Arch Linux

Lone_Wolf

Forum Moderator

From: Netherlands, Europe

Registered: 2005-10-04

Posts: 11,969

Re: Must I use GRUB or LILO?

$ grub-install --help
Usage: grub-install [OPTION] install_device
Install GRUB on your drive.

  -h, --help              print this message and exit
  -v, --version           print the version information and exit
  --root-directory=DIR    install GRUB images under the directory DIR
                          instead of the root directory
  --grub-shell=FILE       use FILE as the grub shell
  --no-floppy             do not probe any floppy drive
  --force-lba             force GRUB to use LBA mode even for a buggy
                          BIOS
  --recheck               probe a device map even if it already exists

INSTALL_DEVICE can be a GRUB device name or a system device filename.

grub-install copies GRUB images into the DIR/boot directory specfied by
--root-directory, and uses the grub shell to install grub into the boot
sector.

Report bugs to <bug-grub@gnu.org>.

it needs to be something like this :
grub-install --root-directory=/mnt/boot /dev/sda

Check if /mnt/boot   is indeed the place where the boot directory is during this install.

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Disliking systemd intensely, but not satisfied with alternatives so focusing on taming systemd.

(A works at time B)  && (time C > time B ) ≠  (A works at time C)

FeatherMonkey

Member

Registered: 2007-02-26

Posts: 313

Re: Must I use GRUB or LILO?

I actually had a thought doing this, this way won't having the Usb drive unplugged cause it to fail to find the grub.

Won't you have to create a small boot partition on the windows drive so grub can all be on the same drive? Though I have to admit this isn't something I've ever really done.

Kienja Kenobi

Member

Registered: 2007-08-17

Posts: 62

Re: Must I use GRUB or LILO?

The root partition is where I install Arch, correct?  The boot partition is the partition on a physical hard drive that tells the Master Boot Record how to boot up, correct? 

I believe I am trying to install GRUB into the Master Boot Record of sda, which is the hard drive with Windows on it, because that is the hard drive that contains the Master Boot Record that currently boots my computer.  Feather Monkey is right, if I installed GRUB onto the external hard drive, anytime the external hard drive was disconnected, the computer would not be able to boot.  I never considered that a problem because I always thought we were trying to overwrite the Master Boot Record on sda (My internal hard drive). 

I just want to make sure that I am on the same page as everyone else.  I will try grub-install command that Lone Wolf suggested.

harlekin

Member

From: Germany

Registered: 2006-07-13

Posts: 408

Re: Must I use GRUB or LILO?

To solve at least one issue. You can install grub on to the MBR of your USB drive and leave the windows bootloader on your integrated drive intact and setup your BIOS to first try to boot from USB devices and then from integrated hard drives.

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Hail to the thief!

Acid7711

Member

From: Chicago, IL

Registered: 2006-08-18

Posts: 300

Website

Re: Must I use GRUB or LILO?

Grub rocks, but you can use the Win XP bootloader, I don't know why anyone would want to, but you could....

Kienja Kenobi

Member

Registered: 2007-08-17

Posts: 62

Re: Must I use GRUB or LILO?

I finally found the problem!  I am such a n00b!  Thank you so very, very much to everyone who helped, but my problem was that I did not have a partition to be specifically the /boot.  I created a 100MB ext3 partition and mounted it as /boot and then went through the regular Arch setup and the GRUB installation to /dev/sda went perfectly! 

harlekin

Member

From: Germany

Registered: 2006-07-13

Posts: 408

Re: Must I use GRUB or LILO?

Great. Setting up GRUB the first time always is tricky (at least it was for me, too). But once you've got it working, you cannot remember what was so difficult about it.

You're welcome. (:

Last edited by harlekin (2007-08-26 02:02:00)

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Hail to the thief!