Just spun up an new Slackware64 15 linode. Performed an update and the upgrade Slackware kernel doesn't work.

The Linode guy who made the Slackware image is apparently a grub fan.

I want to remove grub and make it as Slackware vanilla as I can and start from there.

Can anyone tell me how to get rid of grub and go back to elilo?

FULL DISCLOSURE: I know nothing about grub. I don't use it.

After a kernel upgrade with GRUB on Slackware run:

# grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZeJd5JPQro&t=1135s

That video will help with GRUB. Hopefully another Slacker can help you with ELILO.

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hitest, you are AWESOME! You fixed the grub problem.

For everyone else- STILL LOOKING FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO REMOVE GRUB from Slackware once it's been installed.


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FYI, this was my comment in the Linode ticket that I opened:

BUT, grub is NOT part of the standard vanilla Slackware install. Many Slackers (like me and apparently you guys) are not familiar with grub.

You NEED to go back to the guy (who loves grub) who made your Slackware 15 image and have him put elilo back in as the default boot manager.

You're going to get alot of heartache from that grub image.

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The Grub2 is virtually used by any other Linux server distribution running in x86(_64) hardware, so permit permit me to doubt that there's "a guy who loves grub" BUT rather all administrators from Linode knows well to handle the Grub2 and considers it a standard.

In other hand, Grub2 IS part of the standard vanilla Slackware install (it's package is in the A series) and many Slackers ARE familiar with Grub2.

Please do not say embarrassing things on your Linode tickets!

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"In other had, Grub2 IS part of the standard vanilla Slackware install."

Grub is an optional package but, it's not setup by default (it's not even an option in setup), therefore it's not vanilla.



"The Grub2 is virtually used by any other Linux server distribution running in x86(_64) hardware,"

So is systemd, so...?


"so permit permit me to doubt that there's "a guy who loves grub" BUT rather all administrators from Linode knows to handle the Grub2 and considers it a standard."

Whomever made that Linode image went out of his way to install grub onto it. He may consider it standard ("loves grub") but, it's not a vanilla Slackware install.


"BUT rather all administrators from Linode knows to handle the Grub2"

The Linode support guys (notice the s) I talked to had no idea about grub. They even posted that in the ticket along with URLs that they found on the web:

"I can't say I delved so far into this as to do this myself, but another Slackware forum I found looked to have some potential solutions. "

Best not to confuse grub2 loader with grub2 installers found in some other distributions.
Slackware does package grub2, but it does not install any of it by default.

So you can't say "Slackware broke my box" when you run grub-mkconfig and break your box.

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A "vanilla" Slackware installation is to install everything and the kitchen sink.

Then, also the Grub2 is installed in a "vanilla" installation of Slackware - even in the partial installs I seen being considered a decency to fully install the A series.

BTW, I for one, IF I would be the admin responding to your ticket, my response would be this:
I for one, I know well how to setup Grub2 and I'm NOT a Server Administrator like you.

Isn't linode image a "spin" like fedora spin?
That's what I'd expect it to be, and if so, OP's right to blame the creator of the spin.
I mean it's creator's decision to use or not to use the options provided, in his spin.

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A "FULL installation" installs everything. As soon as you start modifying how the default setup works (e.g. remove (e)lilo and install grub), it's no longer a vanilla install.



See my response above.


And I would happily shut down all of my virtual machines on your service and move to another provider.


I can tell that you're a fount of useful information. Instead of TRYING to answer the question, you just post useless chastising remarks. You are 100% the "RTFM type".


Yes, I'm a server administrator who runs VANILLA Slackware. I don't install unnecessary things like grub and potentially break servers.

1 members found this post helpful.

Good for you! Then administrate your server as you like.

The single beef I have with you is your claim regarding Slackers' widely ignorance of handling Grub2 - even in the official communications with Linode. That's not true. The Slackers widely know how to setup Grub2.

I may be blunt, BUT to be able to help you, I do not need to know your embarrassing messages sent to Linode - where apparently you claim that we are a bunch of ignorant people, BUT IF:

- you are allowed/entitled to insert/remove EFI boot variables in your server?
- your server can boot from the default /boot/efi/EFI/Boot/Bootx64.efi executable?
- you installed the ELILO in your system?
- did your server runs in the SecureBoot mode or not?
- lastly, but not last: you are certain that the GRUB2 instance (from the EFI partition) is the Slackware's one or not?

Assuming you did a basic "grub-install /dev/whatever," the EFI file will be at "/boot/efi/EFI/slackware-15.0/grubx64.efi." I'd imagine the process of switching back is as simple as removing it and then installing elilo normally.

1 members found this post helpful.

I have no idea how they installed it and the Linode guys couldn't tell me either. Your suggestion sounds reasonable.


After I'm done migrating these servers from 14.2 to 15 I think I'll clone one and try your suggestion.

Well, there's the tricky part. IF the OP is not allowed to insert/remove EFI boot variables, to switch to ELILO he needs to install it manually, copying appropriately the ELILO binary as /boot/efi/EFI/slackware-15.0/grubx64.efi and editing appropriately the config file.

And this apply only IF the GRUB binary is not cryptographic signed - i.e. a custom Grub2 package running in the SecureBoot mode.

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Good point. I hadn't considered that.

I assume from this that the update updated the kernel.

Once a kernel is updated, the boot loader will also need updating / amending to find the new kernel - especially if the update removed the old one! Won't make any difference if its Lilo, elilo or grub.

With grub its just a matter of running the command mentioned by others above - which can conveniently be written as a simple bash script to make it even easier! With Lilo, you need to edit lilo.conf, then run lilo, and for elilo (as I recall - been a while since I used it as I prefer grub, and elilo is no longer maintained) you need to put the chosen kernel and initrd in a special folder in /boot.

In my experience, elilo doesn't play nicely with some modern hardware - my laptop won't boot from it properly, which is why I switched to grub. Lilo doesn't work in uefi systems. Grub seems to be the only loader that works on everything, and will boot anything - hence its increasing popularity.

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Pete