Yesterday I installed OpenSuse 11.1 on a 8 GB drive I have (slave, I also have a 80 GB, master, with WinXP installed on it). In the BIOS the 80 GB is the 1st boot option (after the CDs), but when I turn on my computer a OpenSuse (GRUB, I think) menu appears. Questions:
Does this mean that the Windows MBR in the 80 GB disk was overwritten?
If yes, why when I select Windows I get redirected to the Windows bootloader (I also have Ubuntu on Wubi installed on the 80GB disk)?
Yes it does mean that the windows code was overwritten.
If yes, why when I select Windows I get redirected to the Windows bootloader (I also have Ubuntu on Wubi installed on the 80GB disk)?
Because the windows bootloader files are stored on a windows partition, not in the MBR, so they’re not touched. The Grub multibooter directs focus to the windows partition and so you get a windows bootloader.
It’s a bit like this:
The MBR code directs to read the multi menu on Suse’s partition. That menu contains several options. Selecting an option points the system off to the appropriate partition, one partition and set of bootloader files for each distro. They take over.
Yes, it appears grub is now in the boot drive’s MBR.
I’m not sure I understand the second question - why wouldn’t you want to be redirected to Windows when you select Windows from the openSUSE menu? What grub is doing is calling the boot sector of the Windows partition, just as the Windows boot code in the MBR would do. Please elaborate on your question.