[gentoo-user] Re: Installing Gentoo: Grub, alternate GNU/Linux system on another partition

[Grant Edwards <grant.b.edwards@gmail.com>]

On 2011-12-05, Mick <michaelkintzios@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Monday 05 Dec 2011 21:58:44 Grant Edwards wrote:
>> On 2011-12-05, Michael Mol <mikemol@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >> You can only have one primary bootloader, either grub from Gentoo or
>> >> grub2 from Mint, it cannot be both. But it looks like that's what you
>> >> do have. Seeing as you intend to drop Mint eventually, you must
>> >> uninstall grub2 and all it's files from Mint.
>> > 
>> > Not *exactly* true.
>> 
>> It is for the usual definition of "primary bootloader" as the one that
>> is loaded and run by the BIOS.
>> 
>> > Grub can chainload any bootloader that's visible to BIOS. At minimum,
>> > that means you could have grub on /dev/sda
>> 
>> (primary bootloader)
>> 
>> > chainload grub on /dev/sdb
>> 
>> (secondary bootloader).
>> 
>> > I'm uncertain if it means you could chainload a bootloader stored in
>> > the first 512 bytes of /dev/sda8, but I suspect so.
>> 
>> You're right, you can.  Though to get grub2 to install on a partition
>> like /dev/sda8 instead of in the MBR you have to use the --force
>> option or you'll get some incomprehensable error message when you try
>> to do the 'setup' command.
>
> Last time I installed Ubuntu on a machine that had a different primary 
> OS/bootloader I chose for it to be installed on the Ubuntu partition and there 
> was not problem with it.  It was GRUB2

I tried that a couple weeks ago with several different versions of
Ubuntu and it didn't work with any of them.  The installer was
perfectly happy letting my chose a partition as a destination, and
there were no error messages or warnings, but it just didn't work
after it was installed.

I had to boot the Ubuntu live CD and then install grub2 in the Ubuntu
partition by hand using the --force option.

-- 
Grant Edwards               grant.b.edwards        Yow! Am I accompanied by a
                                  at               PARENT or GUARDIAN?
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