Another Grub/Dual Boot Question
 

I keep trying new distros during the summer months (I have off then) and I am getting ready to install Suse 9.3. I've used Grub before and dual-booted WinXP with Slackware, but I wanted to try Suse again.

My question: How does Suse handle the install of Grub? Where should I let the install "put" it? If I let it overwrite my MBR, can Grub handle botting WinXP? I kind of remember it can't do that, so you have to go through a kind of chainloading...

But I figured I would ask the experts here, because I would be fine with overwriting my MBR and allowing Grub to boot winXP. (I think...) Any advice? I will probably also install Slackware too someday soon, and will want Grub to handle that too.

Just for the sake of added information, I have 2 disk drives. hda1 has winxp, then I have a partition within an extended partition that I have reserved for /boot. Finally i have hdb1 for the Suse install.

iirc, the windows boot loader is in the MBR of the disk it's installed on, (i.e. hda / (hd0)).

I'd recommend you install it in the MBR of hdb / (hd1), unless you have anything important there.

I switched to GRUB after ditching all proprietary software, so I can't comment on how well it chainloads, but I can't see any problems specific to this particular setup. Also, I figure that the code is fairly straightforward, so I wonder how much can go wrong :)

Be warned, though, that windows wants to be on the first disk, so you'll have to cheat it. Search through the manual and/or www for `map', `map-drive' or similar.

hth --Jonas

I'd be VERY careful. If you look around, you will find LOTS of posts from people (I am one of them) who could no longer boot Windows after installing SuSE 9.3 You will even find a "sticky" post at the top of this newsgroup on issues with SuSE/WinXP dual boot.

If have never found a satisfactory explanation for what is wrong, and like most people, I ended up having to re-install windows to get back my ability to boot it - not a trivial process, with lots of data loss along the way. My advise: put the boot loader onto a floppy. That is what I have done - at this point, with the floppy in the drive, I boot grub and can select SuSE or Windows - with the floppy out, it goes straight to Windows. Not ideal, but very functional.

Wow, i just really read through that sticky on Suse 9.1. That sure is a big problem. They have this little fact listed on their site: The problem cannot be solved by restoring the original MBR with YaST or by writing a new MBR with Windows tools (with the command FIXMBR or with FIXBOOT from the Windows rescue console). Repairing the partition table with proprietary partitioning tools does not solve the problem and may even destroy the entire partition table. The problem cannot even be solved by uninstalling Linux or reinstalling Windows without deleting the entire hard disk.

That's a big problem! I am hoping they fixed the problem for 9.3, but even if they didn't, I have already used Partition Magic to set up my partitions. So I guess I'm safe. But this sounds like a good reason to do a backup on my data...

Anyone else with advice? Will Grub boot Winxp, or does it just boot NTloader?

chainloading == booting another bootloader.

grub will boot ntloader.

I didn't know that SuSE had problems w. grub. Sorry for giving broken advice--I'd probably go w. the floppy, too.

hth --Jonas

My setup
 

is slightly different than yours, however I am replying to this anyway because I think that it may provide some pertinent info. I have a Mandrake 10.1 setup that occupies a 40 gigger [hda1]... after I had this set up I decided to try slapping on another 40 gigger [hdb1] that happens to be an old XP install (I accidentally ripped the entire socket off of my motherboard while trying to remove my Athlon XP for testing). Both grub and my other bootloader IMMEDIATELY recognized my XP drive and even allowed the boot process to start successfully (which I might add bailed later due to the fact that the system I am using is not sufficient to run XP)

As far as how well grub will be able to mount a drive with more than one partition, I cannot speak as confidently of this, however, I KNOW that with my Mandrake 10.1 installation, I would at LEAST be able to MOUNT said partition and copy all of my files. I am sure Suse has some similar provision, how easily accessible, I do not know. There should never be any real need to lose all of your files along with this, even if worse comes to worst

Floppies are fine
 

but make SURE to make at LEAST two of them if you go this route, because of how unreliable they are. If your one floppy goes bad, and you have no way of (that you know of) replacing it quickly and easily off of another system, you are going to very quickly find yourself right back here asking MUCH more difficult questions

(I must say that I have spent MORE time trying to rescue systems that somehow went wrong because of the fact that I decided to use a floppy in conjunction with them than any other single problem I have had)

I'm probably going to get beat down for saying this in a SuSE forum, but if you're stuck with that problem and have to use a floppy, you're better off with a different distro!

aysiu: I will beat you down -- gently :)

All distros have their problems, more or less serious. Allright, this damage potential of this one is somewhat large, but the workaround is fairly easy: make two floppies. When one breaks, make a new one.

I mean--it's not that hard. And once the problem gets resolved, install grub `the right way.'

my two cents --Jonas

jonaskoelker: the problem with using floppies has nothing to do with Suse, it is the problem with floppies. And that is a good idea, to create 2 bottable floppies; I never thought of that. But I think booting any flavor of Linux is easy in a rescue situation as you can always boot from the install-cd, right?

You also mentioned to install grub "the right way". That is exactly what i want to do. So I think i am going to do this: install Suse, ask it to create 2 boot floppies and install Grub to /hda5/boot the first partition in my extended partition right after WinXP's). Then I will install Suse to /hdb1. I am pretty sure I won't have a problem with parted because they fixed the problem in 9.3, and also because I have already partitioned my drives. I already know Grub will boot a second hard drive just fine.

But according to you guys, Grub doesn't boot Win XP directly: it boots NTLoader. In other words, I can't overwrite my MBR. So I think I am good to start!

I realise that :-)

The problem with SuSE is that you *have* to use floppies, as aysiu pointed out.

I also actually did some research and found out that the problem was with parted.

In any case: you seem to be able to gather all the information you need to make an enlightened decision on your own, so good luck.

But remember: rather safe than sorry :).

--Jonas

Jonas, I hope you didn't think I was making light of your recommendations. I wasn't! And I didn't catch that distinction, that with Suse, you "have" to use floppies! So I'm glad you wrote again to emphasize that.

So with a Suse install, the only choices you have with installing a way to boot your system is with floppies, or to install Grub to MBR? Do I have that correct?

I think the cartesian product of {reasonably boot media} and {reasonable boot loaders} is:

{(floopy, lilo), (floppy, grub), (HD MBR, lilo), (HD MBR, grub), (boot sector, lilo)}. YMMV.

I'd prefer (HD MBR, grub), but others may do the trick. If you limit yourself to grub, not lilo, then yeah, it's sorta between floppies and HD MBR (hdb, as the case is).

You could of course burn your own boot CD with grub on for that parcticular purpose of booting your box, but I think your time is better spent elsewhere :-)

hth --Jonas

I just installed Suse 9.3.

Xp on one disk.
Suse on another.
A 3rd disk, a big fat disk I use for storage, mounted in my home partition.

Installed grub on MBR of the disk XP is in. Everything's fine.

And BTW, I don't have a floppy unit installed.

Is WinXP on hda? Thie first partition? And you overwrote its MBR? Cool! Did you install Suse after you had installed WinXP? And final question, did you install Grub during the install of Suse, or did you go back afterwards and install Grub seperately?