GRUB failure after WinXP re-install or complicating grub.conf

[Jim Cornette]

On 07/18/2004 11:31:33 AM, Scott Talbot wrote:
> > grub-install /dev/hda2
> 
> 
> This should be /dev/hda, which is the mbr of the boot disk.
> grub-install
> knows where the /boot partition is, and will tell the boot process to
> find it when needed.
> 
> Scott
>

This might be true with one boot partition. for my setup grub would be  
quite surprised! :-)

Filesystem           1K-blocks      Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/hdb6              7194780   4418172   2411132  65% /
/dev/hdb5               101086      7789     88078   9% /boot
The above two partitions are from an FC2 to FC3T1 install. Grub is  
installed on the mbr. (hdb5 is the boot partition for this setup

The two partitions below are a development version that I run of  
Fedora. The grub is installed on hda1. This is also on reiserfs
/dev/hda1               101086      8127     87740   9% /hda-boot
/dev/hda2              6192860   4925540   1267320  80% /hda-root

This is my multimedia pack edition running FC2 with "xine and friends".  
The grub version is installed on hdb1.
/dev/hdb1               101086      7609     88258   8% /hdb-boot
/dev/hdb2             19955836  12346124   6596012  66% /hdb-root

My grub.conf file looks like the below for the mbr version. This  
chainloads the proper version. I let each distribution take care of  
updating it's own grub version with package removal or additions. I  
don't have to do manual grub entries with this method.
If I ran the grub-install /dev/hda command, grub would be installed  
onto whichever version that I am running. This is what upgrading with  
anaconda does, if you do not manually walk through and adjust for each  
OS specific file setup.

#boot=/dev/hda
default=1
timeout=10
splashimage=(hd1,4)/grub/splash.xpm.gz
password --md5 longjumbledpassword
title Fedora Core (2.6.6-1.435.2.3)
        root (hd1,4)
        kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.6-1.435.2.3 ro root=LABEL=/1 3
        initrd /initrd-2.6.6-1.435.2.3.img
title Fedora Core (2.6.7-1.492)
        root (hd1,4)
        kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.7-1.492 ro root=LABEL=/1 acpi=on 3
        initrd /initrd-2.6.7-1.492.img
title hda-1
        rootnoverify (hd0,0)
        chainloader +1
title hdb-1
        rootnoverify (hd1,0)
        chainloader +1

Just so you can get the picture as to the partitions. hdb3 contains my  
distribution that I boot from mbr (hdb5 and hdb6). I don't know how to  
chainload boot off of this partition, without installing it in mbr.

]# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/hda: 6448 MB, 6448619520 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 784 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/hda1   *           1          13      104391   83  Linux
/dev/hda2              14         784     6193057+  83  Linux

Disk /dev/hdb: 30.7 GB, 30736613376 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 3736 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/hdb1   *           1          13      104391   83  Linux
/dev/hdb2              14        2537    20274030   83  Linux
/dev/hdb3            2538        3460     7413997+   f  W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/hdb4            3461        3736     2216970   82  Linux swap
/dev/hdb5            2538        2550      104391   83  Linux
/dev/hdb6            2551        3460     7309543+  83  Linux

It is nice that grub-install is smart enough to know which partition is  
your /boot. I was not aware that /dev/hda would do anything other than  
install on grub on the mbr.

Later,

Jim
-- 
More are taken in by hope than by cunning.
		-- Vauvenargues