How to Multi-Boot Various Linuxes Without Using GRUB2

[rcrsn51]

GRUB2 can be a pig, especially when you want to add Puppy to its menu. Luckily, you can multi-boot many Linuxes using Puppy's own Grub4Dos bootloader config program.

See the discussion here. The procedure works equally well with internal hard drives and external USB drives.

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However, if you don't want to get involved with hard drive partitioning, you can do frugal installs of many *buntus inside your Windows partition. Read here.

(But if your Windows gets corrupted, please don't complain to me )

[linuxbear]

GRUB2 can be a pig, especially when you want to add Puppy to its menu. Luckily, you can multi-boot many Linuxes using Puppy's own Grub4Dos bootloader config program.

See the discussion here. The procedure works equally well with internal hard drives and external USB drives.

....does this require the installation of a tiny windows partition and basic DOS files?

[rcrsn51]

....does this require the installation of a tiny windows partition?

Are you referring to the initial FAT32 partition that I recommend? Its purpose is to keep your Grub4Dos boot files in a safe, separate location from the Linux installs.

and basic DOS files

You are not installing DOS - you are using the Grub4Dos bootloader from the Puppy System menu.

However, if you already have Windows installed and are multi-booting it with c:\grldr, you could continue to use its menu.lst file and manually add entries for the new Linuxes. It would probably be easiest to chainload them

Code: Select all

title Ubuntu
root (hd0,1)
chainloader +1

This assumes that your Ubuntu install put its own GRUB on the partition boot record of sda2.