SuSE 11 update & patches fail

[user]

Hi, I am a relative Linux newbie, but with plenty of Windows experience and trying to get used to life with the Penguin.

I have three hdds, one with WinXP, one with SuSE 11.0 and one with PC-BSD. I choose which to boot from BIOS. The MBR for each is on its own hdd.

This all works well and I can read stuff I need on the WinXP partition from the SuSE disk (not tried from the PC-BSD disk yet). Reboots are all OK.

However, when I d/l & install the ‘Recommended patches’, all I can get from Grub is File not found. Nor can I boot any of the other disks from their Grub choice.

The only way I can get SuSE working is to reinstall it (three times, so far).

I assume that Grub is looking for some sort of bootloader on the wrong disk, or the patch update has put it on the wrong disk.

I’m sure someone will say 'Oh, that’s simple. It’s just because … '. However, I don’t know enough about Linux to even know where to start.

[ringorgoneHHO]

Hi Im sorry I dont know the answer to your question, however you may be able to help me. I just joined this forum and there is nowhere to post a new thread. So I picked replying to yours instead. Do you know how I can post a new thread?
Dave

[lornix]

On Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:56:03 GMT
ringorgoneHHO <ringorgoneHHO@no-mx.forums.opensuse.org> wrote:

>
> Hi Im sorry I dont know the answer to your question, however you may be
> able to help me. I just joined this forum and there is nowhere to post
> a new thread. So I picked replying to yours instead. Do you know how I
> can post a new thread?
> Dave
>
>

Wow, nothing like spamming us to garner attention and love.

That’s three…

From oldcpu… this SAME forum…

=====QUOTE

ringorgoneHHO;1858449 Wrote:
> New to the forum. How do I post a new thread. I seem to only be able to
> reply to threads.
> Dave
PLEASE only ask a question ONCE, in one thread. Not multiple times.
Those of us who read lots of threads and try to help many users find
such posts very irritating (putting that mildly).

I note you posted here:
‘Macbook sound not working correctly - openSUSE Forums’
(http://tinyurl.com/62855s)

and I replied to that.

=====QUOTE

I know reading is SUCH a hassle… thinking even more so… How about trying
the “New Thread” button up near the top of the page. Seems pretty obvious to
me…

Loni

–
L R Nix
lornix@lornix.com

[user]

I know that ingorgoneHHO’s question has been answered, but any ideas on my problem?

I think it’s the BIOS boot order. I have swapped to the Linux disk as first boot hdd and GRUB now works properly (the disk is empty - no OS), but I really didn’t want to do this, because occasionally Windows updates rewrite the MBR and I will have to restore GRUB each time.

Using BIOS to choose which OS to start seemed to be the easiest, and works fine, until I update SuSE. Any way to make it look for the OS on the disk I choose in BIOS?

[lornix]

On Fri, 22 Aug 2008 07:56:01 GMT
birchyboy <birchyboy@no-mx.forums.opensuse.org> wrote:

>
> I know that ingorgoneHHO’s question has been answered, but any ideas on
> my problem?
>
> I think it’s the BIOS boot order. I have swapped to the Linux disk as
> first boot hdd and GRUB now works properly (the disk is empty - no OS),
> but I really didn’t want to do this, because occasionally Windows
> updates rewrite the MBR and I will have to restore GRUB each time.
>
> Using BIOS to choose which OS to start seemed to be the easiest, and
> works fine, until I update SuSE. Any way to make it look for the OS on
> the disk I choose in BIOS?
>
>

Not automatically. No.

If you set your PATA/IDE drive as the boot disk, and the OS loads the drivers
in PATA/IDE -> SATA order, then sda = the boot disk.

If PATA/IDE is the bios boot disk, and the OS loads the drivers in SATA ->
PATA/IDE order, then sda != the boot disk (does not equal).

And conversely for the remaining permutations where you choose a SATA drive
to be the boot disk.

When you change the ‘boot disk’ from the bios, you rearrange the drives too,
so even if you’re using the PATA/IDE drives to boot first… now the physical
‘sda’ might be ‘sdc’ instead since the bios has shuffled them.

You’ll have to take charge of the situation and TELL it which one to use.
Sorry 'bout that. Your use of the bios boot order options has shuffled the
deck, so to speak.

Of course, if you do finally figure out which drive is which, you could set
up the grub configuration to write to that drive… unless it changes, of
course.

My recommendation would be to pick a configuration of the bios boot order and
leave it there… then do some reading and learn how grub or even the windows
bootloader works, since they can handle the booting of different drives very
well, considering that’s what they were built for. There are threads here in
the forums which describe (ad nauseum) how to set up the windows bootloader
and grub.

Loni

–
L R Nix
lornix@lornix.com