Re: [DRAFT] Policy for Linux kernel, initramfs, boot loader update process
On Wed, Jun 30, 2010 at 10:31:32AM -0400, Stephen Powell wrote:
>
> dpkg does not prevent multiple boot loaders from being installed
> concurrently; but this environment is not supported by the various
> system maintainer scripts of Debian, even today. For example,
> "update-initramfs -u" currently checks to see if lilo is installed,
> and if it is, it runs lilo. But if grub (either version 1 or version
> 2) is installed also, it issues the following messages:
>
> WARNING: grub and lilo installed.
> Please de-install unused bootloader.
>
> It could also test for other boot loaders as well, such as extlinux,
> but it doesn't. The point is that Debian's maintainer scripts
> do not support multiple concurrently-installed boot loaders even today.
>
It did support it, but it turned out to be a greater pain to keep
that then to kick that support, see cc33aa5bfb7f68793 in initramfs-tools
git repo for the support that was there until lenny. bug #574553 axed
it. support was fragile and thus I don't plan to reinstate that.
extlinux is quite new in debian. the usual case were people having
"upgraded" from lilo to grub but didn't change the do_bootloader
setting in /etc/kernel-img.conf, because they didn't knew it.
Reply to: