Hi All,
I am very muxh a newbie to Linux. Messed around enough to be able to set up partitions for SWAP,/,/home, and install Ubuntu very easily. Wanted to try something that might look a little differnet, so tried installing slackware. Could not boot to anything except XP. I know where I went wrong - the LILO installation. Tried installing in the "/" partition, but could not understand the instructions from there.

Anyway, wiped the Linux partitions and installed Ubuntu again.

The only reason I did not choose the "simple" option for LILO, was that I did not want to risk screwing up my XP installation. This is an extra PC I am playing around with, so no big lose if I loose data, it is just that it is such a PITA to re-install XP that I did not want to risk it.

Soooo. How much risk is there in letting the slackware installer use the MBR on my windows parition? What will happen if I choose later to wipe slackware, will I still be able to boot to XP and Ubuntu, or whatever other distro I may have installed? Does LILO take over the booting duties? What happens with GRUB that was installed when I installed Ubuntu?

Thanks for all help.

BTW, I do read in the reviews of slackware that some folks do not believe it is a good distro for a newb.

You can safely install Slackware's LILO to the MBR. It will work fine. It will also work fine if you do the same for Ubuntu instead. Just pick one of them to do that with. The other Linux distro you will want to install its respective boot manager to the root partition. The boot manager installed in the MBR will have to be set up to chainload to the other Linux system (it will need to chainload to Windows as well). That way, you can keep the two Linux boot managers separate, which makes things easier when you swap a Linux distro out. If you aren't sure how to do this do a quick search on LQ.

Edit:
If you decide later that you want only Windows you do NOT need to reinstall it. Simply boot into your Windows install disk for the Recovery console (or use a DOS rescue disk), and simply repair the MBR. It is extremely easy and a quick search will show you how to do that depending on the path you take.

If you have the hard drive space why not just add slack to you ubuntu grub menu.lst and have Slack, Ubuntu, & XP boot from grub..

Also:
Every time I screw up an XP mbr, I've found the "Super Grub Disk" to never fail to fix the Windows mbr.
Very useful if you don't have the XP installation disk.

http://www.supergrubdisk.org

MHG,
If you have Ubuntu's grub installed to the mbr, I would recommend not installing lilo. You can easily boot Slackware from Ubuntu's grub menu.lst by following the advice in post #4 from this thread:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=393379

On my laptop I've got XP, Slackware, and Ubuntu - in that order. Slack's lilo is in the MBR, Ubuntu's GRUB is in its root partition. Added this to /etc/lilo.conf:
Works fine.
Don't believe what you read about Slackware not being for newbies, it just takes a little more effort and thought than Ubuntu.

Right you are.

I always recommend having separate hard disks for xp and linux. I also recommend at least on of them, preferably both being removable. For sata, one hd rack I use is the cheap athena power m125b. I'm about 2/3 happy with these.

The next good option is to open case and unplug XP hd to install linux on other. I've overwritten the xp mbr 3-4 times now when I thought I had the right one selected. If you change in bios that should work but if choose the bios quickboot option (f12?) it might keep the disk order unchanged and so loading grub or lilo to mbr goes to first disk which is usually xp hd.

I tried following the instructions in the thread referenced (in the Ubuntu forum).

Now I have two selections, one named Ubuntu, and one named Slackware, but they both boot to Ubuntu.

In the instruction he states "start typing the kernel name in". I don't know what the name of the kernel is. All I can see in the list is Ubuntu information.

I will try starting over again, with editing the /boot/grub/menu, but I suspect I am missing something here.

Thanks for the help.

Hi mhg:
Take a look at my menu.lst

Try getting into the Ubuntu menu.lst and adding one of the the sections that I have for slack.
You'll have to edit it for the location of your Slack installation.




############################################

# Linux bootable partition config begins
title Slack 12.1 Biz Box (/dev/sda5)
root (hd1,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda5 ro vga=normal
# Linux bootable partition config ends


# Linux bootable partition config begins
title Slackware-Current (/dev/sda6)
root (hd1,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda6 ro vga=normal
# Linux bootable partition config ends


# Linux bootable partition config begins
title Slackware 12.1 E-SATA (/dev/sdc3)
root (hd3,2)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sdc3 ro vga=normal
# Linux bootable partition config ends



## ## End Default Options ##

title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.26-1-686
root (hd1,6)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.26-1-686 root=/dev/sda7 ro quiet
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.26-1-686

title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.26-1-686 (single-user mode)
root (hd1,6)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.26-1-686 root=/dev/sda7 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.26-1-686

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST



# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for a non-linux OS
# on /dev/hde1
title Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
root (hd0,0)
savedefault
makeactive
chainloader +1


# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for an existing
# linux installation on /dev/hde7.
title Slackware 12.1 (/dev/hda7) (on /dev/hde7)
root (hd0,6)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda7 ro vga=normal
savedefault
boot


# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for an existing
# linux installation on /dev/hde8.
title Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-19-generic (on /dev/hde8)
root (hd0,7)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-19-generic root=UUID=b290f731-fbfe-43a3-88b5-3de5a12d6d40 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-19-generic
savedefault
boot


# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for an existing
# linux installation on /dev/hde8.
title Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-19-generic (recovery mode) (on /dev/hde8)
root (hd0,7)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-19-generic root=UUID=b290f731-fbfe-43a3-88b5-3de5a12d6d40 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-19-generic
savedefault
boot





# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for an existing
# linux installation on /dev/hde8.
title Ubuntu 8.04.1, memtest86+ (on /dev/hde8)
root (hd0,7)
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
savedefault
boot

Well hello fellow Utahnian

I would first recommend at least booting XP off a different HD. It will make life easier. and for dual booting, what's the reason? Trying a different distro? For that i would recommend using virtualbox if you wanna see what something else has to offer. Maybe you like gnome more than KDE? Maybe check out http://gnomeslackbuild.org/.

As far as trying to do what you'd want to do is pretty simple. Lets look at how slack boots in lilo(you may or may not use an initrd)
for lilo, image is what kernel is to grub. So when you install Ubuntu, you'd need to look in /boot/grub/menu.lst (i believe). It'd have entries very similar to what slackass posted before me. so for example lets say it said
We can easily translate that into lilo. it would look something like this.
Then runto test your changes, remove the -t to write it to mbr. Do this as root or sudo.

Also, it will be easier if you installed slackware second.

As for windows, i've only done a lilo entry when it's been on a different harddrive than my Slack install. I also remember having to add boot-as = 0x80 to get mine to boot. Sorry im not as helpful there.

Good luck!

If you have Ubuntu's grub installed to the mbr, just open up menu.lst and copy one of the Ubuntu entries to the section below the Debian Automagic Kernels list. Rename the entry as Slackware. Then reboot. Scroll down to the Slackware entry and hit 'e' to edit the entry. Then scroll down to the kernel line and hit 'e' to edit it. Remove everything after the word kernel. You must know what partition Slackware is on. Mine is on /dev/sda5, so I would type (hd0,4)/boot and hit the tab key to auto complete the kernel entry. [remember, grub numbers partitions starting at 0]. Then hit the space bar once and type root=/dev/sda5. When you hit tab to autocomplete the kernel entry you will get a few choices. If you have not made an initrd for the generic-smp kernel yet you won't be able to boot that one, so choose the huge-smp kernel. If you choose the right hard drive partition for Slackware it should auto complete the kernel for you as it said in the thread I referenced:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=393379

Here are my Slackware entries as I have them in Ubuntu's grub menu.lst. Slackware is on /dev/sda5 on my computer. First, the entry for the huge-smp kernel:
and now for the generic-smp kernel:
Note the initrd line is present in the generic-smp kernel, and not in the huge-smp kernel.
I am using the stock kernels that came with Slackware, so you could probably just use my entries in your grub menu.lst. Just edit them for whatever partition you have Slackware on. For example, if Slack was on /dev/sda6, your root line would (hd0,5) and you would put root=/dev/sda6 at the end of the kernel line.

Here is some good reading for everything you would ever want to know about grub:
http://users.bigpond.net.au/hermanzone/p15.htm

Still no progress. Linux consistently makes me feel like a dope.

I do not know how to paste an image in this forum, so I will try to describe my partitions, and my installations.


/dev/sda1 = ntfs-Windows XP

/dev/sda2 = Linux SWAP

/dev/sda3 = ext2-Slackware (no LILO installed)

/dev/sda4 = extended
/dev/sda5 = ext3-Ubuntu (boots and runs fine)
/dev/sda6 = ext3-empty
/dev/sda7 = /home

So, I try to follow instructions in Ubuntu forum thread. I can get to both (hd0,3) /boot/
or (sda,3) /boot/
Now I hit tab to get a list of directories. Seems no matter what partition I try using, I can only get Ubuntu to show up in the list. So naturally, when I try entering kernel name, and hit tab to auto-fill, I get Ubuntu again.

Is it only that I am not typing in the correct partition to find my slackware installation? As I said, I have tried different patitions, though I did not take notes so I could remember all the different combinations I tried.

Thanks for the help.

To answer a question asked earlier, yes I am booting multiple distros only to see what they are like. I have done it in the past, with Ubuntu, LinuxMint, and PCLinuxOS. At that time I did nothing with grub, all I needed to do was install on a different partition, and I could boot to any of the 3 Linux or XP.

Hi,

If Slack is on sda3

Run this:
sudo thunar:
enter password:
file system> boot> grub> open menu.lst


Then add these lines to bottom of the list

title Slackware 21.1 (/dev/sda3)
root (hd0,2)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda3 ro vga=normal



this should get Slack to boot from Ubuntu's GRUB.

Also, Slack is normally installed to a ext3 partition.

If this doesn't work please post your menu.lst

Heres a Ubuntu generated menu.lst

On this system, XP was installed first.
Then Slack.
Then Ubuntu was installed last and it detected XP, & Slack and installed it to the Grub menu.lst automatically.

Take note of the "hiddenmenu" section and how to disable it.


# menu.lst - See: grub(8), info grub, update-grub(8)
# grub-install(8), grub-floppy(8),
# grub-md5-crypt, /usr/share/doc/grub
# and /usr/share/doc/grub-doc/.

## default num
# Set the default entry to the entry number NUM. Numbering starts from 0, and
# the entry number 0 is the default if the command is not used.
#
# You can specify 'saved' instead of a number. In this case, the default entry
# is the entry saved with the command 'savedefault'.
# WARNING: If you are using dmraid do not use 'savedefault' or your
# array will desync and will not let you boot your system.
default 0

## timeout sec
# Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry
# (normally the first entry defined).
timeout 10

## hiddenmenu
# Hides the menu by default (press ESC to see the menu)
# hiddenmenu

# Pretty colours
#color cyan/blue white/blue

## password ['--md5'] passwd
# If used in the first section of a menu file, disable all interactive editing
# control (menu entry editor and command-line) and entries protected by the
# command 'lock'
# e.g. password topsecret
# password --md5 $1$gLhU0/$aW78kHK1QfV3P2b2znUoe/
# password topsecret

#
# examples
#
# title Windows 95/98/NT/2000
# root (hd0,0)
# makeactive
# chainloader +1
#
# title Linux
# root (hd0,1)
# kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro
#

#
# Put static boot stanzas before and/or after AUTOMAGIC KERNEL LIST

### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
## lines between the AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST markers will be modified
## by the debian update-grub script except for the default options below

## DO NOT UNCOMMENT THEM, Just edit them to your needs

## ## Start Default Options ##
## default kernel options
## default kernel options for automagic boot options
## If you want special options for specific kernels use kopt_x_y_z
## where x.y.z is kernel version. Minor versions can be omitted.
## e.g. kopt=root=/dev/hda1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8=root=/dev/hdc1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8_2_686=root=/dev/hdc2 ro
# kopt=root=UUID=b290f731-fbfe-43a3-88b5-3de5a12d6d40 ro

## Setup crashdump menu entries
## e.g. crashdump=1
# crashdump=0

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=(hd0,7)

## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. alternative=true
## alternative=false
# alternative=true

## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. lockalternative=true
## lockalternative=false
# lockalternative=false

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=quiet splash

## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options
## e.g. lockold=false
## lockold=true
# lockold=false

## Xen hypervisor options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenhopt=

## Xen Linux kernel options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenkopt=console=tty0

## altoption boot targets option
## multiple altoptions lines are allowed
## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options
## altoptions=(recovery) single
# altoptions=(recovery mode) single

## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst
## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the
## alternative kernel options
## e.g. howmany=all
## howmany=7
# howmany=all

## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option
## e.g. memtest86=true
## memtest86=false
# memtest86=true

## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system
## can be true or false
# updatedefaultentry=false

## should update-grub add savedefault to the default options
## can be true or false
# savedefault=false

## ## End Default Options ##

title Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-19-generic
root (hd0,7)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-19-generic root=UUID=b290f731-fbfe-43a3-88b5-3de5a12d6d40 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-19-generic
quiet

title Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-19-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd0,7)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-19-generic root=UUID=b290f731-fbfe-43a3-88b5-3de5a12d6d40 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-19-generic



title Ubuntu 8.04.1, memtest86+
root (hd0,7)
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

# This is a divider, added to separate the menu items below from the Debian
# ones.
title Other operating systems:
root


# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for a non-linux OS
# on /dev/sda1
title Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
root (hd0,0)
savedefault
makeactive
chainloader +1


# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for an existing
# linux installation on /dev/sda7.
title Slackware 12.1 (on /dev/sda7)
root (hd0,6)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda7 ro vga=normal
savedefault
boot

Now that sounds easy!

I will try what you suggested in the prior post.

Thanks Again.