Re: any difference ?

"Wolfgang Kern" <nowhere@xxxxxxxx> writes:


Unruh wrote:
...
I got the opportunity to install SUSE 10.3 or (X)ubuntu 7.10.
Would any of 'em destroy my current boot-manager which allow
me to boot up either win98,winXP,DOS6.00 or (my own) KESYS (all
primary).

Since we have no idea how your system boots, it is hard to know.

My system got only one single sector for MBR and Boot-info,
so it could also reside in an extended M$-partition.
And therefore GRUB may not be able to see that it is bootable
because we can't have more then four primary partitions.

No idea what you are talking about. neither grub not lilo cares about
primary partitions. They can boot from any partition on the first two
drives ( a bios limitation).

a) Install the Linux bootloader onto the linux partition and then have
your
bootloader call it, instead of having it on the MBR
b) Have the linux bootloader load your operating system, but since we have
no idea how to boot it, it is hard to say if Linux could boot it. (eg
Linux
boots all versions of windows with no problem, and even boots a program
like memtest, so the Linux bootloaders are very flexible.

I see, so I may just keep win98 and DOS600 as primary partitions and
have XP, Linux and my system in extended partitions.
AFAIK XP also must boot from the first primary partition on the first
drive. Linux does not care.

Then I can have GRUB and KESYS-boot selectors in primary as well.

No idea what KESYS is.
Usually grub is placed on the MBR of the first drive, but it can be placed
anyewhere if you have some other booter on the MBR.


And by casting sly dispersions on Linux you expect to help get good
answers?

My apologizes to everyone who feel offended by my L'unix joke,
but the 'windoze' naming remains offending ;)

And If you go to a Windows group to get help, I would advise you not to use
that term there if you want help. If you need help it is best not to insult
the people you are trying to get help from.


into 'my' bootloader and how to interprete the MBR (-equivalent) for it.
My system recognises type 80/81/82/83 partitions but then it invokes
just the disk-editor if this (unknown yet) volumes are selected.

I have no idea what "the disk-editor" is.

It's just a tool which makes contents of any drive visible and editable
(hex-dump, disassemble, text-view, dir-view).

Where is this damned L'unix boot-sector to be found ?
the partition entry points to an 'all zero' sector ...?

That is not how it works. Linux does not have a boot sector. It has a file
which is loaded into memory ( vmlinuz or initrd)

The question still is how to find this file starting from MBR,
is there any offset to add to the partition entry ?

No. That is why the Linux bootloaders are installed by special programs (
lilo for Lilo and grub for grub.) They figure out where on the disk, in
absolute sectors, the program is and install that location into their
respective bootloading programs.



Thanks, also to Caleb, Lars and Ray.
__
wolfgang



.

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