Hi, I recently installed Ubuntu 9.10 on a system with SUSE 11.2/11.1 and windows 2000 on it. Before i put Ubuntu on i was using the GRUB with 11.2. Now, i am using ubuntu grub. Is there any way to install GRUB from 11.2 back into the MBR.
Thanks,
vader95
Yes. But it’s complicated. Compounded by the fact that Ub* uses Grub2 which I have used and actually prefer.
If you re-install the SUSE grub, you will need to edit in a menu entry for Ub*.
You can re-install it this way - You need to pay attention to which HD is hd0 and the location of your SUSE root partition
If you have a Linux Live CD, boot from it and log in. Then open a console window and enter su and you will be at the command prompt with root powers and ready to proceed. If on the other hand you have the openSUSE install DVD, boot from it and on the first menu of options select the Rescue System option. That will start an elementary Linux Live operating system and bring you to the login prompt. Enter the username root and you will be at the command prompt with root powers and ready to proceed. Whichever way you started (the openSUSE install DVD or a Linux Live CD) when you are at the root command prompt, first you find the partition containing openSUSE’s bootloader. Then you reinstall Grub with a pointer to that partition. First find the openSUSE installation:
You enter this ---------------- grub
Computer returns like this ---- grub>
You enter this ---------------- find /boot/grub/menu.lst
Computer returns like this ---- (hd0,5)
Here, (hd0,5) is Grub’s pointer to my openSUSE installation. Your pointer will be different from my example (hd0,5). Substitute your values for my example (hd0,5). Now that you have the pointer, proceed like this:
You enter this ---------------- root (hd0,5)
Computer returns like this ---- Filesystem type is ext2fs, partition type 0x83
You enter this ---------------- setup (hd0)
You see several lines like this — Checking if /boot/grub/stage1 exists … yes Computer finally returns this-- Succeeded…Done
You enter this ---------------- quit
You enter this ---------------- reboot
N.B.
Ubuntu does not use a /boot/grub/menu.lst
but: /boot/grub/grub.cfg
My Ubuntu GRUB take 30 seconds to load SUSE only takes about 3, how would you make the option to boot ubuntu?
You need to clarify what you mean here. How does Ub* take 30 secs? Do you mean from Power on to display the grub menu?
Yes, that is what I mean, it takes longer, and then from selecting the OS to loading the OS it takes longer too
i also just did what you told me through those commands and it brought my openSUSE 11.1 bootloader back, i might be able to get 11.2 running, but i am using minimal x graphic system, i was actually about to delete it.
There is a guide for Ub* here, but you need to adjust things a little
HowTo Multiboot Ubuntu from openSUSE using the GRUB bootloader
For example, swerdna gives you a sample:
#Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: Ubuntu 9.04 2.6.28-11-gen#
title Ubuntu 9.04, kernel 2.6.28-11-generic (/dev/sda9)
root (hd0,8)
configfile /boot/grub/menu.lst
but you would need to adjust the config file to: /boot/grub/grub.cfg
And other details there too would obviously need to match to your hd’s etc…
Yast Bootloader might configure it, but I bet it gets it wrong because of grub 2.
Ok, i’ll take a look at that, thanks
IME that frequently fails and I put it there to illustrate what Suse puts there that’s not good, unreliable for Ubuntu. And I recommend replacing that entry with what I term a “symlink” entry like this:
#Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: none#
title Ubuntu 9.10 booting via symlinks
root (hd0,8)
kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/sda9 ro quiet splash
initrd /initrd.img
So my recommendation is to use like the above, changing the (hd0,8) and sda9 to match Ubu’s partition.
OK, so i have both systems installed and can boot windows, and SUSE 11.2. I go under YaST and now I’m stuck, how do i configure the boot loader to let me boot Ubuntu. Thanks again
@swerdna gave you clarification of my bungled attempt 
If you post the result of these from su terminal and indicate where the ub* root partition is:
fdisk -l
cat /boot/grub/menu.lst
@caf4926, you seem to know your grub - do you know how YAST “knows” which of the entries to modify in case of a kernel update? It obviously has to do with the – do not modify – comments in the menu.lst file.
A concrete question is: I typically install my “other” openSUSE installations by setting the boot loader options to NOT install in the MBR and to boot from the /root partition. After the installation has finished, I then temporarily mount that partition, copy-paste the entry from the newly installed system’s /boot/grub/menu.lst to my “normal”, active menu.lst and remove the YAST comment.
So far, I was assuming that in case of a kernel update on one of those “other” installations, YAST would simply modify the non-active menu.lst and not mess up the “bootable” one. Is that a correct assumption? Is there a better way to manage multiple openSUSE installations? (other than virtual machines, of course)…?
Where you add entries to ‘other’ installations it generally best to use the configfile or symlinks method. You currently copy and paste the ‘other’ entry but that will be kernel specific:
eg:
title openSUSE 11.2 - 2.6.31.5-0.1
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31.5-0.1-default root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST9160827AS_5RF16D1B-part2 resume=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST9160827AS_5RF16D1B-part5 splash=silent quiet showopts vga=0x367
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.31.5-0.1-default
Kernel updates in the ‘other’ OS will change what is in /boot/grub/menu.lst but the grub entry in your OS controlling Grub will not. So you would do:
#Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: title openSUSE 11.2 - 2.6.31.5-0.1#
title openSUSE 11.2 - 2.6.31.5-0.1 (/dev/sda2)
root (hd0,1)
configfile /boot/grub/menu.lst
or with symlinks
#Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: title openSUSE 11.2 - 2.6.31.5-0.1#
title openSUSE 11.2 symlinks
root (hd0,1)
kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/sda2 ro quiet splash
initrd /initrd.img
Bit of confusion there caf4926, your symlinks are off, the template in this case is like this:
#Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: title openSUSE 11.2 - 2.6.31.5-0.1#
title openSUSE 11.2 symlinks
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda2 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd
Note also don’t use initrd.img in this case
serves me right for breaching copyright from here:
HowTo Multiboot Ubuntu from openSUSE using the GRUB bootloader
This heading: Replace/fix Ubuntu’s entry in openSUSE’s Grub menu
It’s tricky stuff lol!
Yep. I re-installed my grub this AM - took all of 2 mins. I just installed Win 7 on my Laptop to replace Vista. Man they’ll not even be able to give that away.
Where you add entries to ‘other’ installations it generally best to use the configfile or symlinks method.
Ah! You hit on something I have been wondering about for a while: why would YAST modify the menu.lst file in the first place after a kernel update if all it would have to do is point the symlink in the /boot folder to the new kernel file (which it does anyway)? Isn’t updating the kernel entry in the menu.lst file redundant?
Here is the talk back
19216815:~ # fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sda: 20.0 GB, 20020396032 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 2434 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000080
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 262 2104483+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 393 2434 16402365 b W95 FAT32
Disk /dev/sdb: 15.4 GB, 15364339200 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 1867 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xf5924428
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 1 972 7807558+ 5 Extended
/dev/sdb2 973 1820 6811560 83 Linux
/dev/sdb3 1821 1867 377527+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdb5 1 924 7421967 83 Linux
/dev/sdb6 925 972 385528+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris
And my Ub* partition is on dev/sbd5
Do you mean that win 7 is even worse than vista? or that it’s better?
I found vista to be terrible, right down in the abyss with windows millenium, but I find windows 7 to be a classy piece of software (different strokes for different folks I suppose).