Can't get new 11.4 install to boot

user · September 3, 2011, 10:18pm

I have this ok machine with a LOT of disk attached.

CODE
+++++++++

Dumbarton:~ # fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x6f796f79

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 7012 56323858+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 * 7013 19457 99964462+ f W95 Ext’d (LBA)
/dev/sda5 7013 9052 16386268+ b W95 FAT32
/dev/sda6 9053 11219 17406396 b W95 FAT32
/dev/sda7 11220 13830 20972826 83 Linux
/dev/sda8 13831 19457 45198846 83 Linux

Disk /dev/sdb: 123.5 GB, 123522416640 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 15017 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000c7f36

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 1 5222 41945683+ 83 Linux
/dev/sdb2 * 5223 15017 78678337+ f W95 Ext’d (LBA)
/dev/sdb5 5223 5352 1044193+ 82 Linux swap /
Solaris
/dev/sdb6 5353 8414 24595483+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/sdb7 8415 15017 53038566 83 Linux

Disk /dev/sdc: 2000.3 GB, 2000398934016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 243201 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x29fcb612

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdc1 2 182401 1465128000 83 Linux
/dev/sdc2 182402 243201 488376000 7 HPFS/NTFS

Disk /dev/sdd: 2000.3 GB, 2000398934016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 243201 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000cd6b4

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdd1 * 2 122057 980414820 83 Linux
/dev/sdd2 122058 243201 973089180 7 HPFS/NTFS

Disk /dev/sde: 2000.3 GB, 2000398932480 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 243201 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x0006e2af

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sde1 2 32636 262140637+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/sde2 32637 71798 314568765 83 Linux
/dev/sde3 71799 243201 1376794597+ f W95 Ext’d (LBA)
/dev/sde5 71799 84852 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/sde6 84853 97906 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/sde7 97907 110960 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/sde8 110961 124014 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/sde9 124015 150122 209712478+ 83 Linux
/dev/sde10 150123 176230 209712478+ 83 Linux
/dev/sde11 176231 202338 209712478+ 83 Linux
/dev/sde12 202339 208712 51199123+ 83 Linux
/dev/sde13 208713 243201 277032861 83 Linux
Dumbarton:~ #

=========

I have installed 11.4 in sde12 with /home in sde13 and it is on the boot
menu:

CODE
++++++++

YaST2 - bootloader @ Dumbarton

Boot Loader Settings
?Section Management??Boot Loader
Installation???
? ?
?
???
?
? ?Def.?Label ?Type ?Section Summary ? ?
? ?x ?SUSE LINUX ?Image?append=noresume splash=silent
showopts, image=/boot/vmlinuz, initrd=/boot/initrd,
root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-WDC_WD1600AAJ? ?

? ? ?Failsafe – SUSE LINUX ?Image?append=showopts ide=nodma
apm=off noresume nosmp maxcpus=0 edd=off powersaved=off nohz=off
highres=off processor.max_cst? ?

? ? ?WindowsXP ?Other?blockoffset=1,
chainloader=/dev/sda1, noverifyroot=true, root= ? ?

? ? ?floppy ?Other?blockoffset=1,
chainloader=/dev/sda1, noverifyroot=true, root= ? ?

? ? ?OpenSuse 11.4 ?Image?append=, image=/boot/vmlinuz,
initrd=/boot/initrd,
root=/dev/disk/by-id/usb-corega_CG-HDCUS3F_0000000000006153-part12, v? ?
? ? ? ?
? ? ? ?

========

But when i select it it fails to boot and offers to revert to the old 11.1
which does work.

Any ideas on how to configure this better?

?-)

lwfinger · September 3, 2011, 10:39pm

On 09/03/2011 03:18 PM, josephkk wrote:
>
> Disk /dev/sde: 2000.3 GB, 2000398932480 bytes
> 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 243201 cylinders
> Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
> Disk identifier: 0x0006e2af
>
> Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
> /dev/sde1 2 32636 262140637+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
> /dev/sde2 32637 71798 314568765 83 Linux
> /dev/sde3 71799 243201 1376794597+ f W95 Ext’d (LBA)
> /dev/sde5 71799 84852 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
> /dev/sde6 84853 97906 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
> /dev/sde7 97907 110960 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
> /dev/sde8 110961 124014 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
> /dev/sde9 124015 150122 209712478+ 83 Linux
> /dev/sde10 150123 176230 209712478+ 83 Linux
> /dev/sde11 176231 202338 209712478+ 83 Linux
> /dev/sde12 202339 208712 51199123+ 83 Linux
> /dev/sde13 208713 243201 277032861 83 Linux
> Dumbarton:~ #

The above disk will not boot until you set an active partition. It is likely
that GRUB was installed in the extended one (#3).

user · September 4, 2011, 7:26am

On Sat, 03 Sep 2011 20:39:21 GMT, Larry Finger <Larry.Finger@lwfinger.net>
wrote:

>On 09/03/2011 03:18 PM, josephkk wrote:
>>
>> Disk /dev/sde: 2000.3 GB, 2000398932480 bytes
>> 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 243201 cylinders
>> Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
>> Disk identifier: 0x0006e2af
>>
>> Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
>> /dev/sde1 2 32636 262140637+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
>> /dev/sde2 32637 71798 314568765 83 Linux
>> /dev/sde3 71799 243201 1376794597+ f W95 Ext’d (LBA)
>> /dev/sde5 71799 84852 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
>> /dev/sde6 84853 97906 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
>> /dev/sde7 97907 110960 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
>> /dev/sde8 110961 124014 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
>> /dev/sde9 124015 150122 209712478+ 83 Linux
>> /dev/sde10 150123 176230 209712478+ 83 Linux
>> /dev/sde11 176231 202338 209712478+ 83 Linux
>> /dev/sde12 202339 208712 51199123+ 83 Linux
>> /dev/sde13 208713 243201 277032861 83 Linux
>> Dumbarton:~ #
>
>The above disk will not boot until you set an active partition. It is likely
>that GRUB was installed in the extended one (#3).

As i understand it, grub (from the working 11.1 is installed in the MBR of
sda and sda2.

My current boot configuration includes setting the target partition
active. Does this being a USB disk make any difference? Grub claims it
is using disk-by-id and the ID matches.

Just the same i will get into the partition editor and hard set sde12
active. I’ll let you know if that helps.

I have inadvertently had configurations with multiple GRUB menu stages to
get to boot what i wanted.

??-)

user · September 13, 2011, 3:12am

On Sun, 04 Sep 2011 05:26:27 GMT, josephkk <joseph_barrett@sbcglobal.net>
wrote:

>On Sat, 03 Sep 2011 20:39:21 GMT, Larry Finger <Larry.Finger@lwfinger.net>
>wrote:
>
>>On 09/03/2011 03:18 PM, josephkk wrote:
>>>
>>> Disk /dev/sde: 2000.3 GB, 2000398932480 bytes
>>> 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 243201 cylinders
>>> Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
>>> Disk identifier: 0x0006e2af
>>>
>>> Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
>>> /dev/sde1 2 32636 262140637+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
>>> /dev/sde2 32637 71798 314568765 83 Linux
>>> /dev/sde3 71799 243201 1376794597+ f W95 Ext’d (LBA)
>>> /dev/sde5 71799 84852 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
>>> /dev/sde6 84853 97906 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
>>> /dev/sde7 97907 110960 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
>>> /dev/sde8 110961 124014 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
>>> /dev/sde9 124015 150122 209712478+ 83 Linux
>>> /dev/sde10 150123 176230 209712478+ 83 Linux
>>> /dev/sde11 176231 202338 209712478+ 83 Linux
>>> /dev/sde12 202339 208712 51199123+ 83 Linux
>>> /dev/sde13 208713 243201 277032861 83 Linux
>>> Dumbarton:~ #
>>
>>The above disk will not boot until you set an active partition. It is likely
>>that GRUB was installed in the extended one (#3).
>
>As i understand it, grub (from the working 11.1 is installed in the MBR of
>sda and sda2.
>
>My current boot configuration includes setting the target partition
>active. Does this being a USB disk make any difference? Grub claims it
>is using disk-by-id and the ID matches.
>
>Just the same i will get into the partition editor and hard set sde12
>active. I’ll let you know if that helps.

I really ought to get around to testing that.
>
>I have inadvertently had configurations with multiple GRUB menu stages to
>get to boot what i wanted.
>
>??-)

user · September 17, 2011, 9:25pm

On Tue, 13 Sep 2011 01:12:41 GMT, josephkk <joseph_barrett@sbcglobal.net>
wrote:

>On Sun, 04 Sep 2011 05:26:27 GMT, josephkk <joseph_barrett@sbcglobal.net>
>wrote:
>
>>On Sat, 03 Sep 2011 20:39:21 GMT, Larry Finger <Larry.Finger@lwfinger.net>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>On 09/03/2011 03:18 PM, josephkk wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Disk /dev/sde: 2000.3 GB, 2000398932480 bytes
>>>> 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 243201 cylinders
>>>> Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
>>>> Disk identifier: 0x0006e2af
>>>>
>>>> Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
>>>> /dev/sde1 2 32636 262140637+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
>>>> /dev/sde2 32637 71798 314568765 83 Linux
>>>> /dev/sde3 71799 243201 1376794597+ f W95 Ext’d (LBA)
>>>> /dev/sde5 71799 84852 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
>>>> /dev/sde6 84853 97906 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
>>>> /dev/sde7 97907 110960 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
>>>> /dev/sde8 110961 124014 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
>>>> /dev/sde9 124015 150122 209712478+ 83 Linux
>>>> /dev/sde10 150123 176230 209712478+ 83 Linux
>>>> /dev/sde11 176231 202338 209712478+ 83 Linux
>>>> /dev/sde12 202339 208712 51199123+ 83 Linux
>>>> /dev/sde13 208713 243201 277032861 83 Linux
>>>> Dumbarton:~ #
>>>
>>>The above disk will not boot until you set an active partition. It is likely
>>>that GRUB was installed in the extended one (#3).
>>
>>As i understand it, grub (from the working 11.1 is installed in the MBRof
>>sda and sda2.
>>
>>My current boot configuration includes setting the target partition
>>active. Does this being a USB disk make any difference? Grub claims it
>>is using disk-by-id and the ID matches.
>>
>>Just the same i will get into the partition editor and hard set sde12
>>active. I’ll let you know if that helps.
>
>I really ought to get around to testing that.
>>
>>I have inadvertently had configurations with multiple GRUB menu stages to
>>get to boot what i wanted.
>>
>>??-)

Nope. That doesn’t help

after setting bootable fdisk -l provides:

++++++++++++++++
Disk /dev/sdd: 2000.3 GB, 2000398932480 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 243201 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x0006e2af

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdd1 2 32636 262140637+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/sdd2 32637 71798 314568765 83 Linux
/dev/sdd3 71799 243201 1376794597+ f W95 Ext’d (LBA)
/dev/sdd5 71799 84852 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/sdd6 84853 97906 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/sdd7 97907 110960 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/sdd8 110961 124014 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/sdd9 124015 150122 209712478+ 83 Linux
/dev/sdd10 150123 176230 209712478+ 83 Linux
/dev/sdd11 176231 202338 209712478+ 83 Linux
/dev/sdd12 * 202339 208712 51199123+ 83 Linux
/dev/sdd13 208713 243201 277032861 83 Linux

but for some reason it cannot find the volume to boot from. It does offer
to fallback to my default system which boots.

Are there some special difficulties in booting from USB drives? Is it
necessary for the mobo be able to boot from USB?

Are there some special problems with boot from disk/by-id for USB drives?

??-/

user · September 25, 2011, 3:20am

On Sat, 17 Sep 2011 19:25:27 GMT, josephkk <joseph_barrett@sbcglobal.net>
wrote:

>On Tue, 13 Sep 2011 01:12:41 GMT, josephkk <joseph_barrett@sbcglobal.net>
>wrote:
>
>>On Sun, 04 Sep 2011 05:26:27 GMT, josephkk <joseph_barrett@sbcglobal.net>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>On Sat, 03 Sep 2011 20:39:21 GMT, Larry Finger <Larry.Finger@lwfinger.net>
>>>wrote:
>>>
>>>>On 09/03/2011 03:18 PM, josephkk wrote:
>>>>>
<snip>
>>>As i understand it, grub (from the working 11.1 is installed in the MBR of
>>>sda and sda2.
>>>
>>>My current boot configuration includes setting the target partition
>>>active. Does this being a USB disk make any difference? Grub claims it
>>>is using disk-by-id and the ID matches.
>>>
>>>Just the same i will get into the partition editor and hard set sde12
>>>active. I’ll let you know if that helps.
>>
>>I really ought to get around to testing that.
>>>
>>>I have inadvertently had configurations with multiple GRUB menu stagesto
>>>get to boot what i wanted.
>>>
>>>??-)
>
>Nope. That doesn’t help
>
>after setting bootable fdisk -l provides:
>
>++++++++++++++++
>Disk /dev/sdd: 2000.3 GB, 2000398932480 bytes
>255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 243201 cylinders
>Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
>Disk identifier: 0x0006e2af
>
> Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
>/dev/sdd1 2 32636 262140637+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
>/dev/sdd2 32637 71798 314568765 83 Linux
>/dev/sdd3 71799 243201 1376794597+ f W95 Ext’d (LBA)
>/dev/sdd5 71799 84852 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
>/dev/sdd6 84853 97906 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
>/dev/sdd7 97907 110960 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
>/dev/sdd8 110961 124014 104856223+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
>/dev/sdd9 124015 150122 209712478+ 83 Linux
>/dev/sdd10 150123 176230 209712478+ 83 Linux
>/dev/sdd11 176231 202338 209712478+ 83 Linux
>/dev/sdd12 * 202339 208712 51199123+ 83 Linux
>/dev/sdd13 208713 243201 277032861 83 Linux
>================
>
>but for some reason it cannot find the volume to boot from. It does offer
>to fallback to my default system which boots.
>
>Are there some special difficulties in booting from USB drives? Is it
>necessary for the mobo be able to boot from USB?
>
>Are there some special problems with boot from disk/by-id for USB drives?
>
>??-/
Well after more testing:
Set bios boot order to floppy, cdrom, usb drive(but not the right one),
local disk.

No luck.

I think i may have to force installation of grub into the extended
partition on that drive and chain grub.

?-/

please_try_again · September 25, 2011, 4:04am

Could please post findgrub’s output? It’s always interesting to see findgrub’s output from machines with multiple Grubs. Pay attention to the partitions where your Grub stage1 look for stage2 (in red in the example below). It might also answer some questions.

Find Grub Version 3.4.2 - Written for openSUSE Forums

 - reading MBR on disk /dev/sda                       ... --> Grub2 found in sda MBR     => sda6   0x83 (Ubuntu)
 - searching partition /dev/sda1   *  (FAT16)         ... --> Windows NT/2K/XP Loader found in /dev/sda1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can add the following entry to /boot/grub/menu.lst :

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: WindowsBootLoader###
title Windows on /dev/sda1
    rootnoverify (hd0,0)
    chainloader +1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 - skipping partition  /dev/sda2      (FreeBSD)      
 - skipping partition  /dev/sda3      (FreeBSD)      
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sda4      (Extended)      ... --> Grub  found in /dev/sda4   => sdb6   0x83 (Mandriva)
 - skipping partition  /dev/sda5      (swap)         
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sda6      (LINUX)         ... --> Grub2 found in /dev/sda6   => sda6   0x83 (Ubuntu)
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sda7      (LINUX)         ...
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sda8      (LINUX)         ...
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sda9      (LINUX)         ...
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sda10     (LINUX)         ...
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sda11     (LINUX)         ... --> Grub  found in /dev/sda11  => sda11  0x83 (openSUSE)
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sda12     (LINUX)         ...
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sda13     (LINUX)         ...
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sda14     (LINUX)         ...
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sda15     (LINUX)         ... --> Grub  found in /dev/sda15  => sda15  0x83 (Mandriva)
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sda16     (LINUX)         ...
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sda17     (LINUX)         ...
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sda18     (LINUX)         ...
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sda19     (LINUX)         ... --> Grub  found in /dev/sda19  => sda19  0x83 (Mandriva)
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sda20     (LINUX)         ...

 - reading MBR on disk /dev/sdb                       ... --> Grub  found in sdb MBR     => sda11  0x83 (openSUSE)
 - searching partition /dev/sdb1      (FAT16)         ... --> Windows NT/2K/XP Loader found in /dev/sdb1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can add the following entry to /boot/grub/menu.lst :

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: WindowsBootLoader###
title Windows on /dev/sdb1
    rootnoverify (hd1,0)
    map (hd1) (hd0)
    map (hd0) (hd1)
    chainloader +1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 - skipping partition  /dev/sdb2      (FreeBSD)      
 - skipping partition  /dev/sdb3      (FreeBSD)      
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sdb4   *  (Extended)      ... --> Grub  found in /dev/sdb4   => sdb6   0x83 (Mandriva)
 - skipping partition  /dev/sdb5      (swap)         
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sdb6      (LINUX)         ... --> Grub  found in /dev/sdb6   => sdb6   0x83 (Mandriva)
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sdb7      (LINUX)         ...
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sdb8      (LINUX)         ...
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sdb9      (LINUX)         ...
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sdb10     (LINUX)         ...
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sdb11     (LINUX)         ...
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sdb12     (LINUX)         ...
 - reading bootsector  /dev/sdb13     (LINUX)         ...


Press <enter> to Exit findgrub...

You can display the current BIOS drive mapping with **findgrub -M ** (USB drives are excluded).

findgrub -M
Find Grub Version 3.4.2 - Written for openSUSE Forums

--- DEVICE.MAP: sda is PCI drive hd0
--- DEVICE.MAP: looking for /dev/sda in /boot/grub/device.map:
--- DEVICE.MAP: - /dev/sda
--- DEVICE.MAP: - /dev/disk/by-id/ata-WDC_WD5000AAKS-00A7B2_WD-WCASY8019640 -> hd0
--- DEVICE.MAP: - /dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_WDC_WD5000AAKS-_WD-WCASY8019640
--- DEVICE.MAP: - /dev/disk/by-id/wwn-0x50014ee258d6c850
--- DEVICE.MAP: - /dev/disk/by-path/pci-0000:00:1f.2-scsi-0:0:0:0
--- DEVICE.MAP: => sda - found in device.map - is now hd0
--- DEVICE.MAP:
--- DEVICE.MAP: sdb is PCI drive hd1
--- DEVICE.MAP: looking for /dev/sdb in /boot/grub/device.map:
--- DEVICE.MAP: - /dev/sdb
--- DEVICE.MAP: - /dev/disk/by-id/ata-WDC_WD5000AAKS-00A7B0_WD-WMASY6644220 -> hd1
--- DEVICE.MAP: - /dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_WDC_WD5000AAKS-_WD-WMASY6644220
--- DEVICE.MAP: - /dev/disk/by-id/wwn-0x50014ee0abc70c92
--- DEVICE.MAP: - /dev/disk/by-path/pci-0000:00:1f.2-scsi-1:0:0:0
--- DEVICE.MAP: => sdb - found in device.map - is now hd1
--- DEVICE.MAP:
********************************************************************************

user · September 25, 2011, 5:31am

On Sun, 25 Sep 2011 02:06:02 GMT, please try again
<please_try_again@no-mx.forums.opensuse.org> wrote:

>
>Could please post findgrub’s output? It’s always interesting to see
>findgrub’s output from machines with multiple Grubs. Pay attention to
>the partitions where your Grub stage1 look for stage2 (in red in the
>example below). It might also answer some questions.
>
>
>Code:
>--------------------
~> findgrub
Root User Permissions are required, Please Enter the …

root’s password:
Find Grub Version 3.4.2 - Written for openSUSE Forums

reading MBR on disk /dev/sda … → Grub found
in sda MBR => sda7 0x83 (openSUSE)
searching partition /dev/sda1 (NTFS) … → Windows
NT/2K/XP Loader found in /dev/sda1

You can add the following entry to /boot/grub/menu.lst :

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name:
WindowsBootLoader###
title Windows on /dev/sda1
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1

reading bootsector /dev/sda2 * (Extended) … → Grub found
in /dev/sda2 => sda7 0x83 (openSUSE)
searching partition /dev/sda5 (FAT32) …
searching partition /dev/sda6 (FAT32) …
reading bootsector /dev/sda7 (LINUX) …
reading bootsector /dev/sda8 (LINUX) …
reading MBR on disk /dev/sdb … → Grub found
in sdb MBR => sdb7 0x83 (openSUSE)
reading bootsector /dev/sdb1 (LINUX) …
reading bootsector /dev/sdb2 * (Extended) …
skipping partition /dev/sdb5 (swap)
searching partition /dev/sdb6 (FAT32) …
reading bootsector /dev/sdb7 (LINUX) …
reading MBR on disk /dev/sdc …
reading bootsector /dev/sdc1 (LINUX) …
searching partition /dev/sdc2 (NTFS) …
reading MBR on disk /dev/sde …
searching partition /dev/sde1 (FAT32) … → Windows
NT/2K/XP Loader found in /dev/sde1

You can add the following entry to /boot/grub/menu.lst :

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name:
WindowsBootLoader###
title Windows on /dev/sde1
rootnoverify (hd?,0)
map (hd?) (hd0)
map (hd0) (hd?)
chainloader +1

reading bootsector /dev/sde2 (LINUX) …
reading bootsector /dev/sde3 * (Extended) …
searching partition /dev/sde5 (FAT32) …
searching partition /dev/sde6 (FAT32) …
searching partition /dev/sde7 (FAT32) …
searching partition /dev/sde8 (FAT32) …
reading bootsector /dev/sde9 (LINUX) …
reading bootsector /dev/sde10 (LINUX) …
reading bootsector /dev/sde11 (LINUX) …
reading bootsector /dev/sde12 (LINUX) …
reading bootsector /dev/sde13 (LINUX) …
reading MBR on disk /dev/sdd …
reading bootsector /dev/sdd1 * (LINUX) …
searching partition /dev/sdd2 (NTFS) …

WARNING: /dev/sdc is NOT in /boot/grub/device.map
WARNING: /dev/sde is NOT in /boot/grub/device.map
Displayed BIOS device mapping may be incorrect!

Press <enter> to Exit findgrub…
>--------------------



You are right.   It does say interesting things, the warnings just above
for example.  Of course this leads to other issues, when grub was run what
is now sde was shown as sdd.  
Not sure how to unify how bios / grub / OpenSuse enumerate the USB drives.

?-)

please_try_again · September 25, 2011, 11:23am

Yes, findgrub issues a warning if hard drives are missing in device.map. updategrub will try to “compensate” but might guess wrong (so would Grub) and will abort if it finds a wrong entry, such as an entry for a hard disk which has been removed.

This is often unavoidable … and because there is no solution, it shouldn’t be a problem. There have been many posts about device naming. This is not what matters to Grub, unlike BIOS names (hd0, hd1, etc). It doesn’t matter to Linux either as long as you never use device names in files such as /boot/grub/menu.lst, /etc/fstab and a couple others. openSUSE uses /dev/disk/by-id/. Most other Linux use UUID. I prefers UUID (not /dev/disk/by-uuid!) because the UUID is written in the partition’s superblock and doesn’t change (unless you reformat the partition), while /dev/disk/by-id are symlinks that need to be generated by the udev daemon at boot time. That leads to an answer (or new question) to your problem: How does Grub know about the /dev/disk/by-id of your 11.4 root partition on your USB drive at this time? But you might have answered it already:

Does your USB drive appear as a hard disk in BIOS setup? If so you can install Grub in sdd12 (sde12 or whatever) and chainload it, provided you chainload the correct BIOS drive - which I’m afraid is susceptible to change (In that case, the chainload entry won’t work every time).

I would suggest booting 11.4 from livecd and install Grub in the bootsector of the root partition (meaning both stage1 and stage2 will be on the same partition). If you run findgrub afterwards, it would display something like that:

 - reading bootsector  /dev/sdd12     (LINUX)         ... --> Grub  found in /dev/sdd12  => sdd12  0x83 (openSUSE)

Installing Grub in the extended partition of your USB disk and activating this partition only makes sense if you intend to boot from this hard disk - if this hard disk is the first one in BIOS boot order. Otherwise it doesn’t hurt but doesn’t help either. Setting the bootflag of a logical partition has no influence of anything (I know that openSUSE’s setup does that, but IMO it is just because it doesn’t care this partition not being a primary. )

When you’re done installing Grub, you should find out the BIOS number of your USB drive* and add an entry to chainload Grub in sdd12 in /boot/grub/menu.lst on sda7 and/or sdb7 (according to your findgrub output) depending which Grub you boot, the one in sda2 => sda7 or the one in sdb MBR => sdb7.

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: mandrivalinux-Grub###
title openSUSE 11.4 on /dev/sdd12 
    root (hd**X**,11)
    chainloader +1

What’s missing here in the BIOS drive number (X).

If your USB drive doesn’t have a number because it is unknown by the BIOS, it won’t work without external help (floppy or CD), AFAIK, but I’m not very experienced in USB booting … If your MB doesn’t support booting from USB, you can check if there isn’t a BIOS update available that would add this feature (?).

You can read what supergrub says: USB Boot - Super Grub Disk Wiki

Actually you should find out before and edit /boot/grud/device.map accordingly, but have a look at this file on your sdd12 or sde12 first!

please_try_again · September 25, 2011, 11:39am

The kernel doesn’t know (in advance) either. I excluded USB from my attempts to map drives (in absence of device.map) because it was impossible to guess. Looking for Grub and Windows bootloader in all partitions. - Page 12

# map BIOS drive to Linux devices
eval $(find /dev/disk/ -mindepth 2 **!** -name "*usb*" -ls | awk '/[a-z]$/ { gsub(/\.\.\//, "", $13) ; print $13, $11}' | sort | awk '{ if ( $1 == DEV ) printf " %s", $2 ; else {DEV=$1 ; printf "
%s_dsk=\"%s", $1, $2 }}' | sed '/^$/d;s|$|";|')

user · September 26, 2011, 2:47am

On Sun, 25 Sep 2011 09:26:03 GMT, please try again
<please_try_again@no-mx.forums.opensuse.org> wrote:

>
>josephkk;2387346 Wrote:
>>
>> You are right. It does say interesting things, the warnings just
>> above
>> for example.
>
>Yes, findgrub issues a warning if hard drives are missing in
>device.map. updategrub will try to “compensate” but might guess wrong
>(so would Grub) and will abort if it finds a wrong entry, such as an
>entry for a hard disk which has been removed.
>
>josephkk;2387346 Wrote:
>>
>> Of course this leads to other issues, when grub was run what is now sde
>> was shown as sdd.
>>
>
>This is often unavoidable … and because there is no solution, it
>shouldn’t be a problem. There have been many posts about device naming.
>This is not what matters to Grub, unlike BIOS names (hd0, hd1, etc). It
>doesn’t matter to Linux either as long as you never use device names in
>files such as /boot/grub/menu.lst, /etc/fstab and a couple others.
>openSUSE uses /dev/disk/by-id/. Most other Linux use UUID. I prefers
>UUID (not /dev/disk/by-uuid!) because the UUID is written in the
>partition’s superblock and doesn’t change (unless you reformat the
>partition), while /dev/disk/by-id are symlinks that need to be generated
>by the udev daemon at boot time. That leads to an answer (or new
>question) to your problem: How does Grub know about the /dev/disk/by-id
>of your 11.4 root partition on your USB drive at this time? But you
>might have answered it already:

I am working on it. It seems my BIOS can boot from USB and it recognizes
disks by vendor serial. It does not seem to like any of my disks for
booting. Not sure why. AMI BIOS by the way.
>
>josephkk;2385096 Wrote:
>>
>> but for some reason it cannot find the volume to boot from. It does
>> offer
>> to fallback to my default system which boots.
>>
>> Are there some special difficulties in booting from USB drives? Is it
>> necessary for the mobo be able to boot from USB?
>>
>
>Does your USB drive appear as a hard disk in BIOS setup? If so you can
>install Grub in sdd12 (sde12 or whatever) and chainload it, provided you
>chainload the correct BIOS drive - which I’m afraid is susceptible to
>change (In that case, the chainload entry won’t work every time).

Yes it shows up in BIOS but i cannot get GRUB to use that name.

Also the disk order came up different this time and 02-FAEX… is sdd
instead of sde on the 4th reboot.
>
>I would suggest booting 11.4 from livecd and install Grub in the
>bootsector of the root partition (meaning both stage1 and stage2 will be
>on the same partition). If you run findgrub afterwards, it would display
>something like that:
>
>
>Code:
>--------------------
> - reading bootsector /dev/sdd12 (LINUX) … → Grub found in /dev/sdd12 => sdd12 0x83 (openSUSE)
>--------------------
>
>
>Installing Grub in the extended partition of your USB disk and
>activating this partition only makes sense if you intend to boot from
>this hard disk - if this hard disk is the first one in BIOS boot order.

My thinking is to have a GRUB to GRUB chain loader. If i can ever
rediscover how i got that working.

>Otherwise it doesn’t hurt but doesn’t help either. Setting the bootflag
>of a logical partition has no influence of anything (I know that
>openSUSE’s setup does that, but IMO it is just because it doesn’t care
>this partition not being a primary. )
>
>When you’re done installing Grub, you should find out the BIOS number
>of your USB drive* and add an entry to chainload Grub in sdd12 in
>/boot/grub/menu.lst on sda7 and/or sdb7 (according to your findgrub
>output) depending which Grub you boot, the one in sda2 => sda7 or the
>one in sdb MBR => sdb7.
>
sdb MBR → sdb7 is not on list of partitions i wish to boot, it is a
backup partition.
>
>Code:
>--------------------
> ###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: mandrivalinux-Grub###
> title openSUSE 11.4 on /dev/sdd12
> root (hdX,11)
> chainloader +1
>
>--------------------
>
>
>What’s missing here in the BIOS drive number (X).
>
>If your USB drive doesn’t have a number because it is unknown by the
>BIOS, it won’t work without external help (floppy or CD), AFAIK, but I’m
>not very experienced in USB booting … If your MB doesn’t support
>booting from USB, you can check if there isn’t a BIOS update available
>that would add this feature (?).
>
>You can read what supergrub says: ‘USB Boot - Super Grub Disk Wiki’
>(http://www.supergrubdisk.org/wiki/USB_Boot)

Even superGrubDisk disses me on trying to start that 11.4 partition.
>
>* Actually you should find out before and edit /boot/grud/device.map
>accordingly, but have a look at this file on your sdd12 or sde12 first!

Reading the supergrub documentation got me off into man grub sent me to
info grub. Whoa that is a lott of reading, but is starting to make better
sense now.

I think my final target will be chainloading grub from sdd3 or sde3 or
sdd/sde MBR if that is what it takes.

Thank you very much for your time.

?-)

please_try_again · September 26, 2011, 3:34am

When you boot, with your USB hd plugged in, press ESC to leave the graphical boot menu, then press “c” to enter the Grub shell and type:

find /boot/grub/stage2

Do you see (hdX,11) ?

If so, type:

root (hdX,11)
chainloader +1
boot

It assumes that you installed the Grub bootloader in the boot sector of the 11.4 root partition. Otherwise look for the kernel:

find /boot/vmlinuz

And if it answers (hdX,11) - among others, type:


root (hdX,11)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz
initrd /boot/initrd
boot

Replace X with the BIOS number of your USB hd.
It this works, you can do the same by adding an appropriate entry to the Grub menu of the release you’re booting by default. Notice that I haven’t mentioned any kernel options that you might need in this example.

user · October 8, 2011, 8:48pm

On Mon, 26 Sep 2011 01:36:03 GMT, please try again
<please_try_again@no-mx.forums.opensuse.org> wrote:

>
>When you boot, with your USB hd plugged in, press ESC to leave the
>graphical boot menu, then press “c” to enter the Grub shell and type:
>
>Code:
>--------------------
> find /boot/grub/stage2
>--------------------
>
>
>Do you see (hdX,11) ?
>
>If so, type:
>
>
>Code:
>--------------------
> root (hdX,11)
> chainloader +1
> boot
>
>--------------------
>
>
>It assumes that you installed the Grub bootloader in the boot sector of
>the 11.4 root partition. Otherwise look for the kernel:
>
>
>Code:
>--------------------
> find /boot/vmlinuz
>--------------------
>
>
>And if it answers (hdX,11) - among others, type:
>
>
>Code:
>--------------------
>
> root (hdX,11)
> kernel /boot/vmlinuz
> initrd /boot/initrd
> boot
>
>--------------------
>
>
>Replace X with the BIOS number of your USB hd.
>It this works, you can do the same by adding an appropriate entry to
>the Grub menu of the release you’re booting by default. Notice that I
>haven’t mentioned any kernel options that you might need in this
>example.

I have installed 11.4 on another machine in order to get used to it. I
have given up on booting to a USB logical partition. Disk names are too
troublesome and not repeatable boot to boot.

I learned a lot about grub though.

?-)