Replacing suse boot manager

[lgg2]

HI. I have had a bit of a search using Google as well as gone through the forums here to see if there is anything related to being able to change Suse's Grub2 boot manager with Grub2 that I had initially with Ubuntu and Linux Mint. I have installed currently the latest OpenSuse 13.1 distro.
I find that that the customized Grub2 boot manager that OpenSuse has, loads up too slowly when using that customized Grub2.


When I was using Grub2 under the control of Ubuntu it loaded up much quicker than the customized replacement from OpenSuse. I have tried to go and log in back to Ubuntu to sudo os-prober but still the customized interface of OpenSuse's Grub2 boot still refuses to be replaced.

linux-d0zj:/home/frankenstein # fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes, 1953525168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
Disk label type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x000126f2

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 2048 42371071 21184512 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 42371072 85326150 21477539+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda3 85327870 1953523711 934097921 f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
Partition 3 does not start on physical sector boundary.
/dev/sda5 85327872 127547391 21109760 83 Linux
/dev/sda6 127549440 169527295 20988928 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 169529344 211718797 21094727 83 Linux
/dev/sda8 328964160 1920034815 795535328 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sda9 1920038912 1953523711 16742400 82 Linux swap / Solaris

Disk /dev/sdb: 320.1 GB, 320072932864 bytes, 625142447 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk label type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xe1c88ad8

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 4033 625137344 312566656 f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sdb5 4096 405657314 202826609+ 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sdb6 * 405657378 625137344 109739983+ 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT]

Ubuntu is on /dev/sda2

Is it possible to switch the " boot " flag that OpenSuse currently has back to /dev/sda2 via Gparted? Is that the easiest method?
Right now (using Gparted), OpenSuse has the flags ' type, boot" and /dev/sda2 (ubuntu) has the flags 'type". If memory serves me correct, I believe that this was the initial configuration.

[hcvv]

Next time, please use CODE tags and not QUOTE tags when posting computer text. It is the # button, at the right of the QUOTE button in the post editor.

[lgg2]

Next time, please use CODE tags and not QUOTE tags when posting computer text. It is the # button, at the right of the QUOTE button in the post editor.

Gotcha. Tried to do that immediately after your post; however, the 10 min. time frame for editing expired.

[nrickert]

HI. I have had a bit of a search using Google as well as gone through the forums here to see if there is anything related to being able to change Suse's Grub2 boot manager with Grub2 that I had initially with Ubuntu and Linux Mint. I have installed currently the latest OpenSuse 13.1 distro.

You can tell the installer to not install a bootloader.

You have probably misinterpreted what you are seeing. Grub2 loads the kernel and the "initrd". But, anything beyond that is being handled by the system you are booting. My guess is that, with the grub2 from ubuntu/Mint, the bootup time would not be much different from what you are seeing.

[hcvv]

Gotcha. Tried to do that immediately after your post; however, the 10 min. time frame for editing expired.

Well, I said" next time

But I appreciate your cooperation. Not withstanding the fact that what you tried will not help. Once the layout is destroyed, you can not get it back.

[lgg2]

You can tell the installer to not install a bootloader.

You have probably misinterpreted what you are seeing. Grub2 loads the kernel and the "initrd". But, anything beyond that is being handled by the system you are booting. My guess is that, with the grub2 from ubuntu/Mint, the bootup time would not be much different from what you are seeing.

Hi. and thanks for your response.
Firstly, it's a bit late now to tell the installer to not install a boot loader as the OS is already installed and quite frankly, I don't think I'd want to go and do an unnecessary uninstall and re-install of Suse. I'm hoping that it can be configured via Terminal or a different route perhaps. Isn't there a way, perhaps?

I am sure that you realize that Grub2 is looking for the image that has to be loaded from Suse's root file system. The Grub2 interface isn't really the 'normal' interface that one expects from seeing how Grub2 looks like (that is, black background and operating systems selection being listed top left side, for example).
I realize that Grub2 can be configured and tweaked to one's liking with respect to it's interface or implementing a background image even but the load up times are much longer than before. I know the history of my computer loading up Grub2 to present the OS selections.

Also, I disagree a bit there with the load up times of the OpenSuse customized Grub2 interface vs the non-customized interface of Grub2 that Ubuntu was handling. I swear that the load up times of Grub2 were from at least 3-5 seconds less prior to installing OpenSuse's Grub2 interface.

thanks in advance for your response.

Edit: I had to re-read your short post and I am wondering. Are you saying that there isn't really a whole lot that one can do with respect to this?

[nrickert]

Edit: I had to re-read your short post and I am wondering. Are you saying that there isn't really a whole lot that one can do with respect to this?

Basically, yes. That's what I'm saying.

The amount of time spent in grub2 is probably less than 1 second (not counting your time reading the menu). So if you are seeing 3-5 extra seconds, most of those are not in grub2.

Some of it might be plymouth. You could uninstall plymouth (which I have done here).

For me, the boot up time of 13.1 is several seconds longer than the bootup time of 12.3. The shutdown time is a bit longer, too. I'm not sure where the extra time is going, but it isn't in grub2.

[arvidjaar]

I swear that the load up times of Grub2 were from at least 3-5 seconds less prior to installing OpenSuse's Grub2 interface.

I do not know what you call "interface" here but you can disable grub2 graphical support and themes and use plain console interface. At least to test whether it will change anything in perceived load times.

[lgg2]

Basically, yes. That's what I'm saying.

The amount of time spent in grub2 is probably less than 1 second (not counting your time reading the menu). So if you are seeing 3-5 extra seconds, most of those are not in grub2.

Some of it might be plymouth. You could uninstall plymouth (which I have done here).

For me, the boot up time of 13.1 is several seconds longer than the bootup time of 12.3. The shutdown time is a bit longer, too. I'm not sure where the extra time is going, but it isn't in grub2.

Hii again. I am curious. When going to YAST>Boot Loader> Boot Loader drop down menu there is a selection of to not install any boot loader. Since Ubuntu was initially running the boot loader grub2 at the time prior to Suse install, would the selection of this to not install a boot loader revert back to the original configuration? As you mention and as I also recall there was an option during installation to install or not to install a boot loader.

I do not know what you call "interface" here but you can disable grub2 graphical support and themes and use plain console interface. At least to test whether it will change anything in perceived load times.

I believe that is what I was trying to say though I didn't have the correct words to express my thoughts at the time. But yes. Basically that is what I mean. To disable the green graphical theme presented by Suse and just go with the plain textual console interface that one normally sees. If there is a way to disable this graphical support how would I go about doing this?

Boot up times to get to Suse are not all that bad. At least this morning they are not. But that is only for the operating system after the selection has been made at the grub2 point.
Not for the time it takes to initially get to OpenSuse's Grub2 graphical interface that newer installations normally are presented with.

frankenstein@linux-d0zj:~> systemd-analyze
Startup finished in 3.033s (kernel) + 7.880s (userspace) = 10.914s
frankenstein@linux-d0zj:~>

I'd like to know what the times to just get to Grub2 interface would be like. Are there any command structures that I could interact with to find out other than just mentally counting the time it takes? I counted over 20 seconds. It was not like that before.

Thanks in advance again for your response.

[hcvv]

... To disable the green graphical theme presented by Suse and just go with the plain textual console interface that one normally sees.

I guess you forget that these are the openSUSE forums and thus that we "normally" see the green openSUSE graphical theme (I never saw anything else, except for the pinguins). But I admit that we may not the "one" you mean .

It is not clear to me if you have there a multi-boot situation with Ubuntu (or another). When yes, then let that distro (re)create a bootloader configuration. openSUSE is then only an entry there.