Time to change to grub2?

[patomas]

The issue of this topic is to open a discusson about if the time to change to grub2 had become. I have no complain about the Grub Legacy that we have in our dear pclos as long as i dont want to install another linux OS, because in that case...uffff. Lets face it, almost all the Linux OS have already Grub2, so if you want to install another Linux OS (along with pclos) in a separate partition or separate HD you have to be very carefull in the installation process in order to install the Grub2 of this new Linux OS on its own root partition (sda 4, 5...or sdb1, in case of separate HD), and do that over again when the Grub2 comes to update, because if you install the grub2 by default (sda), the new grub2 will take the place of the pclos Grub Legacy and then pclos wont boot. Once you have installed the grub2 of the new Linux OS on its own root partition, you have to add this new Linux OS to the Grub Legacy in pclos with redo MBR or editing Menu.Ist ...too complicated!!

Wouldnt it be easier if just pclos have Grub2 so we can install almost any linux OS without any concern? Is it worth it to maintain Grub Legacy in pclos knowing that with that old grub is ver difficult to install another dual boot Linux OS?

Thankyou

[mokmeister]

Why would you want to install another linux distro when you're using PCLinuxOS?

Your post has merit though, even the grub website describes grub version .9x as legacy and no longer in development.
http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/

Sticking with grub legacy probably fits in with Texstar's philosophy of rock solid stability, but the change will probably have to be made at some point. I suppose it's another one of those "when do I move from KDE 3.5.10 to KDE 4?" arguments. Everyone will have an opinion on it. And at the end of the day I suppose it will be Texstar's decision to make when the change is made. Hope that doesn't come across as too presumptuous!

[Hootiegibbon]

err in one word NO

Not all distros use Grub2 - only one or two and all the branches of that tree.

not to mention its not stable

2. What is the status of GRUB 2?
It is quite usable, but we are still making incompatible changes from time to time. The current release is working on Intel/AMD PCs, OpenFirmware-based PowerPC machines (PowerMac and Pegasos), EFI-based PC (IntelMac) and coreboot (formerly, LinuxBIOS), and is being ported to UltraSparc.

Grub2 is a wicked over complication - hove you tried "reading " the config file?

If I were (forced) to choose another bootloader it would be back to the still maintained LiLo

Jase

[Archie]

Just for a couple of seconds on GRUB and that would be enough to consider replacing PCLinuxOS? Not me. I don't mind a pretty bootloader like maybe BURG but it isn't a deciding factor for me.

If I have to look at my boot menu for a full 5 minutes, maybe ...

Just my 2 cents.

[Texstar]

Your facts are incorrect. Almost every RPM based Linux is still using the excellent uncomplicated easy to use grub like Fedora, Opensuse, Centos, Mandriva, Mageia, Scientific, Chakra, RHEL-6.1 etc etc. Don't blame us because another distro decided to use grub2 to make it hard for their users to dual boot other popular distributions like PCLinuxOS. That is my feelings about it. I will change when the big boys decide to go that route.

[bones113]

err in one word NO

Not all distros use Grub2 - only one or two and all the branches of that tree.

not to mention its not stable

2. What is the status of GRUB 2?
It is quite usable, but we are still making incompatible changes from time to time. The current release is working on Intel/AMD PCs, OpenFirmware-based PowerPC machines (PowerMac and Pegasos), EFI-based PC (IntelMac) and coreboot (formerly, LinuxBIOS), and is being ported to UltraSparc.

Grub2 is a wicked over complication - hove you tried "reading " the config file?

If I were (forced) to choose another bootloader it would be back to the still maintained LiLo

Jase

If I were (forced) to choose another bootloader it would be back to the still maintained LiLo

+1

[patomas]

Your facts are incorrect. Almost every RPM based Linux is still using the excellent uncomplicated easy to use grub like Fedora, Opensuse, Centos, Mandriva, Mageia, Scientific, Chakra, RHEL-6.1 etc etc. Don't blame us because another distro decided to use grub2 to make it hard for their users to dual boot other popular distributions like PCLinuxOS.

No Texstar, i am not blaming anybody and if it looks like i did...sorry, certainly was not my intention at all. Ok, i did not know that all that distros you mention dont use grub2 and use grub. So i understand that if i install one of the distros you mention (along with my essential and irreplaceable pclos, i will never get rid of this one) i wont have any problem with the dual boot? Even in case i install the grub of the new distro in mbr (sda) replacing the grub installed by pclos?

Thanks

Pd: i love this forum. I think is a very active forum with smarts answers.

[Neal ManBear]

..... if you want to install another Linux OS (along with pclos) in a separate partition or separate HD you have to be very carefull in the installation process in order to install the Grub2 of this new Linux OS on its own root partition (sda 4, 5...or sdb1, in case of separate HD)

     
Your assumption that care is necessary only with grub2 is incorrect. You should always take care to install any subsequent OS's bootloader to its own root partition. Failure to do so will make PCLinuxOS unbootable.      

Knowledge trumps assumption every time. There are posts on the forum which deal with the grub2 install issues. We have a good forum search function.
http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php?action=search     
And there's always google or any other web search engine.

Grub2 is far from ready for general use. IMO, the grub devs should withdraw it until they have fixed it.

[OMSkates]

Grub2 is far from ready for general use. IMO, the grub devs should withdraw it until they have fixed it.

+1

[Old-Polack]

So i understand that if i install one of the distros you mention (along with my essential and irreplaceable pclos, i will never get rid of this one) i wont have any problem with the dual boot? Even in case i install the grub of the new distro in mbr (sda) replacing the grub installed by pclos?

I've booted over 20 concurrent Linux installations on the same computer with the same legacy grub. (Never reinstalled for over 4 years) There is no reason to install each new installation's grub to the MBR; it can be installed to the PBR of the new / partition. Modifying the master grub's menu.lst to include a chainloader stanza for the new installation is trivial, as is simply copying the main boot stanza from the new installation's menu.lst to the master menu.lst, if one prefers a direct boot rater than chain loading.

During the period in question I installed and later removed/replaced well over 100 different Linux systems, and never once overwrote the master grub installed in the MBR from the first Linux installation.

Should you be unfortunate enough to install grub2 to the MBR, it can easily be overwritten by the far more stable legacy grub from whichever of your other installations that use it, by following these instructions;

http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,62786.msg508062.html#msg508062

The one you choose will then become the master grub, whose menu.lst will control the booting of all your installations. I install my master grub, to the MBR, from a separate boot partition, where it remains unaffected by any new or removed Linux installations, including the removal of the installation from which it originally came.

[patomas]

..... if you want to install another Linux OS (along with pclos) in a separate partition or separate HD you have to be very carefull in the installation process in order to install the Grub2 of this new Linux OS on its own root partition (sda 4, 5...or sdb1, in case of separate HD)

   
Your assumption that care is necessary only with grub2 is incorrect. You should always take care to install any subsequent OS's bootloader to its own root partition. Failure to do so will make PCLinuxOS unbootable.    

Knowledge trumps assumption every time. There are posts on the forum which deal with the grub2 install issues. We have a good forum search function.
http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php?action=search    
And there's always google or any other web search engine.

Grub2 is far from ready for general use. IMO, the grub devs should withdraw it until they have fixed it.

Yes, i have read many posts in this forum about this issue, thats why i oponed this post.

And i dont think that, as you say, You should always take care to install any subsequent OS's bootloader to its own root partition. Failure to do so will make PCLinuxOS unbootable, no if you install an OS whith the same Grub Legacy that pclos uses.

[Kurdistan]

Fedora 16 will use grub 2 and it is question of time before opensuse and other major RPM distro will change to it.

[DeBaas]

I found some distro witch stupidly unasked and unwarned destroyed and replaced my precious Grub legacy in an update with a nVidia driver. I had forced this distro to put it's Grub 2 on it's own partition. After this nVidia driver update I could'nt load PCLos anymore. What has this to do with Grub ?
I punnished this distro with completely wiping it and the promise it would never touch my HDD again. The liveCD helped me to bring back PCLos alive.
After testing and reading and configuring many Grub 2 configs for other linux distro and multiboot users I dicided, for me, if Grub Legacy has to die, it won't be Grub 2, but Lilo again.

[patomas]

I found some distro witch stupidly unasked and unwarned destroyed and replaced my precious Grub legacy in an update with a nVidia driver. I had forced this distro to put it's Grub 2 on it's own partition. After this nVidia driver update I could'nt load PCLos anymore. What has this to do with Grub ?
I punnished this distro with completely wiping it and the promise it would never touch my HDD again. The liveCD helped me to bring back PCLos alive.
After testing and reading and configuring many Grub 2 configs for other linux distro and multiboot users I dicided, for me, if Grub Legacy has to die, it won't be Grub 2, but Lilo again.

In order to avoid that distro...can you tell us its name?

[parnote]

We all already know the name of that particular "brown" distro.