[Novalug] GRUBing Around / A Handy Gui
Roger W. Broseus
rogerb@bronord.com
Thu Oct 23 20:52:09 EDT 2008
GRUB / Ubuntu Install and StartUp-Manager (System | Administration)
1. I decided to do a "clean" install of Ubuntu, moving up to 8.04 from
7.10. (Why install? 'Cause I couldn't figure out what was wrong with /
(root) - it appeared to be full. I suspect disk corruption related to an
attempt to backup with "Simple Backup" but that's another story with
water over the levee.)
After installation I could not boot to Linux, nor to Win, on this dual
boot machine. Having had this problem before, I suspected a maligned
menu.lst. Sure enough, the installer had specified the wrong location
for *root*: the give away: a file not found error. Background: I used
the "manual" option with the partitioner, having /boot, /, and /home on
hard disk 2. Booting with Knoppix confirmed that the install had placed
files in the proper locations so it became a simple matter of editing
the command line during grub-induced booting to ensure I could get to
the proper place. Afterwards, editing menu.lst solved problems. Luckily,
I kept a copy of menu.lst from the pre-install (7.10 setup) for
reference. From this it was easy to see that the installer had also
whacked the lines for booting Win, including a "swap" of HD
designations, and I just copied the old stuff there.
2. StartUp-Manager: a handy tool one can add, via add applications, in
Ubuntu. It's a graphical / GUI front end for editing menu.lst. After
installation, it appears under
System | Administration
Options include editing VGA resolution, colors of the grub boot menu, etc.
An aside: I was able to keep my old /home partition (I specified
mounting it but not formatting it during installation) and, after
installation of the upgraded version of Ubuntu, every thing worked fine
(well, at least so far) - bookmarks, etc., stayed for Firefox; mail
boxes, address books, etc., for T-bird. (Just to forestall any critics:
of course I backed up /home before partitioning, etc.)
Of course - be careful: it is really easy to complicate one's life when
editing menu.lst, etc. - but if you are reading this - you are probably
already over the top and do re-installs as a form of entertainment.
--
Roger W. Broseus - Linux User
Email: RogerB@bronord.com
Web Site: www.bronord.com
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