Grub2 idea: floating for mindshare

[Goh Lip]

On 02/06/2010 11:23 PM, Rashkae wrote:
> Here's a thought I had about Grub 2 based on recent discussions on this
> list.
>
> I really love Grub2, and think it's been a great improvement in just
> about every way.  But the automatically generated grub.cfg is just not
> always easy to cope with for people with more complex systems (ie, maybe
> someone has multiple versions of Windows and Linux...)
>
> However, if you rely on 40_custom for your grub.cfg, you then have to
> update that file yourself to benefit from kernel updates.
>
> My idea is that is that a file like 45_ubuntu_custom be created in
> /etc/grub.d but be made non-executable.  This file would then be
> populated by commented out options (just like the old menu.lst) file,
> and the kernel package post install would insert a boot stanza for the
> recently installed kernels.  If someone needed to use a custom grub.cfg
> file, they could then make that file executable (and optionally, remove
> the exec option from the default grug.d files) and have a system that
> worked much like the old style menu.cfg.
>
>
I was trying to understand the motivation of your suggestion and looking 
at your recent messages of the subject, I guess it was that, after each 
update-grub or kernel upgrade, you have to either:

o <one> reorder the sequence of the boot order or
o <two> renter the kernel numbers for kernel upgrades at the 40_custom
         and delete the preceeding entries again.


If there are more points that I missed out or have misconstrued your 
intentions, please revert. May I suggest a third?

o <three> If kernel upgrade is done at an OS whose grub is not set to
           mbr, we will need to go to the OS whose grub is set to mbr and
           do and update-grub to ensure the kernel for that OS
           is updated.


In my earlier message, I suggested one alternative, viz., to set default 
to 'saved'; albeit a somewhat incomplete alternative and does not 
satisfy point <three>.

I hope I have summarized correctly but would like more feedback from you 
or others.

Again, I like to point out that the above affects grub-legacy as well as 
grub2 and it puzzles me that grub2 is disliked when the same issues is 
afflicting grub-legacy as well. It is clearly not a matter of 
grub-legacy or grub2 but merely the sequence of booting preferences or 
kernel changes whatever boot mechanism is used.

As I had alluded to earlier, a first boot partition would be able to 
handle these issues and I had this on grub-legacy some time back and I 
had changed it to grub2 when grub2 came on board. Grub2 handles this a 
lot better.

Regards - Goh Lip


-- 
I do not understand why people are scared of new ideas, I am terrified 
of the old ones.