Multi Boot

[James Wilkinson]

Mark Panen wrote:
> I have XP and FC3 on my laptop and want to add another Linux OS (don't
> know which one yet) onto a free partition. Google has millions of
> answers but i am not sure what to do.
> 
> Do i install the new Linux OS without a bootloader and the only edit
> grub.conf of FC3 ?

You have three options.

You can install the new OS without a bootloader, make sure an
appropriate kernel and initrd are somewhere that the BIOS can see them
(you're not *likely* to have problems here, but older BIOSes might not
like kernels at the end of a very large disk) and put the appropriate
lines in /boot/grub/grub.conf. You're responsible for working out what
those lines are.

You can install the new OS with a bootloader on the new OS's root
partition (which might be /dev/hda7). You then follow the same route,
but you've got a template for the modifications you need to make to
/boot/grub/grub.conf).

Or you can install the new OS with a bootloader on the new OS's root
partition. And use a stanza like this in /boot/grub/grub.conf:
title Other Linux OS
        rootnoverify (hd0,6)
        chainloader +1

That would be right if the root partition of the new OS is /dev/hda7
(grub counts from zero, Linux from one, so grub's partition numbers are
always one less than Linux's numbers).

This would mean you go through the Fedora grub to the other OS's boot
loader (which doesn't have to be grub). It means that the other OS knows
how to update its own kernels. And it keeps everything that bit tidier.
It's my preferred option.

Hope this helps,

James.

-- 
E-mail address: james | You shouldn't worry, insanity of the right kind is
@westexe.demon.co.uk  | really rather pleasant, as my good friend Colin the
                      | llama would agree.
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