Where to install grub

sfabius · 2008-09-01 11:51:12

Please forgive this simple question but in my search for an answer in wikis and other places, I cannot find a straightforward answer (and part of my worry is related to problems installing in this post, where it seems like when the kernel was updated it did so in the wrong place).

I have the following setup on my Toshiba Portege R500:

sda1   Windows XP
sda2   Windows/Toshiba rescue partition
sda3   share vfat partition
sda4   extended partition:
  sda5   boot
  sda6   swap
  sda7   /

When I initially installed arch, I installed it in "/dev/sda", which is what it seemed to me most of the advice said to do (and it was the default as well). After I did pacman -Syu and copied over the new pacman.conf I rebooted but it seems to be booting a 2.6.25 kernel and the system is set up for 2.6.26. I'm giving up and reinstalling.

So, my question is:
Should I install grub on "/dev/sda" or "/dev/sda5", and if I can do it on either, what is the advantage of one over the other?

byte · 2008-09-01 12:41:44

You have no other choice but to install it to /dev/sda. Bootloader goes into MBR, simple as that.
Else you'd have to reinstall the XP bootloader and setup boot.ini to load grub, which then in turn would load Arch.

sfabius · 2008-09-01 13:10:37

OK, that's settled. In menu.lst, then, should I have:

title Arch Linux
root   (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda5 ro

title Windows XP
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
makeactive
chainloader +1

lucke · 2008-09-01 13:14:42

title Arch Linux
root   (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda7 ro
initrd /boot/kernel26.img

sfabius · 2008-09-01 13:27:01

OK, thanks!

byte · 2008-09-01 13:43:46

I wouldn't say thanks to that. It's wrong, you have a dedicated /boot partition, don't you? So trim the boot/ off the paths.

lucke · 2008-09-01 13:48:02

Doesn't really matter, there's a "boot -> ." symlink in /boot.

Last edited by lucke (2008-09-01 13:48:47)

byte · 2008-09-01 14:33:12

Huh, there is? Ok, cool.

Arch Linux

#1 2008-09-01 11:51:12

Where to install grub

#2 2008-09-01 12:41:44

Re: Where to install grub

#3 2008-09-01 13:10:37

Re: Where to install grub

#4 2008-09-01 13:14:42

Re: Where to install grub

#5 2008-09-01 13:27:01

Re: Where to install grub

#6 2008-09-01 13:43:46

Re: Where to install grub

#7 2008-09-01 13:48:02

Re: Where to install grub

#8 2008-09-01 14:33:12

Re: Where to install grub

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