GRUB |
|
The GRand Unified Bootloader is a piece of software that allows you to boot different partitions. In many respects it is similar to LILO. However, LILO does not understand filesystems, but GRUB does. In addition to this, GRUB creates fantastic boot disks that can really save your hide.
GRUB is not installed automatically on a Debian system. So to install it, use one of the
debian package management tools: apt-get. At a command line, enter the following
apt-get install grub grub-doc
. This will install both the code and the documntation
files. To read the documentation for GRUB, type info grub
.
The details of this stage are in the GRUB information, I shall just list the actions.
Insert a blank floppy (or one that has nothing important on it) into the drive. Then type:
dd if=/usr/lib/grub/i386-pc/stage1 of=/dev/fd0 bs=512 count=1
dd if=/usr/lib/grub/i386-pc/stage2 of=/dev/fd0 bs=512 seek=1
This copies the files straight onto the floppy in a format that it can read easily at boot.
You can now boot into XP from the GRUB floppy if you want (you might like to try this -
think of it as survival training). In order to do so, leave the GRUB floppy in the drive and restart the
machine (/sbin/shutdown -r now
).
Once the GRUB prompt comes up, type the following commands:
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1
boot
This should now boot into XP.
To boot into Linux, you must type the following commands:
root (hd0,3)
kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda4 vga=768
boot
This should now boot into Linux. Caveat: If your Linux lives in a different
partition, then you will need to modify the above, see the GRUB documentation.
In order to install GRUB onto the MBR, you should follow the following steps:
On the Linux partition, create a /boot/grub
directory. Copy all of the files
from /usr/lib/grub/i386-pc
to this directory.
Now you should create a file called menu.lst
in this directory. The contents of this file
should look something like:
default 0
timeout 10
fallback 1
color white/black black/magenta
title linux
root (hd0,3)
kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda4 vga=768
title XP
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1
Now, you should reboot your system with the GRUB floppy. Once you are back at the GRUB prompt, type
the following commands:
root (hd0,3)
setup (hd0)
Now remove the GRUB floppy and restart the machine. You should find that when the machine reboots you are
presented with two options in a GRUB menu.