[PROBLEM] FC3 and Grub installation

[Srihari Vijayaraghavan]

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 09:16 am, Otto Haliburton wrote:
> > Here is the procedure I follow:
> > 1. Install FC2 (yes, FC2) on /dev/hda1 and choose to
> > install Grub on MBR (/dev/hda)
> > 2. Install the shiny new FC3 on /dev/hda2 (in my case
> > it was on /dev/hda16) and choose to install grub on
> > the first sector of /dev/hda2 rather than on MBR.
> > (Please ask me 'why', if you want to, but I am
> > convinced I am doing nothing wrong in this step.)
> > 3. Configure FC2's grub to chain load FC3's grub.
> > 4. And observe it does not work.
> ...
> I think if you think about the boot procedure you will determine what you
> are doing wrong.  Ask your self the question, how will you boot from sector
> in a partition after booting from the MBR?  Ans. It won't happen.

First of all thanks for your response.

I am afraid you are wrong. Please consider this:
Follow the steps 1, 2, 3 and 4
5. Install FC2 on /dev/hda3 (This FC2 from here on I shall refer to as 
FC2-New, while the one on /dev/hda1 FC2-Old). At the installation time choose 
to install the boot loader (Grub) on the first sector of /dev/hda3 (and not 
MBR).
6. Configure FC2-Old's /boot/grub.conf to boot FC2-New using chainloader 
option (root noverify hd(0,2) & chainloader +1)
7. And see it boots just fine the FC2-New.

IOW, FC2-Old's grub boots FC2-New on /dev/hda3 but not FC3 on /dev/hda2.

Do you see the flaw here? If not, I am afraid either I am unable to explain 
this clearly or you are unable to follow me, the former being more likely.

> So what 
> is the problem.  You are booting from the MBR period and is getting the
> grub.conf for FC2 and what is in that file cause that is what can be
> booted. Now if I remember my GRUB manual chain loading is done for foreign
> OS's and FC3 is not a foreign OS.

Well, all these long years this procedure of mine, however stupid it might be, 
worked flawlessly in booting both foreign and native OSs. FC3 is the first 
one to break that.

> In the install of FC3 I don't see that 
> you had to do anything.  GRUB should have found all os's and updated the
> right grub.conf with the correct entries.  Now I might be incorrect but
> this is my opinion.

I admire your confidence in letting a new OS installation (FC3) and its boot 
loader (FC3's grub) take over your MBR. I do not. I rather take a 
conservative approach until I am very confident. That is my choice I am 
afraid. (And this likely to be approach by many of my friends using Windows 
as their primary OS and choose not to install FC3's grub on MBR.)

The funny thing is by using Rescue mode and using /sbin/grub-install /dev/hda2 
I am able to fix the problem. So if a problem can be fixed manually why 
should not the Anaconda Installer do that automatically?

Or alternatively I will be glad to see the following text when you choose the 
"advanced boot loader" configuration option during the GUI installation:
"Anaconda does not write the boot loader _sometimes_ in the first sector of  a 
given partition, so you are advised to select MBR instead. OTOH, if you 
choose to install on the first sector on a given partition, then you may have 
to use Rescue mode and execute /sbin/grub-install <insert your chosen 
partition here> manually."

Or remove the entire "advance boot loader configuration" procedure off 
Anaconda.

Sorry if I sounded a bit rude, and I apologise if I offended you or anybody.

I am just trying to explain this bug though it seems to go nowhere but to the 
deaf ears. :(

Thank you.
Hari.