Red Hat Bugzilla – Bug 74350
Dual-Boot section lacks a LOT of detail
Last modified: 2014-08-04 18:23:36 EDT
From Bugzilla Helper: User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98; Win 9x 4.90) Description of problem: rhl-ig-x86(EN)-7.3-HTML-RHI (2002-05-02T15:13-0400) I don't know the best way to use the boot loader so that I can use Windows on one hard drive (the master) and RH7.3 on the slave hard drive. I don't want to wipe out the Windows drive's MBR if I don't have to. The section on configuring for Dual-Boot Systems says this: "Red Hat does not support alternate boot loaders. Thus, this section will discuss how to configure GRUB or LILO to boot both operating systems." GREAT! Just what I am looking for! HOWEVER, here is the extent of the configuration instructions: "The Red Hat Linux installation program will usually detect Windows and automatically configure the boot loader (GRUB or LILO) to boot either Red Hat Linux or Windows. This can be seen on the boot loader screen of the installation program. An entry named DOS appears in the list of operating systems to boot." My first installation did not work properly. I had RH7.3 as the master and Windows as the slave. I wiped the RH drive, flipped them and re-installed. There are many options and configuration possibilities. The manual does not discuss ANY of them if the suggested way doesn't work. It doesn't even mention how to go back and set something up. Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable): How reproducible: Always Steps to Reproduce: 1. Simply install 2. I created a boot floppy and wrote the loader to the /boot partition (on the slave hard drive) 3. Actual Results: The boot floppy ignores the boot loader and goes right into Red Hat 7.3. Expected Results: Not sure. I was hoping the boot loader would come up and allow me to boot into Windows. Additional info:
Thank you for your feedback and for your interest in Red Hat Linux. If you purchased an official boxed set of Red Hat Linux, you can register your boxed set at www.redhat.com/apps/activate. Once you have registered, you can use the installation support that came with your boxed set. Dual-boot configuration from the Red Hat Linux side is one of the services that is offered with our standard boxed set support. You can also try these links for additional help: http://www.redhat.com/advice/tips/dualboot.html http://www.redhat.com/tech/books/RHL_Survival_Kit/ch03_Fa.html http://www.redhat.com/support/resources/faqs/rhl_general_faq/s1-bootloader.html http://www.redhat.com/support/resources/faqs/rhl_general_faq/FAQ-5.html To the best of my knowledge, using a boot disk to boot Red Hat Linux will not provide you with a boot loader where you can choose which OS you wish to load. A boot disk you created during the installation of Red Hat Linux will only load Red Hat Linux. After an installation (with either GRUB or LILO installed), you can boot (without a boot disk) the system to receive these options. Otherwise, there are things you can do on the Windows(tm) side or with 3rd-party boot loaders that we do not support, nor do we feel comfortable in documenting since they are unsupported. Best regards, Sandra