'e3378181-54dc-4fe3-97e2-d7f2b6c1d296' 'boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-5-amd64' {

set root="$2"
set uuid="$3"
set kernel "$4"
set version="$5"

linux $kernel root=UUID=$uuid ro
if test -f /boot/initrd_$version.img; then
  initrd /boot/initrd-$version.img
elif test -f /boot/initrd.img-$version; then
  initrd /boot/initrd.img-$version
elif test -f /boot/initrd-$version; then
  initrd /boot/initrd-$version
elif test -f /boot/initramfs-genkernel-$version; then
  initrd /boot/initramfs-genkernel-$version
elif test -f /boot/initramfs-$version.img; then
  initrd  /boot/initramfs-$version.img
fi
}

(Hand copied to paper and then in another room to computer. Expect some
funny typos here.)

Obvious deviations from the working menu item on hard disk:

- No --class debian --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os
among menuentry arguments.

- Hard disk is called hd1, rather than hd0 as on hard disk.

- No "search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set e3378181-54dc-4fe3-97e2-d7f2b6c1d296"

I tried to use hd0 instead of hd1. Result:

Code:

Booting a command list
error: no such partition
Press any key to continue

Not being an experienced GRUB wizzard, i run out of ideas what's wrong
and how to correct it.

Have a nice day

Thomas

colorpurple21859 · 07-20-2019, 08:55 AM

I dd test2.iso to usb, found and booted my windows, slackware,debian,arch,fedora in both efi and legacy mode without any problems. In legacy mode it shows the efi partition boot entries but says have to be efi mode to boot or something like that. In the process of installing freebsd, and will give lvm and luks a try when I get a chance to set up them up.

edit: Freebsd worked on both legacy and efi mode.
In efi mode the non-efi freebsd entries did not work. These entries was the ones that worked in legacy mode.

Didier Spaier · 07-20-2019, 05:57 PM

Hi,

Quote:

Originally Posted by scdbackup

Regrettably the forum software does not allow me to attach it. (Because .cfg ?)

The forum software only accepts files whose name ends in .txt.

Quote:

Originally Posted by scdbackup

i tried super_grub2_disk_hybrid_2.04rc1s1-beta4.iso .

...

All in all this list is the same as with test.iso.

At least I didn't add downstream bugs to the upstream ones then

Quote:

Other than test.iso it also added items from grub.cfg on hard disk.
Interestingly, the normal Linux item from this list fails exactly the same
way as the self detected item.

First self-detected menu item which immediately reboots:

Code:

menuentry 'Linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-5-amd64 (hd1,msdos8)' 'hd1,msdos8' 'e3378181-54dc-4fe3-97e2-d7f2b6c1d296' 'boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-5-amd64' {

set root="$2"
set uuid="$3"
set kernel "$4"
set version="$5"

linux $kernel root=UUID=$uuid ro
if test -f /boot/initrd_$version.img; then
  initrd /boot/initrd-$version.img
elif test -f /boot/initrd.img-$version; then
  initrd /boot/initrd.img-$version
elif test -f /boot/initrd-$version; then
  initrd /boot/initrd-$version
elif test -f /boot/initramfs-genkernel-$version; then
  initrd /boot/initramfs-genkernel-$version
elif test -f /boot/initramfs-$version.img; then
  initrd  /boot/initramfs-$version.img
fi
}

...
Obvious deviations from the working menu item on hard disk:

- No --class debian --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os
among menuentry arguments.

- Hard disk is called hd1, rather than hd0 as on hard disk.

- No "search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set e3378181-54dc-4fe3-97e2-d7f2b6c1d296"

I tried to use hd0 instead of hd1. Result:

Code:

Booting a command list
error: no such partition
Press any key to continue

Not being an experienced GRUB wizzard, i run out of ideas what's wrong
and how to correct it.

At least you are a booting wizard and the xorriso wizard

I don't have real clues, some remarks:

--class debian --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os shouldn't matter I think that's just to group menu entries into classes and possibly display similarly menu entries belonging to the same class, so purely cosmetic if I understand well
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set <fs-uuid value> sets the value of the root variable. But I fail to see why it would be needed by old Linux kernels and not by new ones (actually the initrd should translate this value to a partition name like /dev/<name> running udev or mdev)

It wouldn't hurt to try editing the menu entry "Linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-5-amd64 (hd1,msdos8)" to insert this line found in grub.cfg before booting though:
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set e3378181-54dc-4fe3-97e2-d7f2b6c1d296
Then write it just before the line beginning with linux and press F10.

Last, my grub-mkrescue commands compress the grub modules with this option: --compress=xz
Maybe try to replace it with --compress=no

Else, maybe we could post the issue on the grub-devel ML or make aware of it Adrian Gibanel Lopez, author of Super Grub Disk.

Cheers,

Didier Spaier · 07-20-2019, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colorpurple21859

I dd test2.iso to usb, found and booted my windows, slackware,debian,arch,fedora in both efi and legacy mode without any problems. In legacy mode it shows the efi partition boot entries but says have to be efi mode to boot or something like that. In the process of installing freebsd, and will give lvm and luks a try when I get a chance to set up them up.

edit: Freebsd worked on both legacy and efi mode.
In efi mode the non-efi freebsd entries did not work. These entries was the ones that worked in legacy mode.

Thanks for testing. Give lvm and luks a try would be interesting indeed.

Didier Spaier · 07-20-2019, 06:14 PM

With Thomas' help I have cooked a new ISO: http://slackware.uk/slint/x86_64/sli...grub/test8.iso accordingly.
Please use only this one for further testing. I have edited http://slackware.uk/slint/x86_64/sli...structions.txt

One of the benefits of the new ISO is that when copied to an USB stick this results in a dos partition table with two partitions, to which you can add other partitions with fdisk or cfdisk to store anything you want:

Code:

Disque /dev/sdc : 123,5 MiB, 129499136 octets, 252928 secteurs
Unités : secteur de 1 × 512 = 512 octets
Taille de secteur (logique / physique) : 512 octets / 512 octets
taille d'E/S (minimale / optimale) : 512 octets / 512 octets
Type d'étiquette de disque : dos
Identifiant de disque : 0x00000000

Périphérique Amorçage Début   Fin Secteurs Taille Id Type
/dev/sdc1    *           64 10371    10308     5M 83 Linux
/dev/sdc2             10372 16131     5760   2,8M ef EFI (FAT-12/16/32)

colorpurple21859 · 07-20-2019, 09:21 PM

with test8.iso lvm works, luks doesn't, never get asked for a password. The iso doesn't pick up a separate stand alone boot partition either.

Didier Spaier · 07-21-2019, 07:43 AM

Hello,

Quote:

Originally Posted by colorpurple21859

with test8.iso lvm works, luks doesn't, never get asked for a password. The iso doesn't pick up a separate stand alone boot partition either.

To better understand could you please post output of:

Code:

lsblk -l -o model,name,size,fstype,mountpoint

telling us which is the standalone boot partition for which OS.

Also, if you use grub to boot, please attach the grub.cfg in use, renamed grub.txt.

Thanks,

scdbackup · 07-21-2019, 08:55 AM

Hi,

in general i am confident that the MBR/DOS partition table will cause not
more boot time trouble than GPT does. Actually GPT is exotic in the world
of GNU/Linux installation ISOs.

But just in case that some EFI does not recognize the EFI partition of
test8.iso on USB stick, i tried what happens if i let gdisk convert to GPT.

Testers of real-iron EFI could add a second round of USB stick boot
testing after having let gdisk convert to GPT. Just as preparation for
any future victims whose EFI really needs it.

I have no picky EFI system for testing bootability in genuine EFI mode.
So i could only check the quality as filesystem partitions. Here is the
shell session log (some commands may need superuser authority):

Code:

$ dd if=test8.iso bs=1M of=/dev/sdc
7+1 records in
7+1 records out
8259584 bytes (8.3 MB) copied, 2.80313 s, 2.9 MB/s
$ /sbin/gdisk /dev/sdc
...
Partition table scan:
  MBR: MBR only
  BSD: not present
  APM: not present
  GPT: not present
***************************************************************
Found invalid GPT and valid MBR; converting MBR to GPT format
in memory. THIS OPERATION IS POTENTIALLY DESTRUCTIVE! Exit by
typing 'q' if you don't want to convert your MBR partitions
to GPT format!
***************************************************************
Command (? for help): w

Final checks complete. About to write GPT data. THIS WILL OVERWRITE EXISTING
PARTITIONS!!

Do you want to proceed? (Y/N): y
OK; writing new GUID partition table (GPT) to /dev/sdc.
Warning: The kernel is still using the old partition table.
The new table will be used at the next reboot.
The operation has completed successfully.
$
$ # ----- Now for inspection of the result -----
$
$ /sbin/gdisk /dev/sdc
...
  MBR: protective
  BSD: not present
  APM: not present
  GPT: present
...
Command (? for help): p
...
Disk identifier (GUID): 8FDA0704-A0F7-48DE-A9E7-7DEE9F1B7396
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 3915742
Partitions will be aligned on 4-sector boundaries
Total free space is 3899641 sectors (1.9 GiB)

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
   1              64           10371   5.0 MiB     8300  Linux filesystem
   2           10372           16131   2.8 MiB     EF00  EFI System
...
$ /sbin/hdparm -z /dev/sdc

/dev/sdc:
 re-reading partition table
$ mount /dev/sdc /mnt/iso
mount: /dev/sdc is write-protected, mounting read-only
$ tar cf - /mnt/iso | wc
tar: Removing leading `/' from member names
  17351   93909 4597760
$ umount /mnt/iso
$ mount /dev/sdc1 /mnt/iso
mount: /dev/sdc1 is write-protected, mounting read-only
$ tar cf - /mnt/iso | wc
tar: Removing leading `/' from member names
  17351   93909 4597760
$ mount /dev/sdc2 /mnt/fat
$ tar cf - /mnt/fat | wc
tar: Removing leading `/' from member names
    679    7496  512000
$

If gdisk would not warn so loudly, this all would look very harmless.
Even the backup GPT is now sitting where it belongs without any need
for partition editor expert operations.

Original and GPT-ized test8.iso boot fine from USB stick with my elderly
BIOS-only machine.

The up-down navigation in the GRUB menu of detected boot offers is still
much slower than with super_grub2_disk*iso. But it seems that impatiently
pressed keys get not discarded any more. (Now impatience gets punished by
slow overshooting ...)

Have a nice day

Thomas

colorpurple21859 · 07-21-2019, 09:13 AM

Code:

MODEL            NAME          SIZE FSTYPE      MOUNTPOINT
TOSHIBA MQ04ABF1 sda         931.5G             
                 sda1          260M vfat        /boot/efi
                 sda2           16M             
                 sda3         98.6G ntfs        
                 sda4         20.1G swap        [SWAP]
                 sda5            1G ext4        
                 sda6         57.3G crypto_LUKS 
                 sda7         79.7G ext4        
                 sda8         75.6G ext4        /
                 sda9        518.3G ntfs        /data
                 sda10         256M vfat        
                 sda11           1M             
                 sda12           1G ext4        
                 sda13        30.9G LVM2_member 
                 sda14        31.9G ext4        
                 sda15         980M ntfs        
DVDRW GUE1N      sr0          1024M             
                 fedora-swap   3.2G swap        
                 fedora-root  27.7G ext4        
                 sda16        15.9G ntfs

sda5 is stand alone boot partition\ contents:

Code:

config-5.0.9-301.fc30.x86_64
efi
elf-memtest86+-5.01
extlinux
grub2
initramfs-0-rescue-e58047f4d9c34a7883c67b4df226081b.img
initramfs-5.0.9-301.fc30.x86_64.img
loader
lost+found
memtest86+-5.01
System.map-5.0.9-301.fc30.x86_64
vmlinuz-0-rescue-e58047f4d9c34a7883c67b4df226081b
vmlinuz-5.0.9-301.fc30.x86_64

When I get a chance I'll do some more testing on this using a grub folder vs grub2

colorpurple21859 · 07-21-2019, 02:26 PM

No it doesn't pick up a system that has a separate boot partition. Tried it with linux mint installed on partition /dev/sda14 and /boot on /dev/sda10 partition. Contents of the boot partition is your standard boot stuff

Code:

ls /mnt
abi-4.15.0-20-generic         memtest86+.elf
config-4.15.0-20-generic      memtest86+_multiboot.bin
grub                          retpoline-4.15.0-20-generic
initrd.img-4.15.0-20-generic  System.map-4.15.0-20-generic
lost+found                    vmlinuz-4.15.0-20-generic
memtest86+.bin

mint fstab

Code:

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>
# / was on /dev/sda14 during installation
UUID=d7571194-65d0-471f-8850-d8b19ce85558 /               ext4    errors=remount-ro 0       1
# /boot was on /dev/sda10 during installation
UUID=2c258071-2f54-49c0-8d47-e5618effcf6a /boot           ext4    defaults        0       2
# swap was on /dev/sda4 during installation
UUID=64d02e0a-ace4-458d-9f91-8df5c611ab07 none            swap    sw