How to install and boot 145 operating systems in a PC

If you want a Grub prompt put a # in front of the gfxmen statement like this

Code:

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#gfxmenu (hd0,5)/usr/share/gfxboot/themes/pcfluxboxos/boot/message

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What you have done was to trade the Grub prompt in for a bit of graphic look at the boot screen by using a gfxmenu statement inside menu.lst. The # tells Grub to ignore that line.

You should get a Grub prompt now so try to boot up AintX manually.

In a terminal mode you can use the mouse to highlight the text, right click the mouse button to select copy.

Don't know your AntiX setup but if it has a menu.lst as you have claimed to be able to copy the booting commands from then it must have stage1 and stage2 in /boot/grub directory of (hd0,4).

Thanks very much for the info on the grub prompt. I just tried it, and for some reason I failed to get it to work as a grub prompt. What I am understanding is that at the screen where all the distros appear in menu form and you choose which one you want to boot to-- at that screen there is a window at the bottom of the screen in which the address of the chosen boot path appears, and in which one can also write. In that window, I moved the cursor as far to the left as it could go, and typed "# c". But upon hitting "enter", the computer just booted to whatever distro the cursor had last been on. Don't know if I tried to put this in the proper place?

Also, please see post #104, about partition-to-partition checking. Because I posted twice in a row (#104 and #105), I think #104 may have sneaked in without being noticed.

This line with edition in red is to be implemented in menu.lst

Code:

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#gfxmenu (hd0,5)/usr/share/gfxboot/themes/pcfluxboxos/boot/message

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Similarly to ask the kernel not to fsck partition /dev/sda3 you change the line from

Code:

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# /dev/sda3
UUID=772e77f7-1e6f-4474-bc33-7b5fe8843eb5 /media/sda3    ext3    defaults        0      2

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to

Code:

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# /dev/sda3
UUID=772e77f7-1e6f-4474-bc33-7b5fe8843eb5 /media/sda3    ext3    defaults        0      0

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The partition sda3 will still be mounted but not checked. or

Code:

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# /dev/sda3
#UUID=772e77f7-1e6f-4474-bc33-7b5fe8843eb5 /media/sda3    ext3    defaults        0      2

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In this case the partition is not mounted because any command line prefixed with a # is not executed.

Take your pick.

Wow, that worked out great and it wasn't even hard. I took care of the cross-partition checking, commenting out the lines for all the other partitions as you indicated. And it worked beautifully. (Fluxbuntu does still seem to take a bit longer than the other distros to boot, but it does so errorlessly and without any hitch. :) )

Now, as for AntiX-- I changed the entry for it in my current grub's menu.lst file to read:

Code:

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title AntiX (MEPIS at sda5, newest kernel)
root (hd0,4)
setup (hd0,4)
chainloader +1
boot

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Should that work?

When I select Antix in the boot menu, I still get the same error as I was getting before i.e. (1) that there is no stage 1 or stage 2, and (2) Bad file or directory type.

But in AntiX's own grub (hda5/boot/grub) folder, there are 15 items including the menu.lst file, two others called "stage1" and "stage2", and then there several others as well which you know about I'm sure. So why would it be saying there is no stage1 or stage2?

Anyhow, if this is going to be a difficult one to solve, then I could just boot up to the AntiX livecd and have AntiX rebuild the entire grub boot menu according to its own standard. I did that once before during a previous install on this hard drive, and AntiX was able to make everything including itself boot up just fine. I just wasn't necessarily wanting AntiX to be the default distro for boot up, but that isn't a big deal.

Think I need to take you by the hand on this one again.

The commands of

Code:

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root (hd0,4)
setup (hd0,4)
chainloader +1
boot

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were meant for you to issue them at a Grub prompt.

Basically the first two lines setup up Grub in the boot sector inside (hd0,4) thereby making the partition chainloadable.

Thereafter your entry in the menu.lst (of the one in the MBR) can be arranged as

Code:

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title AntiX (MEPIS at sda5, newest kernel)
root (hd0,4)
chainloader +1

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In other word you only need to setup up Grub once.

The reason I combined the two was because when you are in the Grub prompt you can do "setup" first and then booting Antix second or to execute one immediately after the other. My intention was to demonstrate to you the "root" statement in this case only needs to be issued once.

My recommendation for you to use the chainloading is for you to boot up the original menu.lst compiled by the ANtiX installer. Your current failure may be due to a mistake you have made in copying the booting instructions from one menu.lst to another.

In any case once you get rid of the fgxmenu you can get yourself into a Grub prompt and try the commands listed at the very beginning of this post.

If it still fails you can tell ask Grub to report to you in which partition it has stage1 by command

Code:

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find /boot/grub/stage1

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If the stage1 is indeed inside (hd0,4) then your AntiX should boot, otherwise you may have to copy the two files stage1 and stage2 from another Linux.

Yes, I had understood that you wanted me to put those commands in at a grub prompt. But when yesterday I had tried them in a grub shell and they didn't work--giving the error message I had told you--then I figured a grub shell and a grub prompt are probably the same thing just one inside the OS and one outside it. So if that's the case, I figured, then it is just going to give me the same error at a grub prompt as it did at the grub shell. And that's why I (foolishly) tried to just put it into the menu.lst.

But I will try to do it now as you have instructed, at the grub prompt, and let us see what happens.

Would you kindly just let me know how I would issue the order to boot to, say Puppy (sda8), from the grub prompt in case the AntiX order doesn't work out? (Without changing the Puppy boot to chainload type. Just a one-time manual boot. Would it be "root (hd0,8)", and then "boot"?). That way at least I'll be able to boot into an OS so as to change the grub boot menu back to the GUI.

I do not really think the problem I am having with the AntiX boot is because of not copying and pasting correctly from the AntiX menu.lst file-- I've checked it multiple times, and it looks exactly proper.

So I am wondering whether perhaps the grub utility in AntiX is different somehow, that AntiX requires it for a proper boot? Just a guess. :)

I have more faith in Grub than others and believe if the files are there Grub will work out.

There is a huge difference between a Grub prompt and a Grub shell!

A Grub shell is one you get after you have booted into a Linux. There is no chance you can boot another Linux inside a kernel! although there is a program for you to wind down the Linux to do just that it is not commonly used.

You can only boot up a system in a Grub prompt and that is what Grub would be before it hands over the control to a kernel. Remember in a Grub shell Grub can see every USB drive because the kernel privides the drivers to read them. Whereas in a Grub prompt Grub has no USB driver and so it can only read one USB drive if that has been nominated by the Bios as the first bootable device. There are other bits and pieces that you can't do in one but can in another but the main difference is you cannot boot another Linux inside a Grub shell. Just think of it a Grub shell is managed by the kernel. Would the kernel be happy to let Grub kill itself and load another kernel in? It is equivalent to the MS Windows protected mode.

Regarding booting up Puppy in sda8 assuming you only have one disk then sda8 will be known to Grub as (hd0,7).

If Grub is inside the root partition of sda8 then it will boot in a Grub prompt by commands

Code:

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root (hd0,7)
chainloader +1
boot

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If you have not put Grub inside its root partition you can still boot it up with commands

Code:

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root (hd0,7)
configfile /boot/grub/menu.lst

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You should know by now that Grub only boots a system by its partition reference. You need the "title" statment in a menu.lst but not in a Grub prompt. The "boot" statement is mandatory in a Grub prompt but optional in a menu.lst. Otherwise you can use all the commands in a menu.lst in manual booting with a Grub prompt.

Grub is also the best booting teacher in the world and you can pick up one hell of knowledge by booting systems manually in a Grub prompt. If there is a line Grub cannot execute it always tells you with the explanation. No response means your command has been exceuted without error.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by saikee

Regarding booting up Puppy in sda8 assuming you only have one disk then sda8 will be known to Grub as (hd0,7)...You should know by now that Grub only boots a system by its partition reference.

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Yes, thanks-- I was in a rush to go out, and in my haste referred to sda8 as (hd0,8). But you've taught me this point earlier, and I understand.

I'm out at work right now and won't be able to test the grub prompt boot until I get home--I'll let you know how it goes.

On the subject of partition numbering though, one question: If Swap is sda1, the extended partition is sda2 with four logical drives inside sda5-8, and the data partition is sda3, then what happened to sda4? Why isn't the number "4" being used?

And thank you for all the education about grub prompts and shells just above. As well as how to word the boot commands at the grub prompt. I hope and know that many others who read through this will benefit tremendously as well!

Within the 512 byte in the MBR the first 446 bytes are computer code.

Between the 447th to 510th position there are 64 bytes divided into 16 bytes each for recording sda1 to sda4 generally known as the 4 primary partitions.

If you use logical partition then one of them must be converted into an extended partition. In you case you did so after creating sda1 as swap so sda2 was used up automatically for the extended partition.

Currently the last 16 bytes of the partition table are empty but you may also run out of disk space.

In an extended partition its 16 bytes has the information of the beginning sector of the first logical partition and the last sector of the last logical partition. Each logical partition has to carry the hard disk address of the next logical partition. Thus an operating system requires a scan outside the 64-byte partition table in order to establish the full set of the logical partitions which always start at the 5th position.

The first time you create a logical partition the next unused/vacant primary partition name will be used up as the extended partition. Therefore if you start from a raw disk with a logical partition the first partition you create is sda5. sda1 disappears as the extended partition and the first primary you can create become sda2.

If you use cfdisk to partition the hard disks you will see how the system works in front of your eye.

I refer to the above as the PC standard and it is the same in which ever operating system you work with. MS is trying to change it but so far without success.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by saikee

The commands of

Code:

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root (hd0,4)
setup (hd0,4)
chainloader +1
boot

---

were meant for you to issue them at a Grub prompt.

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I did it at the Grub prompt tonite, and still got the same error there as when I had done it in the grub shell. When I did the root (hd4,0) command it was fine with that, and stated the filesystem type. When I then did setup (hd0,4) it gave the error that it could not find stage1 inside boot/grub. And then said "Bad file or directory type".

Quote:

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Originally Posted by saikee

If the stage1 is indeed inside (hd0,4) then your AntiX should boot, otherwise you may have to copy the two files stage1 and stage2 from another Linux.

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So I booted up into Puppy, and deleted the stage1 and stage2 which were there inside the sda5 boot/grub folder. And then copied and pasted the stage1 and stage2 from sda6 (which I am booting with everyday), into sda5. And tried it again. ....Still the same error.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by saikee

If it still fails you can tell ask Grub to report to you in which partition it has stage1 by command

Code:

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find /boot/grub/stage1

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I did that, and got the reply:

Code:

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sda5
sda6

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So it sees that the AntiX (sda5) boot/grub folder has stage1 in it when I do the find command. But when I go to execute it and get AntiX to boot up, then it gives the reply that there is no stage1 in hd(0,4).

Also of curiosity is that the "find" command did not find the stage1 in sda7 (Fluxbuntu). And that OS boots up just fine.

OK in your case it may be better to cut the loss by re-installing AntiX in sda5. This time make sure the partition is formatted and mounted as /.

I couldn't explain why no stage1 in sda7 or (hd0,6). It is possible that stage1 could be in /boot instead of in /boot/grub. What you can investigate is boot up any Linux and as Linux to find all the stage1 in every mounted partition inside / for you by command

Code:

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find / -name stage1

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needless to say you need to mount sda7 in the boot up Linux or just use Fluxbuntu itself.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by saikee

OK in your case it may be better to cut the loss by re-installing AntiX in sda5. This time make sure the partition is formatted and mounted as /.

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Ok. Before I do so, I'll just mention that earlier, prior to formatting my HD to establish the current setup, I had installed just two distros: Tinyflux (which is the now sda6 and whose grub is managing the current MBR boot menu), and AntiX. And at that time also, I had installed Tinyflux second so that it would manage the boot. And then also, it was unable to boot up AntiX. And I had been in touch with the AntiX developers with it via their support forum. They had given several different suggestions for how to word the AntiX lines in Tinyflux's boot menu. Ultimately, even they could not get it to work, and had suggested:

Quote:

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You could install antiX's grub to the MBR and overwrite the Tinyflux one and add the lines you have for Tinyflux to the antiX-mepis grub menu.

To do that, boot antiX livecd, and open a terminal, sux to root password and type msystem.
There is an option to re-install grub.
Put it in the MBR from the antiX partition.

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So I did that, and then both AntiX and Tinyflux booted fine. I didn't even have to "add the lines you have for Tinyflux to the antiX-mepis grub menu". It all just worked.

1. It's odd that when AntiX manages the boot, then it is able to boot itself up just fine. But if Tinyflux (or perhaps any other) OS is managing the boot, then AntiX doesn't seem to be able to be booted.

2. I could do what the AntiX developers suggested last time, again this time. (If I were to do so, do you think AntiX would be able to select out of Tinyflux's current menu.lst, the appropriate lines since it has lines for all the four OS's there? Even if not, I could just paste them in later.)

3. If I do the reinstall of AntiX in Sda5, and put its grub in /, then you think it would be a pretty sure shot to work even though we couldn't move it to / using the grub prompt?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by saikee

I couldn't explain why no stage1 in sda7 or (hd0,6). It is possible that stage1 could be in /boot instead of in /boot/grub.

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I am in Puppy now-- I just browsed to sda7 and found that Fluxbuntu's stage1 is indeed located right in /boot/grub. Odd.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by saikee

What you can investigate is boot up any Linux and as Linux to find all the stage1 in every mounted partition inside / for you by command

Code:

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find / -name stage1

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needless to say you need to mount sda7 in the boot up Linux or just use Fluxbuntu itself.

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Just now tried it in Puppy, with sda7 mounted. It gives the result:

Error 15: File not found

I know some distros modify Grub to get to do to extra things but I would rather stick a standard Grub in the MBR and forget all those fancy bits, especially to do with gfxmenu etc. It is possible that your AntiX has bugs making the standard working of Grub erratic.

Regarding your Puppy it will not have Grub if it is a Live CD installation which is called a Frugal install. Some small distros do not keep a permanent root filing system but start every boot up from new as running a Live CD from the original iso. Your Puppy booting instructions certain point to that direction. You can install Puppy properly as a normal installation which it also supports.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by saikee

I know some distros modify Grub to get to do to extra things but I would rather stick a standard Grub in the MBR and forget all those fancy bits, especially to do with gfxmenu etc. It is possible that your AntiX has bugs making the standard working of Grub erratic.

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I see. Makes sense.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by saikee

Regarding your Puppy...

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Yes, that's true mine is a frugal install, and so my Puppy has no grub. But in the above post I was just mentioning that I was booted to Puppy; my point was that I browsed to the Fluxbuntu (sda7) partition and found that the stage1 file is indeed in /boot/grub. And that despite having mounted sda7 (Fluxbuntu), the "find" command you gave for locating all the "stage1" files in mounted partitions, did not find the stage1 in Fluxbuntu. Just a funny quirk I guess, nothing critical.

Saikee, I want to thank you for all the help and generous education you gave to me. I really learned alot. Now I am able to manage my partitions on my own for the most part. All due to what you taught me. :)

Another question has cropped up on the way, and I am wondering if I may ask it to you? Here is the question: Can one shrink a partition from its LEFT side using gparted (Parted Magic)?

I have a triple boot WinXP/Ubuntu Hardy/Puppy Linux 3.01 (frugal). Looking at the partitions in gparted, they are going from left to right: WinXP/Hardy/Puppy/Swap. WinXP is a primary partition sda1, then there is an extended partition sda2 inside of which are three logical parititions: Hardy (sda5), Puppy (sda7), swap (sda6).

My question is this: I need to expand the WinXP partition by around 2 GB. The only way to create the space is to shorten the Hardy partition from Hardy's LEFT side, so that space is created on WinXP's right side for WinXP to expand into. But of course, all of Hardy's material is on the left half of the partition, and the free space is on the right half of the Hardy partition. If I select to RESIZE (shrink) the Hardy partition from the LEFT side, will Hardy move all its folders etc safely toward the right half of the partition so as to shrink the left side? Or is shrinking from the left side problematic and one can only shrink from the right side (in which case, I am in problem).

add: I have also asked this question on the following Ubuntu thread: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.p...29#post5125229
I don't think anyone knows quite as much as you do about these things, but I give you the link in case you may find it interesting to see what others have said about it.