Grub and Grub2 don't get along?

Gene Heskett gene.heskett at verizon.net
Sat Oct 31 18:10:41 UTC 2009


On Saturday 31 October 2009, Jonas Norlander wrote:
>2009/10/31 Howard Coles Jr. <dhcolesj at gmail.com>:
>> On Saturday 31 October 2009 04:08:57 am Kaj Haulrich wrote:
>>> On Saturday 31 October 2009 07:17:24 Jerry Lapham wrote:
>>> > I managed to install Kubuntu 9.10 on dev/sda7, an empty but
>>> >  previously formatted partition on my laptop.  I was a little
>>> >  leary, but I think I let it default to installing grub2 on
>>> >  dev/sda.  When I rebooted, the grub menu from Kubuntu 9.04 on
>>> >  dev/sda5 was displayed with no way to boot 9.10.
>>> >
>>> > I thought, well, that was probably a good thing.  I'd just add
>>> >  Kubuntu 9.10 on dev/sda7 to that menu like I had Mandriva 2009
>>> >  on dev/sda6.  I did it and rebooted but when I clicked on
>>> >  Kubuntu 9.10 it took me to a grub prompt.
>>> >
>>> > How do I get 9.10 to boot?
>>>
>>> Grub2 is a different beast from grub legacy. No menu.lst anymore.
>>> In /boot/grub, you'll find a file called grub.cfg, but - as it
>>> clearly says: - don't edit this file.
>>>
>>> Instead, you'll find a file in /etc/default called grub. This one is
>>> editable and after editing one must run: 'sudo update-grub2'.
>>>
>>> While doing so, it will search for other bootable partitions, and
>>> create a new boot menu.
>>>
>>> In your case, I would simply try to run 'sudo update-grub2' and see
>>> what happens.
>>>
>>> I've had countless problems with grub2 myself during the alpha-beta
>>> phase, and the documentation is sparse - to say the least. So,
>>> before you edit /etc/default/grub, save it under another name, i.e.
>>> 'grub_original'. That way you can restore it - if need be from a
>>> live CD, if the system will not boot at all.
>>>
>>> HTH
>>>
>>> Kaj Haulrich.
>>
>> This is unbelievable!.  Why go from the simple, easy to config setup that
>> everyone was comfy with, that required no afterward compile, (as was the
>> big complaint with LILO)?  Why do we need GRUB now, since it now has the
>> same ridiculous problem that LILO was so maligned for?  Stupid.  Also,
>> can someone please explain why it needed a "grub2"?  What, exactly, was
>> wrong with grub legacy?
>
>It was to static and only worked on PC if i remember right. You don't
>have to compile it, you can still edit /boot/grub/grub.cfg by hand but
>you can also add your options to /etc/grub.d/40_custom and
>/etc/default/grub and it will be added next time the update is run.
>
>/ Jonas

I have been editing grub.conf or menu.lst, depending on the distro, since 
grub was intro'd & long before the scant docs on grub were supplied in a 
readable by the unwashed format(and they _still_ need help, starting with a 
translation to _real_ English).  Here, the way I do it It Just Works(TM).  I 
have to fix it up every time a new kernel is installed by rpm because that 
auto edit screws up my personal methods of tracking the installs.  Why?  
Currently running 2.6.32-rc5 on an F10 system.  I also have a couple LTS 
boxes.

So let me join the chorus of gored oxen screaming that all these attempts to 
automate this thing for windows users can only screw it to hell and back for 
those of us doing real work, on real linux, on our machines.  Grub2 indeed...

-- 
Cheers, Gene
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