Arch Linux

ajstein

Member

Registered: 2013-11-03

Posts: 36

/boot Partiton on One Flash Drive, Multiple Arch Installs

I have read some people have done this, but I have yet to find clear guidance on the topic from perusing BBS (maybe I cannot find the right thread) or the Arch Wiki, but if I wanted to put boot on a flash drive, and have that flash drive handle different LUKS on LVM volumes on different laptops, how would I set that up?

Do I have to write out the grub conf files in the 40_custom file by hand or is there a way to have different grub2 confs in the same partition so I can have the same flash, dedicated to only a /boot partition, properly boot up separate laptops with the least amount of effort?  Thanks for the help.

bstaletic

Member

Registered: 2014-02-02

Posts: 658

Re: /boot Partiton on One Flash Drive, Multiple Arch Installs

You would have to write configuration yourself. Grub2 just is not practical in your use case. Try something simpler, like gummiboot for UEFI.

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alphaniner

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From: Ancapistan

Registered: 2010-07-12

Posts: 2,810

Re: /boot Partiton on One Flash Drive, Multiple Arch Installs

In the name of simplicity and 'least effort' you should look into syslinux instead of grub.

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ajstein

Member

Registered: 2013-11-03

Posts: 36

Re: /boot Partiton on One Flash Drive, Multiple Arch Installs

@bstaletic Problem is only of the computers in question will support UEFI, the other will not.

@alphaniner Can you point me to some more info on syslinux, or explain why it will work better for this use case?  I have used many Linux distros for years, but like many lazy posers, such as yours truly, I have stuck with GRUB/GRUB2 and never tried the other bootloaders, unless you kind of count ReFIT and daisy-chaining.

bstaletic

Member

Registered: 2014-02-02

Posts: 658

Re: /boot Partiton on One Flash Drive, Multiple Arch Installs

Aphaniner mentioned syslinux not because it's better, but because it is more easily configured.
For info take a look at our wiki.

Last edited by bstaletic (2015-02-13 19:44:41)

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clfarron4

Member

From: London, UK

Registered: 2013-06-28

Posts: 2,165

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Re: /boot Partiton on One Flash Drive, Multiple Arch Installs

@bstaletic Problem is only of the computers in question will support UEFI, the other will not.

If you have the liberty/don't mind setting all the machines to booting in BIOS/UEFI's Legacy mode then this bit is sorted. However, if you want to leave things as they are, then you're onto the interesting case.

@alphaniner Can you point me to some more info on syslinux, or explain why it will work better for this use case?  I have used many Linux distros for years, but like many lazy posers, such as yours truly, I have stuck with GRUB/GRUB2 and never tried the other bootloaders, unless you kind of count ReFIT and daisy-chaining.

I've had better luck using Syslinux on portable hard disk installs than I have GRUB2, especially with some instances where the GRUB menu doesn't appear on certain machines, but GRUB is definitely loaded (something to do with screen size in pixels), where Syslinux has never failed to appear unless I've done a stupid.

I think the Wiki should also help.

Last edited by clfarron4 (2015-02-13 21:02:20)

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ajstein

Member

Registered: 2013-11-03

Posts: 36

Re: /boot Partiton on One Flash Drive, Multiple Arch Installs

Well thanks for all the replies.  I will reply once I get time to finish up my research and try grub, syslinux, or both.  I might go with grub just because I am more familiar, but do want to see where I get with syslinux.

teateawhy

Member

From: GER

Registered: 2012-03-05

Posts: 1,138

Website

Re: /boot Partiton on One Flash Drive, Multiple Arch Installs

You can make one usb stick that is capable of booting with UEFI and legacy BIOS at the same time. For legacy BIOS, install a bootloader to the MBR. For UEFI make a EFI System Partition, and place an UEFI bootloader at the default location <EFI SYSTEM PARTITION>/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI . Syslinux also needs a boot partition.
Then write one boot entry for each computer, and enable the bootloader menu, so that you can select the entry for the computer you are at.
I recommend you to use syslinux for legacy BIOS, and gummiboot for UEFI.