[GRUB / LILO]how to use 2 distributions in parallel

From: Daniel Moyne (dmoyne_at_tiscali.fr)
Date: 02/02/05

  • Next message: Mogens Kjaer: "Re: Harddisk errors"
    To: For users of Fedora Core releases <fedora-list@redhat.com>
    Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2005 09:47:38 +0100
    
    

    Here is some information on my present setup making possible to use either
    Mandrake (my current distribution) and Fedora Core 3 (FC3 my second
    distribution presently being on test) ; this I would imagine might be of use
    for people that want to install a Mandrake distribution for test in parallel
    to their FC3 distribution.

    Both distributions are installed on separate partitions :

    a) for Mandrake I have LILO on MBR (hda1) ; here is my LILO configuration :

    Beginning of file-------------------
    # File generated by DrakX/drakboot
    # WARNING: do not forget to run lilo after modifying this file
    default="2.6.8.1-udev"
    boot="/dev/hda"
    map=/boot/map
    vga="791"
    prompt
    nowarn
    timeout="100"
    message=/boot/message
    menu-scheme=wb:bw:wb:bw

    image="/boot/vmlinuz"
            label="linux"
            root="/dev/hda1"
            initrd="/boot/initrd.img"
            append="devfs=mount acpi=ht"
            read-only

    image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.3-4mdk
            label="2.6.3-devfs"
            root=/dev/hda1
            append="devfs=mount acpi=ht"
            read-only

    image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.25-2mdk
            label="2.4.25-devfs"
            root=/dev/hda1
            initrd=/boot/initrd-2.4.25-2mdk.img
            append="devfs=mount acpi=ht"
            read-only

    image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.8.1-12mdk
            label="2.6.8.1-udev"
            root=/dev/hda1
            initrd=/boot/initrd-2.6.8.1-12mdk.img
            append="acpi=ht"
            read-only

    other=/dev/hdb1
            label=grub
    End of file-------------------------

    - with this configuration when booting from MBR through LILO I can access FC3
    world with GRUB using the last entry with label=grub.

    b) for FC3 its own bootloader installed on hdb1 therefore not on MBR therefore
    still allowing use of Mandrake distribution ; here is my GRUB configuration
    file :

    Beginning of file-------------------
    default=0
    timeout=10
    i18n (hd1,0)/boot/grub/messages
    splashimage=(hd1,0)/boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz
    color black/cyan yellow/cyan

    title Fedora Core (2.6.9-1.667)
            root (hd1,0)
            kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.9-1.667 ro root=LABEL=/ vga=791
            initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.9-1.667.img

    title Fedora Core (2.6.10-1.741)
            root (hd1,0)
            kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.10-1.741_FC3 ro root=LABEL=/ vga=791
            initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.10-1.741_FC3.img

    title LILO
            rootnoverify (hd0)
            chainloader +1
    End of file-------------------------

    - with this configuration when booting from MBR through LILO I can access
    GRUB ; when in GRUB Ican go back to LILO (and then to GRUB.... for fun all
    days long !).

    - with proper modification of "fstab" file in each world I can access
    partitions and therefore files of the other world ; for example Paul told me
    how to configure GRUB through a message collected with KMail-Mandrake as I am
    handling my mail for practical reasons with Mandrake : in root mode I
    directly configured my "grub.conf" of GRUB-FC3 before rebooting and check for
    effect ; this would also help in fixing files when you are no more able to
    boot from a distribution by doing it from the other distribution (it happened
    to me with Mandrake that my root password was no more accepted ; I fixed it
    with my Mandrake CD but now I would use FC3 !).

    - rebooting from Mandrake is more powerfull with some logging managers as you
    can directly select you LILO entry, for example "grub" entry, to reboot
    through selection.

    - KDE in Mandrake includes a LILO module in KDE Desktop Configuration Center
    that allows direct modification of LILO setup in root mode ; this does not
    exist for GRUB with FC3 ; it icludes more : an "info" module where you can
    visualize all your system features including SCSI, USB, IRQ's etc... ; this
    does nor exist with KDE as proposed by FC3.

    - when I boot with kernel 2.6.8 entry in LILO I have apic mode as I have to
    include "noapic" in "append" section to be without ; with kernel 2.6.9 and
    2.6.10 apparently I have "noapic" option on as far as I could check ; how to
    force use of apic ?

    I want to thank Paul, Thomas and Jeff in particular from that list that
    somehow helped me to put all this together.

    That is all folks !

    -- 
    Daniel Moyne (Nulix)----------------------------------------------------------
    Distribution : Mandrake 10.2 test      \\|//      Fedora Core 3 on test
                   kernel 2.6.8           / --- \     kernel 2.6.9 and 2.6.10
                   KDE 3.3               (' o-o ')    KDE 3.3
    ------------------------------------oOO-(_)-OOo-------------------------------
    -- 
    fedora-list mailing list
    fedora-list@redhat.com
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  • Next message: Mogens Kjaer: "Re: Harddisk errors"

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