FC18 install - doesn't offer other OS on the drive

[Bill Davidsen]

I'll see if a different subject, devoid of anything but the question, brings a 
response. When I installed FC18 on a drive with FC17 and XP the installer didn't 
offer an option to boot those OS as alternatives.

Is this a bug or by design.

[Jorge Martínez López]

Hi!

2013/1/25 Bill Davidsen
> I'll see if a different subject, devoid of anything but the question,
> brings a response. When I installed FC18 on a drive with FC17 and XP the
> installer didn't offer an option to boot those OS as alternatives.
>
> Is this a bug or by design.

I installed F18 in a Macbook Pro with Mac OS X in another partition and Mac
OS X shows up in Grub.

I am not sure if it is the task of the installer to set up booting other
operating systems. It is Grub that enables that. Grub2 looks for other
operating systems when updating its config and it should add them to the
menu "automagically".

To update Grub's config I run:

# grub2-mkconfig /boot/grub2/grub.cfg

(Note: I use Grub2 and BIOS, configuration for EFI is different)

Greetings,

[Bill Davidsen]

Jorge Martínez López wrote:
> Hi!
>
> 2013/1/25 Bill Davidsen <[e-mail] >
> I'll see if a different subject, devoid of anything but the question, brings
> a response. When I installed FC18 on a drive with FC17 and XP the installer
> didn't offer an option to boot those OS as alternatives.
>
> Is this a bug or by design.
>
>
> I installed F18 in a Macbook Pro with Mac OS X in another partition and Mac OS X
> shows up in Grub.
>
> I am not sure if it is the task of the installer to set up booting other
> operating systems. It is Grub that enables that. Grub2 looks for other operating
> systems when updating its config and it should add them to the menu "automagically".
>
> To update Grub's config I run:
>
> # grub2-mkconfig /boot/grub2/grub.cfg

Have done that, thanks for the reminder! However, that didn't result in XP or 
fc17 being detected. Is there some magic I can do to tell grub2 to actually use 
the fc17 boot and root, or am I screwed? The XP is less of an issue, I only use 
it to check that websites are viewable with IE, and I can just boot it under KVM 
and run it in a VM.

I avoid editing the grub.cfg file for three reasons:
   1 - I don't know what I'm doing, if magic is needed the install/upgrade
       should be the magician. The average users knows way less than I do
       about system setup.
   2 - The last time I did the system wound up being a totally unbootable
       recovery adventure. See #1
   3 - every kernel upgrade seems to rebuild the config file, making
       change a brief success.

All suggestions appreciated.
> (Note: I use Grub2 and BIOS, configuration for EFI is different)
> --
> Jorge Martínez López <[e-mail] >
> http://www.jorgeml.net

[Reindl Harald]

Am 26.01.2013 18:26, schrieb Bill Davidsen:
> I avoid editing the grub.cfg file for three reasons:
>   1 - I don't know what I'm doing, if magic is needed the install/upgrade
>       should be the magician. The average users knows way less than I do
>       about system setup
>   2 - The last time I did the system wound up being a totally unbootable
>       recovery adventure. See #1
>   3 - every kernel upgrade seems to rebuild the config file, making
>       change a brief success.

3 is completly untrue

until now after kernel updates grubby is adding the new one to grub config
and taking any chnage you made in the previous one to the new entry

only "grub2-mkconfig" is creating a complete new config
with all this submenu crap and so on
for kernel params "/etc/default/grub" is your friend here

[Carroll Grigsby]

On Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:15:07 +0000
Jorge Martínez López  wrote:
> Hi!
>
> 2013/1/25 Bill Davidsen
> > I'll see if a different subject, devoid of anything but the
> > question, brings a response. When I installed FC18 on a drive with
> > FC17 and XP the installer didn't offer an option to boot those OS
> > as alternatives.
> >
> > Is this a bug or by design.
>
> I installed F18 in a Macbook Pro with Mac OS X in another partition
> and Mac OS X shows up in Grub.
>
> I am not sure if it is the task of the installer to set up booting
> other operating systems. It is Grub that enables that. Grub2 looks
> for other operating systems when updating its config and it should
> add them to the menu "automagically".
>
> To update Grub's config I run:
>
> # grub2-mkconfig /boot/grub2/grub.cfg
>
> (Note: I use Grub2 and BIOS, configuration for EFI is different)
>
> Greetings,

Try it this way:
grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg

-- cmg

[Bill Davidsen]

Reindl Harald wrote:
> Am 26.01.2013 18:26, schrieb Bill Davidsen:
> > I avoid editing the grub.cfg file for three reasons:
> >    1 - I don't know what I'm doing, if magic is needed the install/upgrade
> >        should be the magician. The average users knows way less than I do
> >        about system setup
> >    2 - The last time I did the system wound up being a totally unbootable
> >        recovery adventure. See #1
> >    3 - every kernel upgrade seems to rebuild the config file, making
> >        change a brief success.
>
> 3 is completly untrue

The modification date on the file and it's contents change. Since I have never 
been able to get it to add either fc17 (separate boot and root) or XP in a 
partition, I couldn't investigate what it was changing, but it does get rebuilt, 
which is what I based my statement on, I actually looked. If having it change 
doesn't meet you criteria from being rebuilt I think that's splitting hairs.

If someone could tell me how to get it to boot any of the preinstalled OS on the 
drive, I could do better testing. Better yet I could upgrade and move on.
> until now after kernel updates grubby is adding the new one to grub config
> and taking any chnage you made in the previous one to the new entry
>
> only "grub2-mkconfig" is creating a complete new config
> with all this submenu crap and so on
> for kernel params "/etc/default/grub" is your friend here

I am not a guru on grub2, when I did this with fc16 along with fc14, both 
appeared, I was asked (my notes don't say if it was a question or menu) if I 
wanted to boot fc14. That was good, the current "ignore the other stuff" doesn't 
seem like an optimal install interface, Fedora users tend to be technical, but 
having to hack grub2 is a hard learning curve. BTW: copying stanzas from the old 
grub2 didn't seem to work, system just didn't boot.

Thanks for the input.

[Bill Davidsen]

Carroll Grigsby wrote:
> On Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:15:07 +0000
> Jorge Martínez López  wrote:
> > Hi!
> >
> > 2013/1/25 Bill Davidsen
> > > I'll see if a different subject, devoid of anything but the
> > > question, brings a response. When I installed FC18 on a drive with
> > > FC17 and XP the installer didn't offer an option to boot those OS
> > > as alternatives.
> > >
> > > Is this a bug or by design.
> >
> > I installed F18 in a Macbook Pro with Mac OS X in another partition
> > and Mac OS X shows up in Grub.
> >
> > I am not sure if it is the task of the installer to set up booting
> > other operating systems. It is Grub that enables that. Grub2 looks
> > for other operating systems when updating its config and it should
> > add them to the menu "automagically".
> >
> > To update Grub's config I run:
> >
> > # grub2-mkconfig /boot/grub2/grub.cfg
> >
> > (Note: I use Grub2 and BIOS, configuration for EFI is different)
> >
> > Greetings,
>
> Try it this way:
> grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg

Thanks I'll try that and see if it finds the other OS on the drive.

[Jorge Martínez López]

> Try it this way:
> grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg

Thanks! I indeed missed the "-o".

Greetings,

[Bill Davidsen]

Bill Davidsen wrote:
> Carroll Grigsby wrote:
> > On Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:15:07 +0000
> > Jorge Martínez López  wrote:
> > > Hi!
> > >
> > > 2013/1/25 Bill Davidsen
> > > > I'll see if a different subject, devoid of anything but the
> > > > question, brings a response. When I installed FC18 on a drive with
> > > > FC17 and XP the installer didn't offer an option to boot those OS
> > > > as alternatives.
> > > >
> > > > Is this a bug or by design.
> > >
> > > I installed F18 in a Macbook Pro with Mac OS X in another partition
> > > and Mac OS X shows up in Grub.
> > >
> > > I am not sure if it is the task of the installer to set up booting
> > > other operating systems. It is Grub that enables that. Grub2 looks
> > > for other operating systems when updating its config and it should
> > > add them to the menu "automagically".
> > >
> > > To update Grub's config I run:
> > >
> > > # grub2-mkconfig /boot/grub2/grub.cfg
> > >
> > > (Note: I use Grub2 and BIOS, configuration for EFI is different)
> > >
> > > Greetings,
> >
> > Try it this way:
> > grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg
>
> Thanks I'll try that and see if it finds the other OS on the drive.

It didn't find either other OS, and copying stanzas from the fc17 grub2 didn't 
work, either.