[Mageia-dev] Grub2 vs. Grub Legacy in M3

Sat Feb 2 06:48:43 CET 2013

On 2013-01-28 19:27 (GMT) Barry Jackson composed:
+
+> Grub2 can install it's kernel in the root filesystem which can be booted
+> directly. Installing the grub2 package, whether during install or later
+> automatically builds /boot/grub/i386-pc/core.img and also creates a
+> grub.cfg ready for use.
+> Chanloading is un-necessary since an entry in menu.lst on a legacy
+> system will boot a grub2 Mageia system using:
+
+>    	title Mageia via GRUB 2
+> 	root (hdx,y)
+>    	kernel /boot/grub2/i386-pc/core.img
+
+> ...as explained in the above README.Mageia
+
+>> If you do it this way, you can install whatever you want as a bootloader
+>> on the MBR, and each partition can have whatever BIOS-compliant
+>> bootloader it wants, including grub, grub2, lilo, OS/2, DOS, or Wndows.
+
+> Yes, I use a small grub2 partition sda1 as "master".
+> To boot into Mageia grub2 systems I use the grub2 multiboot command:
+
+> 	menuentry 'Mageia-3 multi sda6' {
+> 	search --no-floppy --label --set=root mageia-3
+> 	multiboot /boot/grub2/i386-pc/core.img
+> 	}
+
+This thread made it register in my brain for the first time that Grub2 can be 
+installed on the same / as Grub Legacy without interfering with it. So, on 
+one of my two Cauldron systems configured to my whim with Grub Legacy, I did:
+
+	# urpmi grub2
+
+Which tried to intstall
+
+	grub2
+	os-prober
+	mageia-theme-default
+	mageia-theme-common
+	plymouth-plugin-label
+	plymouth-plugin-script
+	plymouth-system-theme
+
+Proceed...? N
+
+	# urpmi --no-suggests grub2
+
+which installed only grub2 and os-prober, and took several minutes to 
+complete (which the known lethargic os-prober is obviously responsible for).
+
+I added a stanza to my master bootloader to load /boot/grub2/i386-pc/core.img 
+and rebooted, selecting the /boot/grub2/i386-pc/core.img stanza. Results:
+
+Good start:
+1-/boot/grub2/i386-pc/core.img in a Grub Legacy stanza succeeds
+
+Not good from then on:
+1-Grub2 error message due to not finding some png file
+
+2-25 item Grub 2.00 menu (grub.cfg:
+	http://fm.no-ip.com/Tmp/Linux/Mdv/grub.cfg.gx27b-cauldron3-1.txt ). After 
+selecting a selection from a master bootloader, there's no good reason to see 
+similar selections as in the previous menu unrelated to the chosen selection. 
+IOW, when not a master bootloader (i.e. "chainloaded" via core.img, only 
+Mageia entries attributable to selected filesystem hosting core.img should be 
+in this menu.
+
+3-Grub2 menu uses same awful spindly-looking font responsible in large part 
+for my distaste for *buntu
+
+4-default menu selection for Cauldron causes this cmdline:
+
+	BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-prv root=UUID=bbe8a402-5fb1-4247-b372-5bb6cff4e18c 
+ro splash
+
+which is nothing like the default Grub Legacy menu stanza's cmdline result:
+
+	root=LABEL=22cauldrn splash=verbose noresume video=1152x864 vga=794 3
+
+obviously caused by Grub2 installation disregarding content of pre-existing 
+menu.lst, which means
+
+5-semi-legible blue on black graphical progress bar instead of normal 
+complement of startup messages when splash=verbose
+
+6-post ESC, startup messages are inappropriately tiny
+
+7-tty text is too tiny to use (same as startup messages; screen's preferred 
+mode 1600x1200 used instead of legible mode 1152x864)
+
+8-KDM is on tty2, the location I reserve for certain class of recurring 
+activities, instead of where expected on tty7
+
+9-preferred initial runlevel as evidenced by menu.lst cmdline options was not 
+specified
+
+10-tty1 cleared before displaying login prompt (even after customizing 
+/etc/systemd/sytem/getty.target.wants/getty at tty1.service with 
+s/TTYVTDisallocate=yes/TTYVTDisallocate=no/; same problem on Rawhide & 
+Factory; OT)
+
+Such displeasures as 1-9 are the reason why in Grub Legacy vs. Grub2 
+discussions I point out that Grub2 is still v1.0 software. Just how much of 
+these observations are due to upstream decisions or yet-to-dos rather than 
+distro implementation decisions, implementor inexperience or bugs I won't try 
+to guess.
+--
+"The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant
+words are persuasive." Proverbs 16:21 (New Living Translation)
+
+  Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks!
+
+Felix Miata  ***  http://fm.no-ip.com/
+