TIP -- Boot Installed System

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1

There used to be a “Boot Installed System” tool on previous install CD/DVDs that is not available on version 11.0. One would use that feature if one was having problems booting after an install, say Grub was showing an error.

One can still use that feature by downloading a copy of an earlier version; me, I like 10.2. I recommend it for your toolkit; the install CD will do fine:)
From swerdna’s howto:

Commence the installation process but only carry it forward a few steps. Click “Next” through the Language screen. In the Media Check screen, do not click “Start Check” but simply click “Next” to skip to the the next screen. Agree to the Licence and “Next” to the Installation Mode screen. Here you select “Other Options”. That will allow you to select to “Boot Installed System”. Select that and click “next” to proceed.

If you have multiple installs, it will show all the partitions with a kernel; you simply select the one you want and boot it.

Another tool to “Boot Installed System” is Super Grub Disk @ Super Grub Disk Webpage
The howto for Super Grub Disk is @ SuperGrubDisk - Super Grub Disk Wiki complete with pictures.

If you are going to be messing with your partitions and experimenting with multi-booting, I recommend both for your toolkit.

BTW, Swerdna has some excellent boot information @ GRUB Boot Multiboot openSUSE Windows (2000, XP, Vista) using the Grub bootloader.

Have fun:)

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@snakedriver: I hadn’t made the connection to boot openSUSE 11 from the install DVD for an earlier version. Nifty!

Here’s an extra tip for users of a bootable CD like openSUSE 11 live CD (KDE or Gnome). Many have that but don’t have an install DVD because of limits on downloading. Here’s howto get an assited boot to openSUSE so you can then go to the Yast -> bootloader and reinitialise it properly. Sometimes it won’t work but mostlty it will. It’s better to use the openmSUSE 11 install media or the tip from Snakedriver above, but at a pinch do this:

Lets assume the root for openSUSE 11 is on sda9 [in grub talk that’s (hd0,8)]. Boot the live distro. Open a console and get rootly powers. Then you enter the Grub command prompt and reinstall Grub into the MBR of the first hard drive, pointing at the file “menu.lst” in the installed partition. These are the commands once you open the console:

su
grub
root (hd0,8)
setup (hd0)
quit
reboot

One more for the tips toolbox.

3

Swerdna,

I have to report that while 10.2 works to boot all installed kernels on my desktop, that trick did not work on my new HP dv9700z laptop (which could be a driver issue on the older install kernel, and by far, newer hardware):frowning:

It was back to 11.0 “repair” IAW your guide:)

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I can’t say why – but I just checked in a general sense and it still works on two of my machines, so best to leave it as one more spanner in the toolbox.

5

A thank you from Guelph to snakedriver. I just used my 10.3 DVD to boot into my OpenSuse 11.0 and reinitialize its GRUB after a second Linux OS rewrote the MBR. Great tip!
And thank you swerdna, your manual tip goes in my toolbox!
Cheers! :slight_smile: