Bug#283972: Acknowledgement (update information about i386 bootloader configuration)
Attached a first draft for a new reactivating-win document.
Comments welcome.
Gruesse,
--
Frank Lichtenheld <djpig@debian.org>
www: http://www.djpig.de/
Index: build/entities/common.ent
===================================================================
--- build/entities/common.ent (revision 24138)
+++ build/entities/common.ent (working copy)
@@ -47,14 +47,6 @@
<!-- As measured on a completed woody install, work space included. -->
<!ENTITY minimum-fs-size "110¬ation-megabytes;">
-<!-- minimum total memory (RAM + swap is ok) needed, i.e., for kernel -->
-<!-- module config -->
-<!ENTITY minimum-memory-with-swap "9¬ation-megabytes;">
-
-<!-- minimum memory for diskless workstations (NFS root) -->
-<!ENTITY minimum-memory-with-nfsroot "16¬ation-megabytes;">
-
-
<!-- number of packages, approx, in the main distribution -->
<!-- do: grep '^Package:' Packages | wc -l -->
<!-- might be fun to generate this dynamically -->
@@ -77,9 +69,6 @@
<!-- Number of current Debian maillists -->
<!ENTITY num-of-debian-maillists "160">
-<!-- threshold, below which, we are a low memory system -->
-<!ENTITY low-mem-threshold "5¬ation-megabytes;">
-
<!-- version of X11 shipping with the current release -->
<!ENTITY x11ver "4.3.0">
@@ -89,21 +78,28 @@
'image=/boot/vmlinuz.new
label=new
append="mcd=0x320,11"
+ initrd=/initrd.img
read-only'>
-<!ENTITY boot-loader-installer
- "<phrase arch='alpha'>boot loader installer</phrase>
- <phrase arch='arm'>boot loader installer</phrase>
- <phrase arch='hppa'>boot loader installer</phrase>
- <phrase arch='i386'>lilo</phrase>
- <phrase arch='ia64'>boot loader installer</phrase>
- <phrase arch='m68k'>boot loader installer</phrase>
- <phrase arch='mips'>boot loader installer</phrase>
- <phrase arch='mipsel'>boot loader installer</phrase>
- <phrase arch='powerpc'>yaboot or quik</phrase>
- <phrase arch='sparc'>boot loader installer</phrase>
- <phrase arch='s390'>boot loader installer</phrase>">
+<!ENTITY additional-lilo-other
+'other=/dev/hdb1
+ label="Windows"'>
+<!ENTITY additional-grub-other
+'title Windows 95/98/Me
+root (hd0,0)
+makeactive
+chainloader +1
+'>
+
+<!ENTITY additional-grub-image
+'title Debian GNU/Linux, other kernel
+root (hd0,1)
+kernel /boot/vmlinuz.new root=/dev/hda2 ro
+initrd /boot/initrd.img.new
+'>
+
+
<!-- prefix for files that can be downloaded -->
<!-- <![ %official-web-build; [ <!ENTITY downloadable-file "&url-boot-floppies;"> ]]> -->
<!ENTITY downloadable-file "&url-debian-installer;">
Index: en/post-install/reactivating-win.xml
===================================================================
--- en/post-install/reactivating-win.xml (revision 24138)
+++ en/post-install/reactivating-win.xml (working copy)
@@ -7,16 +7,96 @@
<para>
After installing the base system and writing to the <emphasis>Master Boot
-Record</emphasis>, you will be able to boot Linux, but probably nothing else.
-This depends what you have chosen during the installation. This chapter
-will describe how you can reactivate your old systems so that you can also
-boot your DOS or Windows again.
+Record</emphasis>, you will be able to boot Linux, but perhaps nothing else,
+despite the fact that the installer normally tries to detect other operating
+systems. It also depends on what you have chosen during the installation.
+This chapter will describe how you can reactivate your old systems so that
+you can also boot your DOS or Windows again. We assume you have chosen
+one of the two bootloaders available from within &d-i;. If you want to
+use another bootloader please refer to the related documentation.
+</para>
+
+<sect2 id="reactivating-win-grub">
+ <title>Booting DOS and Windows from <command>Grub</command></title>
+
+<para>
+
+Grub is a flexible and powerful bootloader for PC systems that
+is also able to boot other operating systems than Linux.
+<command>Grub</command> is configured via the
+<filename>/boot/grub/menu.lst</filename> file. Grub reads this file
+directly during boot, so there is no need to execute an update program
+after every edit of it like for many other bootloaders.
+
</para><para>
-<command>LILO</command> is a boot manager with which you can also boot
-other operating systems than Linux, which complies to PC
-conventions. The boot manager is configured via
+The Grub configuration file includes a list of the available systems
+to boot. Each section at least contains a <userinput>title</userinput>
+and a <userinput>root</userinput> option. Grub doesn't use the name
+of the Linux device file for determine the root partition of a system
+but a different notation which is described in the section
+<filename>Naming Convention</filename> in <filename>grub</filename>
+Texinfo manual. E.g. the first partition of your first hard drive
+(independent of it is IDE or SCSI) is written as
+<userinput>(hd0,0)</userinput>, the second partition
+<userinput>(hd0,1)</userinput>, and so on.
+
+</para>
+
+<!-- FIXME: Naming convention example is wrong if the partitions
+are logical ones and not primary ones -->
+
+<para>
+
+By default Grub will keep track of kernels that are properly installed
+as Debian packages and therefor modify the <filename>menu.lst</filename>
+automatically sometimes on upgrade/removal/installation of kernel
+packages. Be sure not to modify anything between the corresponding
+markers:
+
+<informalexample><screen>
+### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
+## lines between the AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST markers will be modified
+## by the debian update-grub script except for the default options below
+
+...
+
+### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
+</screen></informalexample>
+
+After installation the system if configured to boot the newly installed
+Debian installation by default. The installer may also have been
+able to detect other installed operating system, otherwise you will have to
+edit the configuration file <filename>/boot/grub/menu.lst</filename>.
+To boot Windows or DOS you will have to add something like
+
+<informalexample><screen>
+&additional-grub-other;
+</screen></informalexample>
+
+Note the <userinput>chainloader</userinput> option which tells Grub to
+load the bootloader of another operating system. For loading a
+GNU/Linux or *BSD system you usually would use the
+<userinput>kernel</userinput> option instead:
+
+<informalexample><screen>
+&additional-grub-image;
+</screen></informalexample>
+
+
+</para>
+
+</sect2>
+<sect2 id="reactivating-win-lilo">
+ <title>Booting DOS and Windows from <command>LILO</command></title>
+
+<para>
+
+<command>LILO</command> is an alternative boot manager for PC systems.
+It was the default bootloader for Debian until the previous release
+but is now superseded by <command>Grub</command>. LILO
+is configured via the
<filename>/etc/lilo.conf</filename> file. Whenever you edited this
file you have to run <command>lilo</command> afterwards. The reason
for this is that the changes will take place only when you call the
@@ -28,32 +108,43 @@
lines containing the <userinput>image</userinput> and
<userinput>other</userinput> keywords, as well as the lines following
those. They can be used to describe a system which can be booted by
-<command>LILO</command>. Such a system can include a kernel
+LILO. Such a system can include a kernel
(<userinput>image</userinput>), a root partition, additional kernel
parameters, etc. as well as a configuration to boot another, non-Linux
(<userinput>other</userinput>) operating system. These keywords can
also be used more than once. The ordering of these systems within the
configuration file is important because it determines which system
will be booted automatically after, for instance, a timeout
-(<userinput>delay</userinput>) presuming <command>LILO</command>
+(<userinput>delay</userinput>) presuming LILO
wasn't stopped by pressing the <keycap>shift</keycap> key.
</para><para>
-After a fresh install of Debian, just the current system is configured
-for booting with <command>LILO</command>. If you want to boot another
-Linux kernel, you have to edit the configuration file
-<filename>/etc/lilo.conf</filename> to add the following lines:
+After installation the system if configured to boot the newly installed
+Debian installation by default. The installer may also have been
+able to detect other installed operating system, otherwise you will have to
+edit the configuration file <filename>/etc/lilo.conf</filename>.
+To boot Windows or DOS, you will have to add the following lines:
<informalexample><screen>
+&additional-lilo-other;
+
+</screen></informalexample>
+
+where <medialabel>/dev/hdb1</medialabel> is the partition the other operating
+system is installed. Note that this differs significantly from the lines
+you would need to boot another kernel or another GNU/Linux system:
+
+<informalexample><screen>
+
&additional-lilo-image;
</screen></informalexample>
-For a basic setup just the first two lines are necessary. If you want
-to know more about the other two options please have a look at the
-<command>LILO</command> documentation. This can be found in
+(For a basic setup just the first two lines are necessary.)
+If you want to know more about the other available options please have
+a look at the <command>LILO</command> documentation. This can be found in
<filename>/usr/share/doc/lilo/</filename>. The file which should be
read is <filename>Manual.txt</filename>. To have a quicker start into
the world of booting a system you can also look at the
@@ -62,10 +153,12 @@
for description of the installation of the new configuration into the
boot sector.
-</para><para>
+</para>
+</sect2>
+<para>
+
Notice that there are other boot loaders available in &debian;, such as
-GRUB (in <classname>grub</classname> package),
CHOS (in <classname>chos</classname> package),
Extended-IPL (in <classname>extipl</classname> package),
loadlin (in <classname>loadlin</classname> package) etc.
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