Re: grub and dos, windows, and linux?

[Felix Miata]

On 2008/10/17 20:48 (GMT-0500) Greg White composed:

> I now have a need to tri-boot DOS, XP, and Linux.  I have dual booted XP and 
> Linux for years using grub.  My problem is with DOS.
> The system:
> P3 800Mhz
> 1GB RAM
> SCSI hard drives
> Adapatec 2930U2 scsi card

> My plan:
> sda1:
> 100MB FAT32 DOS or even FreeDOS
> sda2:
> rest of the disk space for XP

> sdb1:
> Linux - whole disk

> based on what I have read I should install DOS, Windows, and Linux in this 
> order.

And what happens when you need to re-install Windows? A good multiboot plan
includes comprehending the virtual inevitability that this will happen at
some point in time. Start understanding by reading:
http://fm.no-ip.com/install-doz-after.html

> My grub.conf should look something like this:
> default=0
> title DOS Boot Disk
>       root(hd0,0)
>       chainloader +1

> title Hat Linux
>       root (hd1,0)
>       kernel /vmlinuz ro root=/dev/sdb1

> title Windows XP
>       rootnoverify (hd0,1)
>       chainloader +1

> Will this work?

Only partially....

> Are there any potential issues I should know about?

Both DOS and Windows must start from "C:", and both insist that C: be the
sole visible primary partition on what they think is the first HD. Note the
keyword "start". To put both on separate primary partitions on the same HD
means configuring the boot loader to change the partition types of those
primaries between "visible" and "hidden" according to which partition is
selected for boot. Your Grub menu will only work for whichever of the
partitions is visible, and then only if the other is hidden.

Windows need not be _installed_ on "C:" (sda1). You can first "install" DOS
on the visible primary, then _install_ Windows XP on a logical (e.g. D:, on
sda5). The installation will install NT Loader on "C:", which will
automatically create a menu from which you can choose between DOS and
Windows, the former of which will start and run from C:, and the latter of
which will start from C: but run from its installation drive.
-- 
"Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and
slow to become angry."          James 1:19 NIV

 Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409

Felix Miata  ***  http://fm.no-ip.com/