Installing Suse 11.1 (32bit or 64 bit).Have MBR installed on sda1 when I install Suse 11.1 on sda 7 and have it write Bootloader to Root sda7.It will write to sda 7 , but will nuts up my MBR on sda 1.I have to redo my MBR.Did I do something wrong or is this a Bug ?
Can you please explain more? The MBR is not on any partition. And what do you mean by “but will nuts up my MBR on sda 1.”? And “I have to redo my MBR”; so you re-installed the Windows MBR code?
Can you boot into openSUSE? If not, what do you have, the LiveCD or the DVD?
I have Mepis installed on sda1 and I use it’s bootloader for MBR.
When I install Suse 11.1 on sda7 and install it.s bootloader (grub) to root(sda7) when I reboot I get a error press any key to start.
To get the Computer to reboot I have to use Mepis LiveCd to reinstall Mepis Bootloader as MBR.After I reinstall the Bootloader it will pickup Suse Bootloader on the root of sda 7
Suse will write it’s Bootloader to sda 7,will also try to write to Mepis also.I never had this problem with pass versions just Suse 11.1. I use the DVD version
openSUSE, like all distros, will by default install grub stage1 to the MBR with a pointer to its own grub stage2. But that can be disabled and grub written to the openSUSE partition (or, for that matter, nowhere if desired). If you would like me to check what openSUSE did, and whether your Mepis and openSUSE menu.lst’s are correct, just post those files back here. The openSUSE grub install file is:
cat /etc/grub.conf
You already know where to find the menu.lst’s.
setup --stage2=/boot/grub/stage2 --force-lba (hd0,6) (hd0,6)
I may be asking wrong question.If I go to Bootloader install I get four options.I use install to root Partition.Should I also use custom and select sda 7
When I install other OS I just select install grub to root partition or select the root partition I install the OS on.then edit my MBR to chainload to that partition.
I think I’m not making the right selection in the install bootloader?
That installs grub to the sda7 partition boot sector, for chainloading - as you expected. Why not post back your Mepis and openSUSE menu.lst files, perhaps there is a problem there (grub is very flexible and distros setup the menu.lst files differently).
Suse bootloader will write sda 7 ok.I keep getting one of the following error press any key to continue or no operating system found,until I reinstall Mepis bootloader then all will boot ok.I do not know if a new download and a new burn will help Looks like it may be a problem with suse bootloader installer
Third time - Post back the menu.lst from each distro.
SuSE doesn’t install the boot loader - the grub shell does. You saw the command fed to the shell above in /etc/grub.conf; all YaST does is create that file. There is something else happening.
timeout 10
color black/cyan yellow/cyan
gfxmenu (hd0,0)/boot/gfxmenu
default 0
title PCLinuxOS TR5
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=PCLinuxOS_TR5 root=UUID=82cb1f49-dcf2-4ee8-b7f0-df289fd49b49 acpi=on splash=silent vga=788
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd.img
title linux-nonfb
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=linux-nonfb root=UUID=82cb1f49-dcf2-4ee8-b7f0-df289fd49b49 acpi=on
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd.img
title failsafe
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=failsafe root=UUID=82cb1f49-dcf2-4ee8-b7f0-df289fd49b49 failsafe acpi=on
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd.img
title MEPIS 8.0 ( Debian etch) (8.0)
root (hd0,5)
chainloader +1
title openSUSE 11.1 - 2.6.27.7-9 (on /dev/hda8)
root (hd0,8)
chainloader +1
This is my menu.lst using Pclinuxos MBR.It is the one that works,because after I install I can not boot the computer until I reinstall pclinuxos MBR Bootloader
You said you installed openSUSE on sda7 - why is your menu.lst pointing to sda9 (hd0,8) to boot openSUSE?
You said you use Mepis to reinstall the boot loader, but now you say pclinuxos, and this is a pclinuxos menu.lst. You have pclinuxos on sda1 but Mepis on sda6. So I’m confused.
And are you using the “grub-install” program to install the boot loader? If so, how - “grub-install /dev/hda” or “grub-install /dev/sda” or “grub-install (hd0)”? If not grub-install, then what?
Finally, this is very important: From where or what you are using to reinstall the boot loader, I need to see the grub device.map file.
Sorry for the confusion.I have two Drive trays.One with PclinuxOS as the MBR and one with Mepis as the MBR.This one works,but to get the Computer to Boot.I have to reinstall PCLinuxOS from PclinuxOS liveCD.Have to do the same With the Mepis tray. For some reason it will write to the root Partition that I installed Suse to.It also trys to over write MBR on Sda1 In suse Bootloader install the Parition show as sda (etc),but in grub they show as (hd0,X) I tnink this is normal?
Also if I check the Partition layout with gparted it will show sda2 extention Flage as boot No idea what that means.
(hd1) /dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6L200P0_L41X6YXG
(hd0) /dev/disk/by-id/ata-WDC_WD800JB-00JJC0_WD-WMAM98334205
(fd0) /dev/fd0
Again, why in the menu.lst is openSUSE called from (hd0,8) which is sda9, rather than (hd0,6) which is sda7?
Are either of these trays the “removable” type, and do you do that (that is, remove and re-insert the trays)?
When you switch between pclinuxos and mepis, are you switching the boot device order (sequence) in the bios?
suse is installed on sda9 Why when I reinstall the bootloader(pclinuxOS Cd) in the title it show /dev/hda8 I have no Idea.
I keep Boot order in the bios the same.both trays are set to master.
I have tried the install on a Comptuter with fix drives. same problem
I have installed Suse from version 9 to 11.0 did not have this problem.version 11.1 is the only one that has given me this problem
The data seems to keep moving around. In post #1 and #3 you write that openSUSE is installed on sda7. In post #5, the openSUSE grub command shows that sda7 boot sector is where the openSUSE grub was installed, too. But now you write that “suse is installed on sda9”, and that (hd0,8) is where the pclinuxos is trying to find SuSE. Obviously, if SuSE is on sda7 and grub is in the sda7 boot sector, then chainloading to sda9 will fail. If SuSE is not on sda7 but on sda9, then grub needs to be installed to the sda9 boot sector, this way:
grub
root (hd0,8)
setup (hd0,8) (hd0,8)
quit
There may be another problem (the clue is in the “hda8” title in menu.lst). But, first, the above needs to be made clear.
I’m going to try another install.I’ll see if I can get better information
Thanks for staying with with this problem.
Did a new install
Mepis MBR
sda1 /
sda6 /home
suse 11.1
sda7 /
sda8 /home
Installed Suse bootloader to root partition 7
menu.lst
##Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: linux###
title openSUSE 11.1 - 2.6.27.7-9
root (hd0,6)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27.7-9-pae root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6L100P0_L26TB4QG-part7 resume=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6L100P0_L26TB4QG-part5 splash=silent showopts vga=0x31a
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.27.7-9-pae
###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: failsafe###
title Failsafe – openSUSE 11.1 - 2.6.27.7-9
root (hd0,6)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27.7-9-pae root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6L100P0_L26TB4QG-part7 showopts ide=nodma apm=off noresume nosmp maxcpus=0 edd=off powersaved=off nohz=off highres=off processor.max_cstate=1 x11failsafe vga=0x31a
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.27.7-9-pae
###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: MEPIS at sda1, newest kernel (/dev/sda1)###
title MEPIS at sda1, newest kernel (/dev/sda1)
root (hd0,0)
configfile /boot/grub/menu.lst
System will not boot.I’m going to reinstall Mepis MBR from the Mepis LiveCD
Will post that menu.lst next
Reinstalled Mepis bootloader (MBR) now system will boot and I can select Suse or Mepis
color cyan/blue white/blue
foreground ffffff
background 0639a1
gfxmenu /boot/grub/message
title MEPIS at sda1, newest kernel
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda1 nomce quiet splash vga=791
boot
title MEPIS at sda1, previous kernel (if any)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz.old root=/dev/sda1 nomce quiet splash vga=791
boot
title MEPIS at sda1, kernel 2.6.27-1-mepis-smp
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-1-mepis-smp root=/dev/sda1 nomce quiet splash vga=791
boot
title openSUSE 11.1 - 2.6.27.7-9
root (hd0,6)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27.7-9-pae root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6L100P0_L26TB4QG-part7 resume=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6L100P0_L26TB4QG-part5 splash=silent showopts vga=0x31a
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.27.7-9-pae
Looks like Suse is changing the MBR when I write suse bootloader to root of sda7
Boot into openSUSE. From terminal as root post back output of:
cat /etc/grub.conf
To instruct that grub be installed on the root partition, you must have gone into the Boot Loader dialog, under the Installation tab, and checked that box. Was the “master boot record” box not checked? Under the Boot Loader Options button, were the check boxes in the upper-left ("Activate . . . ", “generic boot code”) all not checked?
Bootloader location
I checked Boot from root Partition
Boot loader option
boot menu the following are checked set active flag Partition and write generic code to MBR.Do I uncheck both ?