Arch Linux

Lobstertorch

Member

From: Fishers, IN, USA

Registered: 2009-11-02

Posts: 13

[Solved] Install to a second harddrive

Okay, so my current setup is Windows 7 on the primary harddrive and currently CrunchBang on a secondary harddrive, I'm booting with GRUB.

I want to replace that CrunchBang with an Arch install, I've familiarized myself with the Arch installer having installed twice on a virtual machine. When creating Grub through the installer I'm assuming it will not recognize my current Windows partition? I'll have to edit a grub configuration file allowing it to see Windows?

The reason I'm asking is because this wiki page http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Win … _Dual_Boot

To dual boot from two separate hard drives (e.g. one dedicated Linux drive and one dedicated Windows drive) and Windows is not on the first hard drive, the Windows boot loader must be "tricked" into thinking Windows is on the first hard drive. Do this by adding the following lines to your menu.lst config file:

my first harddrive is the windows one.

Also, can someone quickly sum up the harddrive naming scheme? I think I've got it, but I'm not quite sure. Like the sdb1 sdb2 etc. I tried to look it up hah.

____

Also my first post on the forums . So far I'm liking the support I've seen and the great documentation. You'll probably see more of my retarded questions.

Even doing some virtual machine installs I've learned a lot!

Last edited by Lobstertorch (2009-11-04 02:23:49)

sHyLoCk

Member

From: /dev/null

Registered: 2009-06-19

Posts: 1,197

Re: [Solved] Install to a second harddrive

Welcome Lobstertorch

Check your hard disk name by booting into crunchbang and typing fdisk -l as root in a terminal. I think your windows is in sda and linux in sdb ? If you want to install Arch on sdb just select /dev/sdb drive when the Partitioning hard disk option comes in the install menu and partition it as you want. While installing grub make sure you uncomment the windows option, it should by default point towards /dev/sda, although if you forget this step you can  anytime boot into arch and edit /boot/grub/menu.lst.

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~ Regards,
sHy
ArchBang: Yet another Distro for Allan to break.
Blog | GIT | Forum (｡◕‿◕｡)

Acecero

Member

Registered: 2008-06-21

Posts: 1,373

Re: [Solved] Install to a second harddrive

I don't understand that comment myself. Why should it matter if Windows is in the first drive? What's important is where you install grub to the mbr on the Linux drive, which would be /dev/sdb on your machine. Like Shylock said, just uncomment the windows option to chainload to window's boot loader on the first drive.

Welcome to the forums btw.

brando56894

Member

From: NYC

Registered: 2008-08-03

Posts: 681

Re: [Solved] Install to a second harddrive

Its just the way windows is set up, AFAIK even if you install windows on a second HDD the boot files are still written to the first partition of the first HDD. You shouldnt really have any problems lobstertorch if windows is on your first HDD and arch on your 2nd HDD.

In case you meant the naming scheme of HDDs for grub and not linux heres a quick tutorial: HDD numbering starts at 0 for grub but at 1 for linux so it goes like this..
(hd0,0)=/dev/sda1=first HDD first partition
(hd0,1)=/dev/sda2=first HDD second partition

(hd1,0)=/dev/sdb1=Second HDD first patition
(hd1,1)=/dev/sdb2=Second HDD second partition

and it goes on from there. Its a pain to install arch manually (like your supposed to) but the first few times you do it you definitely learn a lot from it, after that it just becomes really annoying IMO. If you cant seem to get through the installation correctly you can either suffer through it and figure out why its not working (which is recommended) or you can check out Chakra which is still arch but its a live cd GUI install (pretty much like every other linux live cd installation) instead of a command line install. The only drawback from using chakra is that everything isn't customized the exact way you want it since you didnt build it from the command line up.

fumbles

Member

Registered: 2006-12-22

Posts: 246

Re: [Solved] Install to a second harddrive

You best bet is when installed either Linux or Windows is unplug the other hard disk drive. Windows can do funny things if its not on the first partition of the first hard drive. It is possible, but it just bites you in the arse further down the track ...  so YMMV.

Lobstertorch

Member

From: Fishers, IN, USA

Registered: 2009-11-02

Posts: 13

Re: [Solved] Install to a second harddrive

Okay, I got a little impatient and went ahead and tried before seeing the replys to this thread... And guess what? after partitioning and such I went... kept doing my thing...

Set the root password and I got like crazy errors and stuff. Something along the lines of I/O error. So yeah, I'm guessing a bad burn and now I get GRUB error 15. So I plan on burning a new copy or using unetbootin after I get home.

Anyone think it was something other than a bad burn?

Lobstertorch

Member

From: Fishers, IN, USA

Registered: 2009-11-02

Posts: 13

Re: [Solved] Install to a second harddrive

Got everything working great! It was a bad burn. This is the most fun I've been having on linux in awhile :3. Attempting to mark my thread as solved...