Hi,
I have a multi-boot pc with 3 ubuntus, 1 windows7 and 1 puppy installed in sda3. I would like to install grub2 in puppy partition, and make puppy the boot laoder partition of this pc such as, in case I remove any of the ubuntu system, the computer can alway boot.
For this PC, puppy would the maintenance and boot loader partition.
I couldn't find informations to do so and I need some help
Thank you
Dominique.
How to install grub2 in puppy ?
Hi crestey
Don't you boot with grub2 already?
How are you booting now? Windows? The ubuntu's? Puppy?
How did you install the ubuntu's? With grub2 as bootloader?
Was windows7 the primary OS on your machine?
Why would you change things if they work?
If you remove an OS, that does not mean you will not be able to boot the remaining OS as before. Just don't remove the 'boot installation'.
Btw, Puppy does not need to be on the boot partition, there is no advantage that I can see in that.
Your boot loaders otoh (probably) have to be on the boot partition.
Don't you boot with grub2 already?
How are you booting now? Windows? The ubuntu's? Puppy?
How did you install the ubuntu's? With grub2 as bootloader?
Was windows7 the primary OS on your machine?
Why would you change things if they work?
If you remove an OS, that does not mean you will not be able to boot the remaining OS as before. Just don't remove the 'boot installation'.
Btw, Puppy does not need to be on the boot partition, there is no advantage that I can see in that.
Your boot loaders otoh (probably) have to be on the boot partition.
My suggestion is to mantain the grub2 of ubuntu until you remove it. Grub2 is not puppy's stuff: puppy comes with grub4dos and rcrsn51 (a developer of puppy) retired his old package of grub2 for puppy (grub 1.98 ). Allthough somewhere you can find a link to a copy of that package in this forum. But at anytime you want and you have the need to do so you can insert a cd of puppy and install grub4dos to the MBR of sda and it will work well to boot windows7 and ubuntu, too.
YesDon't you boot with grub2 already?
one of the 3 ubuntusHow are you booting now? Windows? The ubuntu's? Puppy?
yesWas windows7 the primary OS on your machine?
Because they could work better than they do.Why would you change things if they work?
If the current grub is located in ubuntu_1 for instance, and you are logged at ubuntu_2, then a system update can suddenly happen, and install the new grub of ubuntu_2 without any user confirmation.
This is the first reason. The second general reason is that any OS always tries to make the system boot on itself, without asking you, either during installation or during updates.
So I am trying to find a way to have a separate partition containing some tools like gparted, in order to prepare the PC before installing severals OS, and containing all necessary stuffs to boot on itself and boot on any further installed OS.
Thank you
Last edited by crestey on Wed 21 Mar 2018, 16:45, edited 1 time in total.
Sounds like the same reason twicecrestey wrote:If the current grub is located in ubuntu_1 for instance, and you are logged at ubuntu_2, then a system update can suddenly happen, and install the new grub of ubuntu_2 without any user confirmation.
This is the first reason. The second general reason is that any OS always tries to make the system boot on itself, without asking you, either during installation or during updates.
I know it happens when you let an OS install itself with a script, but not that it happens on updates too!! Awfull it is. Can you not prevent it?
I do not install ubuntu or so unless I can install it manually by copying some files. So I need "live" distros. It can be hard to boot them though.
So I stick to windows and Puppies frugally.
On an uefi machine I did install fedora. This installed grub2 next to the windows bootloader, it did not take over. I removed fedora again, but still have the grub2 from fedora next to the windows bootloader. Next to these 2 I also installed refind. I set up refind also to use grub2. This is how fatdog and Puppy boot in uefi. And it is all in 1 single small partition (100M), but it does not need to be. Everything can coexist in uefi.
-
Mike Walsh
- Posts: 6351
- Joined: Sat 28 Jun 2014, 12:42
- Location: King's Lynn, UK.
I've always understood that installing multiple distros, all of which use GRUB2, has almost unlimited potential for disaster.....especially given that each copy of GRUB2, upon receiving a kernel update, attempts to update absolutely everything on the disk. It's only concerned with its own update; it doesn't give a hoot what happens to the rest of the contents.....
When I was running Windoze, and Ubuntu, and Zorin, and a couple of others, I used to dread 'update time'.....because I knew my carefully-organised GRUB menu would be in disarray after each and every 'update'. It got so I had a special script for re-organising everything afterwards.....
One way round this would be to make each distro that uses GRUB, to get it to install to the partition boot record (or PBR), rather than the Master Boot Record. You can then use Puppy's Grub4DOS as a kind of 'Master Bootloader, by 'chain-loading' from Grub4DOS into each of the others.
The Windoze entry would, of course, simply act as normal.....and there's no reason why you can't install Grub4DOS to the primary Windoze partition as you would normally do. It's always worked like that for me.
Mike.
When I was running Windoze, and Ubuntu, and Zorin, and a couple of others, I used to dread 'update time'.....because I knew my carefully-organised GRUB menu would be in disarray after each and every 'update'. It got so I had a special script for re-organising everything afterwards.....
One way round this would be to make each distro that uses GRUB, to get it to install to the partition boot record (or PBR), rather than the Master Boot Record. You can then use Puppy's Grub4DOS as a kind of 'Master Bootloader, by 'chain-loading' from Grub4DOS into each of the others.
The Windoze entry would, of course, simply act as normal.....and there's no reason why you can't install Grub4DOS to the primary Windoze partition as you would normally do. It's always worked like that for me.
Mike.
grub4dos versus grub2
Just a niggle about grub4dos and recent Distros.
I have had problems in recent weeks booting up to date Distros such as Ubuntu and Sparky with grub4dos. It complains about FS unknown. I have had to resort to adding Puppies into the Grub2 menu. I have tried the tricks of chainloading and all the recommended tricks to no avail. I wonder if it is anything to do with systemd?
I have had problems in recent weeks booting up to date Distros such as Ubuntu and Sparky with grub4dos. It complains about FS unknown. I have had to resort to adding Puppies into the Grub2 menu. I have tried the tricks of chainloading and all the recommended tricks to no avail. I wonder if it is anything to do with systemd?
I use grub4dos in MBR of sda but I also have grub2 previously installed with:
from a live puppy cd and grub 1.98 by rcrsn51. When grub2 is required (to boot ISO files for example) I search it in advanced menu of grub4dos. Yesterday I did an experiment and I made a package of grub 2.0.2 in bionic beaver alpha pup. I tried it with usb sticks and it works but I have not tried the os prober which probably does not work in puppy . You could install it in MBR of sda and manual edit /boot/grub/grub.cfg in your --root-directory and then install again grub4dos in the MBR of sda which can chainload grub2 via advanced menu.
Code: Select all
grub-install --force --no-floppy --root-directory=/mnt/sda1 /dev/sda
Puppy with grub2 for pedestrians
When I first encountered the problem of not being able to just use grub4dos --it didn't recognize manjaro-- I figured out how to do a custom configuration of grub2, adding Puppies. Important note, the same boot arguments you use under grub4dos can be used under grub2. But as OP discovered, when the distro whose grub2 is used updates, your hard work customizing evaporates.
There may be a way to prevent a general update from also updating grub2. But IIRC, it involves declining the general update and selecting an update of everything except grub2 which (a) may not work or (b) in any event was a greater PITA than the following.
The customization of grub2 is a text file. After customizing, make a copy and save it to the home/documents folder of the distro whose grub2 serves as the bootloader. After a general update, re-customize grub2. To be on the safe-side, a second copy can be stored in a folder on a partition not used by the 'dominant' distro. If it screws up an update so that you're locked out of the dominant distro, you don't have to start rebuilding your system from scratch. This is when having Puppy on a Stick proves particularly valuable.
But the latter possibility led to the following procedure. Purchased a small USB-stick. From Puppy ran grub4dos, having it install to the USB-Stick. That Stick is used for nothing else*, so is unlikely to become corrupted. Gave USB-port boot priority. Leave the stick plugged in >boot into Puppies. Take it out > boot into anything else. Works best with desktop computers as the top of the tower is a convenient location to place that USB-Stick when not in use and my desktop has about 10 USB-ports. [If Laptop can boot from an SD-Card*, it could be used as an alternative to a USB-Stick: (a) SD card plugged in is less likely to be forgotten/left at home; (b) SD-card slot is less often needed and (c) SD-Card less likely to get bent/inoperable].
The advantage of this method is that you don't have to keep mentally juggling which bootloader is doing what to what; and are less likely to have bootloaders interfering with each other.
mikesLr
* As the USB-Stick or SD-Card is used only as a bootloader, once desktop is reached it can be removed freeing the port of other uses.
There may be a way to prevent a general update from also updating grub2. But IIRC, it involves declining the general update and selecting an update of everything except grub2 which (a) may not work or (b) in any event was a greater PITA than the following.
The customization of grub2 is a text file. After customizing, make a copy and save it to the home/documents folder of the distro whose grub2 serves as the bootloader. After a general update, re-customize grub2. To be on the safe-side, a second copy can be stored in a folder on a partition not used by the 'dominant' distro. If it screws up an update so that you're locked out of the dominant distro, you don't have to start rebuilding your system from scratch. This is when having Puppy on a Stick proves particularly valuable.
But the latter possibility led to the following procedure. Purchased a small USB-stick. From Puppy ran grub4dos, having it install to the USB-Stick. That Stick is used for nothing else*, so is unlikely to become corrupted. Gave USB-port boot priority. Leave the stick plugged in >boot into Puppies. Take it out > boot into anything else. Works best with desktop computers as the top of the tower is a convenient location to place that USB-Stick when not in use and my desktop has about 10 USB-ports. [If Laptop can boot from an SD-Card*, it could be used as an alternative to a USB-Stick: (a) SD card plugged in is less likely to be forgotten/left at home; (b) SD-card slot is less often needed and (c) SD-Card less likely to get bent/inoperable].
The advantage of this method is that you don't have to keep mentally juggling which bootloader is doing what to what; and are less likely to have bootloaders interfering with each other.
mikesLr
* As the USB-Stick or SD-Card is used only as a bootloader, once desktop is reached it can be removed freeing the port of other uses.