Adding a GRUB2 distro to Arch's GRUB Legacy

Hello, so I installed CentOS 6.2 and Fedora 16 on my laptop. I think installed Arch, and set it's bootloader to the MBR and added entries for CentOS and Fedora to the menu.lst. CentOS will boot fine (it also uses grub-legacy), but Fedora won't boot (it uses GRUB2). Short of either a)installing GRUB 2 in Arch or b)chainloading, is there a way to add a GRUB2 system to my menu.lst for grub-legacy?

Why can't you just do chainloading and set Fedora's Grub2 timeout to 0? Then it will seem to you like it just boots right into Fedora.

Similar Messages

[SOLVED] Grub Problems Can boot Arch w/ grub edits only

I had 3 Linux OS's installed on this computer, Arch and 2 versions of Ubuntu on one hard drive.
The MBR belonged to Ubuntu, using grub2. I decided to get rid of the older Ubuntu (sda8 and 9) and add it's HDD space to my Arch home (sda12). Used the current Gparted live to modify the partitions and all went well, but of course, the numbers changed getting rid of 2 partitions.
No boot upon restart so I decided to get Arch's grub back to the MBR with the new partition numbering scheme.
Using a live CD, I used the grub shell, find /boot/grub/stage1.....etc, etc. and after a bit of fumbling, grub indicated success in the shell. When I was through though, a reboot was not successful, although the current stable grub was now written to the MBR. I edited the lines using grub edit option, and got Arch to boot, and figured out the correct partition numbers. Next I edited the menu.lst to reflect the new sda numbers.
Now rebooting results in a long delay when grub should be on the screen, and the numbers on the Arch entries reflect the old numbers still!! I double checked thinking I forgot to save the edits to the menu.lst file, but they are correct. I can boot Arch, but have to edit the lines each time.
The current partitions are as follows. I edited the terminal output to show details.
[jeff@Arch2009p2 ~]$ sudo fdisk -l
Password:
Disk /dev/sda: 750.2 GB, 750156374016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 91201 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000383e7
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 91201 732572001 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 1 255 2048224+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6 (ubuntu /) 256 1471 9767488+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 (ubuntu /home) 1472 22321 167477593+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda8 (arch boot) 22322 22325 32098+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda9 (arch /) 22326 23627 10458283+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda10 (arch /home) 23628 91201 542788123+ 83 Linux
I have a few questions regarding a separate boot partition for Arch.
Should the grub> root (hd0.0) command be directed to the root or boot partition.
My handy printed emergency guide says: Set grubs root device to the partition containing the boot directory.
OK.....Writing it out now, it seems clear, so I'll try reinstalling grub from a live CD.
Why does grub have incorrect partition numbers even though the menu.lst is correct?
There are only 2 OS's on this box now, and one contains grub2.
Is current grub able to interact with grub 2 if I screwed something up on the install?
Last edited by jeff story (2010-05-24 20:05:06)

OK
I managed to fix the problem of grub not reading/using the menu.lst file. Not sure WTF it was reading and where that file was located!
The problem seems to have been the most insignificant detail.
When using the grub terminal, I did not execute the quit command when I was through. I just closed the terminal and rebooted.
After repeating the following code via live CD a few times:
$ sudo grub
grub> find /grub/stage1
grub> root (hd0,7)
grub> setup (hd0)
Grub still didn't read the current menu.lst.
This morning I got things to work correctly and grub to read the current menu.lst by adding a quit command and returning to the linux shell prior to rebooting.
I used the following commands:
$ sudo grub
grub> find /grub/stage1
grub> root (hd0,7)
grub> setup (hd0)
grub> quit

Make Arch's GRUB default [Solved]

Hi, I've installed Fedora after Arch and I need make Arch's GRUB as default (I working predominantly with Arch, I'm only trying other distros). Please, how to do it?
Last edited by akisha (2013-10-03 14:48:51)

WorMzy wrote:
Amarildo wrote:
akisha wrote:Oops, I know, I somehow didn't notice ^^' .. I'm afraid of system will be erased during Arch's GRUB reinstallation. Ok, I'll try it.
Not if you
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
That won't change what's in the MBR..
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Gr … ll_to_Disk
So long as you follow the instructions, you should be fine, akisha. You must have done it before, when you first installed Grub on Arch.
I didn't say it would
I was assuming he would type that command after he installed GRUB.

Arch Linux Netboot Environment under grub legacy

I am trying to boot under grub legacy with the following menu.lst entry:
Arch Linux Netboot Environment
root (hd0,5)
kernel ipxe.krn
initrd conf.ipxe
boot
This does not work. Do you have any suggestion?
Last edited by francois.e (2013-01-07 02:49:52)

Indeed - more information is needed.
What is your partitioning scheme, is sda6 your /boot parition? Are your kernel and intrd in /boot/grub/? This would be unusual, but it is what that entry implies. Also, where is your root partition specified?
You also don't need the boot command in the menu.lst. I don't know if it would cause a problem, but I've never seen it there. In addition to the links in cfr's signature, you should (have already) read the wiki page on grub legacy.
Last edited by Trilby (2013-01-06 04:35:54)

Arch and GRUB

I've installed Arch in the same hdd where there were installed Debian and Win7. I've done the update-grub in Debian, Arch installation is been founded and everything seems ok.
But when I try to boot Arch via grub, randomically it fails to found the Arch partition, while for Debian and Win7 I haven't any problem. What can I check? Can you help me?

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then
load_env
fi
set default="3"
if [ "${prev_saved_entry}" ]; then
set saved_entry="${prev_saved_entry}"
save_env saved_entry
set prev_saved_entry=
save_env prev_saved_entry
set boot_once=true
fi
function savedefault {
if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then
saved_entry="${chosen}"
save_env saved_entry
fi
function load_video {
insmod vbe
insmod vga
insmod video_bochs
insmod video_cirrus
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos7)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 44052a8f-381d-440b-bc68-4d26ab4204a1
if loadfont /usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2 ; then
set gfxmode=1280x1024
load_video
insmod gfxterm
fi
terminal_output gfxterm
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos7)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 44052a8f-381d-440b-bc68-4d26ab4204a1
set locale_dir=($root)/boot/grub/locale
set lang=it
insmod gettext
set timeout=5
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos7)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 44052a8f-381d-440b-bc68-4d26ab4204a1
insmod png
if background_image /usr/share/images/desktop-base/spacefun-grub.png; then
set color_normal=light-gray/black
set color_highlight=white/black
else
set menu_color_normal=cyan/blue
set menu_color_highlight=white/blue
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
menuentry 'Debian GNU/Linux, with Linux 2.6.32-5-amd64' --class debian --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos7)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 44052a8f-381d-440b-bc68-4d26ab4204a1
echo 'Loading Linux 2.6.32-5-amd64 ...'
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-5-amd64 root=UUID=44052a8f-381d-440b-bc68-4d26ab4204a1 ro quiet splash nomodeset video=uvesafb:mode_option=1280x1024-24,mtrr=3,scroll=ywrap
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-5-amd64
menuentry 'Debian GNU/Linux, with Linux 2.6.32-5-amd64 (recovery mode)' --class debian --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos7)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 44052a8f-381d-440b-bc68-4d26ab4204a1
echo 'Loading Linux 2.6.32-5-amd64 ...'
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-5-amd64 root=UUID=44052a8f-381d-440b-bc68-4d26ab4204a1 ro single
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-5-amd64
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### END /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry "Windows 7 (loader) (on /dev/sdb1)" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ntfs
set root='(hd0,msdos1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 3ac49844c49803f3
chainloader +1
menuentry "Arch (on /dev/sdb5)" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos5)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set b9ebe48e-84ea-43e8-9704-071d4fb12374
linux /boot/vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/sdb5
initrd /boot/initramfs-linux.img
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries. Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment. Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
#menuentry "Arch (on /dev/sdb5)" {
# insmod part_msdos
# insmod ext2
# set root='a1763fe4-cfe9-4180-aea9-c0d87f644f70'
# search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set a1763fe4-cfe9-4180-aea9-c0d87f644f70
# linux /boot/vmlinuz-linux root=a1763fe4-cfe9-4180-aea9-c0d87f644f70 init=/sbin/e4rat-preload
# initrd /boot/initramfs-linux.img
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
if [ -f $prefix/custom.cfg ]; then
source $prefix/custom.cfg;
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
This is my grub.cfg in debian installation.

Grub Legacy with silent patches added (Binary Format x86_64 only)

The other day (before I actually took the time to learn how to use grub2 properly) I downloaded the PKGBUILD for grub legacy and edited it to patch for silence. I haven't found a single place where this is hosted so what the hell I'll post it here!
Download Link: http://ubuntuone.com/0kxIdONAFFAMc2Zbmwbi1l

FYI: I tried yet another version of solaris as i found out that theres a bug in the 64-bit kernel on update 4 for alot of new processors. Solaris 10 x86 update 7 did the trick! :). Installed right away on a standard 'Solaris 10 (64 bit)' VM. I still find it strange that the most recent version of solaris 10 fails to even start the installation.

Booting OS X from grub legacy

Hi!
I have just installed Mavericks just to test it in another HDD as you can see here:
Disk /dev/sda: 465,8 GiB, 500107862016 bytes, 976773168 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x00080fa8
Disposit. Inicio Start Final Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 63 976768064 488384001 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 126 52436159 26218017 83 Linux
/dev/sda6 52436223 54540674 1052226 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda7 54540738 976768064 461113663+ 83 Linux
Disk /dev/sdb: 298,1 GiB, 320072933376 bytes, 625142448 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 43082D18-323A-4A1C-A3FC-29211AF16D5F
Disposit. Start Final Size Tipo
/dev/sdb1 40 409639 200M EFI System
/dev/sdb2 409640 624880263 297,8G Apple HFS/HFS+
sda is where all Arch stuff is and sdb is where all OS X stuff is.
I've tried to boot OS X from grub legacy (I don't like too much grub 2) but I'm no capable.
Here is my menu.lst
# Config file for GRUB - The GNU GRand Unified Bootloader
# /boot/grub/menu.lst
# DEVICE NAME CONVERSIONS
# Linux Grub
# /dev/fd0 (fd0)
# /dev/sda (hd0)
# /dev/sdb2 (hd1,1)
# /dev/sda3 (hd0,2)
# FRAMEBUFFER RESOLUTION SETTINGS
# +-------------------------------------------------+
# | 640x480 800x600 1024x768 1280x1024
# ----+--------------------------------------------
# 256 | 0x301=769 0x303=771 0x305=773 0x307=775
# 32K | 0x310=784 0x313=787 0x316=790 0x319=793
# 64K | 0x311=785 0x314=788 0x317=791 0x31A=794
# 16M | 0x312=786 0x315=789 0x318=792 0x31B=795
# +-------------------------------------------------+
# for more details and different resolutions see
# http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GRUB#Framebuffer_Resolution
# general configuration:
timeout 5
default 0
color light-blue/black light-cyan/blue
# boot sections follow
# each is implicitly numbered from 0 in the order of appearance below
# TIP: If you want a 1024x768 framebuffer, add "vga=773" to your kernel line.
# (0) Arch Linux
title Arch Linux
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda5 ro init=/usr/lib/systemd/systemd fastboot acpi_enforce_resources=lax
initrd /boot/kernel26.img
# (1) Arch Linux
title Arch Linux Fallback
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda5 ro
initrd /boot/kernel26-fallback.img
# (2) Arch Linux Bootchart
title Arch Linux Bootchart
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda5 ro init=/sbin/e4rat-preload fastboot logo.nologo quiet init=/sbin/bootchartd
initrd /boot/kernel26.img
# (3) Mac OS X
title Mac OS X
root (hd1,1)
makeactive
chainloader +1
I've tried with both (hd1,0) and (hd1,1), but they on't work
Any idea? As you can see I'm a newbie here
Thanks
Last edited by eherranzr (2014-04-07 15:34:26)

Inxsible wrote:
eherranzr wrote:Is there any way to boot a HDD with a GUID Partition Table (GPT) from grub legacy or I must upgrade to grub 2?
No grub legacy does not support GPT partitions as stated in the wiki. https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Gr … cessary.3F
try syslinux. its simpler than the mess that is grub2 (IMO, of course )
So, as I have read what I have to do is the following:
Install syslinux
Execute
# syslinux-install_update -i -a -m
for an "automatic" installation
Create and configure syslinux.cfg (I think I'll ask for some help here)
Make it graphical:
# cp /usr/lib/syslinux/bios/vesamenu.c32 /boot/syslinux/
Reboot
It should work like that. Am I right?

[SOLVED] UEFI system booting from MBR partition table and GRUB legacy

I'm trying to understand once and for all the process by which Arch can be booted from a system with UEFI firmware and an MBR partition table. Some of the information on the wiki seems conflictual / non-nonsensical at times. Apologies in advance if this has been answered time and time again, but I did search around and all I found was fixes to get Arch to boot rather than comprehensive explanations of the boot process.
Now, the way I would imagine it works is that it's just completely identical to the way it would work with a BIOS firmware. The UEFI firmware detects an MBR partitioning scheme (or is configured to know it's an MBR partitioning scheme), activates some "legacy" mode and executes the MBR boot code, just like a BIOS firmware would.
The wiki however, says different. From the Macbook article: "Do not install GRUB onto /dev/sda !!! Doing so is likely to lead to an unstable post-environment."?
So what is there in the MBR boot sector? Nothing?
How does the firmware know what to boot if there's no 0xEF BIOS boot partition and no Grub stage 1 in the MBR boot sector?
Also, how does installing Grub stage 1 to a partition work? Does it have to be at the beginning of the partition? Wouldn't that overwrite some existing data?
I'm especially puzzled since many guides to installing Vista on a macbook recommend simply formatting as MBR, and installing as normal, which I suppose entails having the Windows installation process write its boot code to the MBR, ie the equivalent of installing grub stage 1 to /dev/sda rather than to the /boot partition, as the Macbook article suggests.
Any input is appreciated.
P.S. I realize it's probably simpler, if I just want to dual boot Windows and Arch, to install Windows 7 in UEFI-GPT mode, let it create the EFI System Partition, and then install GRUB 2 to that partition, but I'm still curious about the UEFI-MBR boot process.
Last edited by padavoine (2012-06-06 09:35:10)

padavoine wrote:
CSM in UEFI firmwares do the exact same job as normal BIOS firmware.
So it's something specific to the Mac that it's able to boot from a partition's VBR while ignoring the MBR?
The reason that warning is given is because grub-legacy modifies more than just the MBR boot code region. It can overwrite some parts of GPT header.
Not true, the instruction is given in the context of an MBR format, not in the context of a GPT format, so there's nothing to overwrite and Stage 1.5 should be safely embeddable in the post-MBR gap.
In BIOS boot (normal case in non-UEFI firmwares or CSM in UEFI firmwares) does not read the partitition table (atleast it is supposed to be dumb in this regard), it simply launches whatever boot code exists in the 1st 440-byte of the MBR region.
So again, you're saying it's specific to the Mac UEFI that it lets you choose a partition whose VBR to load, regardless of what's in the MBR?
I haven't used Macs so I can't comment on Mac firmware behaviour. But normal BIOS firmwares (legacy and CSM) launch only the MBR boot code and not the partition boot code. We need some chainload capable boot manager in the MBR to launch the partition VBR.
grub-legacy does not know anything about GPT. So when you install grub-legacy to /dev/sda, it install the MBR boot code (stage1) and stage 1.5 code to the (supposed) post MBR gap. Since there is no actual post MBR gap in GPT (which has been taken over by the header and partition table), grub-legacy does not check for GPT and it assumes the post MBR gap actually exists which is invalid in case of GPT. grub-legacy embeds the stage 1.5 code in GPT header and table region (which grub assumes to be unused post MBR gap) and thus corrupts it.
0xEF is the MBR type code for UEFISYS partition. grub stage 1 (used in grub-legacy, not in grub2) is the 440-byte boot code stored in MBR for use in BIOS boot.
That's precisely my point: with neither proper executable code in the MBR (since grub was installed to a partition, not to the MBR) nor a UEFI system partition, what does the firmware default to, and how does it know what partition to boot from?
In that case it might fallback to UEFI Shell (if it exists) or give an error similar to the case where BIOS does not find any bootable code in 440-byte MBR region.
So even with bootcamp/CSM, the disk also needs to be MBR partitioned. So Macs use something called "Hybrid GPT/MBR" ( http://rodsbooks.com/gdisk/hybrid.html ) where the MBR table is synced to match the first 3 partitions in the GPT table.
I know what Bootcamp does, and that's not what I was referring to. I was referring to standalone Vista installs. I wasn't puzzled at the fact that they were using MBR, I was puzzled at the fact that contrary to the recommendations for the standalone Arch install on the wiki (with MBR partitioning, not GPT), they didn't do anything to try and prevent Windows from writing to the MBR.
You can't prevent Windows from overwriting the MBR region. You have to re-install the bootloader (grub2/syslinux etc.) after installing Windows. That is the reason why it is recommended to install Windows first and linux later.
Thats not true. I actually find it is much easier to install Windows UEFI-GPT using USB rather than a DVD.
I haven't done it since the only UEFI system I own has no DVD drive, but I was under the impression that it was simply a matter of choosing DVD UEFI boot in the firmware's boot menu.
format the USB as FAT32 and extract the iso to it. That it.
No, thats not it, precisely, it doesn't work out of the box with a standard Windows install USB, you need to fiddle around:
2.3 Extract bootmgfw.efi from [WINDOWS_x86_64_ISO]/sources/install.wim => [INSTALL.WIM]/1/Windows/Boot/EFI/bootmgfw.efi (using 7-zip aka p7zip for both the files), or copy it from C:\Windows\Boot\EFI\bootmgfw.efi from a working Windows x86_64 installation.
2.4 Copy the extracted bootmgfw.efi file to [MOUNTPOINT]/efi/microsoft/boot/bootmgfw.efi .
Most of the Windows isos already have /EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI file, so no need to extract the bootmgfw.efi file.
There is no difference between in BIOS booting in UEFI firmwares and BIOS booting with legacy firmware.
There has to be a difference, at least in the Mac firmware (sorry, I keep switching), since legacy firmware, AFAIK, cannot chainload a bootloader in a partition's VBR without there being some sort of "stage1" code in the MBR.
No idea about Mac EFI. Apple made a spagetti out of UEFI Spec. To actually understand how Mac firmwares work, read the blog posts by Matthew Garrett of Redhat, about his efforts in getting Fedora to boot in Macs.

Installing Grub and grub-legacy side by side

Hello, I have Grub installed already in my arch machine. I need to install grub-legacy. Is there any way to install grub-legacy and both grub at a time? it's not needed that grub-legacy is active.
I don't want grub-legacy active. I just want it to installed in my machine, If it's installed as another name no problem. Why i needed to install is for cross compilation. I am cross compiling for another Embedded system.

arungupta2008 wrote:Can we download grub-legacy src files and then install it manually? by changing the names of bin. As ubuntu have done?
In Arch you should be using PKGBUILDs to compile and install packages. You need to edit https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/gr/g … y/PKGBUILD and apart from moving the files, you have to remove
conflicts=('grub')
too.

/usr/bin changes and grub legacy

Hello,
Grub legacy is one of the packages that keeps its binaries in /sbin. I'm just wondering if this means that I have to replace grub legacy with another bootloader before I upgrade my system? I certainly wouldn't know how to update grub legacy so that the binaries are found in /usr/bin.
Thanks.

The reason to change to systemd is that the daemon scripts in /etc/rc.d are disappearing, as are hte /etc/conf.d stuff. It will break sooner or later (probably sooner) and I am actually really surprised it hasn't already. There is a reason why the news indicated that you should switch, as the old initscripts are not longer supported. That means more than just not getting updates, the files that make that work are slowly being pulled from the packages (and slowly in Arch is not very slow at all).
As for consolekit, it is an unmaintained piece of software. Its functionality has been replcaed by systemd's logind (quite successfully I mgith add) which is another reason why you should switch.
I'm not saying that you have to switch, as there are other alternatives out there that you could use. There is a whole thread on how to use openrc, and some stuff about using various other thigns as well, like runit or even the busybox init. But I have seen very little quality stuff in regard to maintenance of the old initscripts. Sticking with this is not something you should really want to do. I think in the end, you will end up with a much larger headache than simply ironing out any issues may have with moving to systemd.

Grub-Legacy-gfx on i686 system

Hi. I'm trying to install some eyecandy for grub (ie. a splash image on grub boot menu), but I'm having some problems. On wiki page https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Grub-Legacy-gfx it says that the grub-gfx package can be compiled on x86_64 architecture only with gcc-multilib. Now I managed to add multilib mirrors to mirrorlist and when I try to install gcc-multilib with
# pacman -S gcc-multilib
I get the following error:
error: failed to prepare transaction (package architecture is not valid)
:: package gcc-multilib-4.6.2-6-x86_64 does not have a valid architecture
I downloaded grub-gfx from AUR, and when I 'makepkg -S' on it, it ends with error:
patching file stage2/shared.h
patching file stage2/stage2.c
patching file stage2/term.h
==> ERROR: A failure occurred in build().
Aborting...
I don't know what to do next. Should I try maybe GRUB2, or simply give up on splash image in grub menu?

https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/gr/grub-gfx/PKGBUILD
It conflicts with grub / grub-legacy, so no, it's not possible to have them both, you need to pick one or the other. grub-gfx is a version of grub-legacy.
Why do you think you need grub2? At which point does it say anything about installing grub2?

Need help adding Arch to Grub

I am trying to dual boot Arch Linux and Ubuntu. When I try to boot there is no option for Arch. I have added it to the menu.lst file in ubuntu. Arch is installed on sdb1 according to sudo fdisk -l I need help!

Fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sda: 80.0 GB, 80026361856 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9729 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xb38ab38a
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 9544 76662148+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 9545 9729 1486012+ 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 9545 9729 1485981 82 Linux swap / Solaris
Disk /dev/sdb: 40.9 GB, 40992473088 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 4983 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x0002eb1f
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 1 4891 39286926 83 Linux
Disk /dev/sdc: 250.0 GB, 250059350016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000ea9be
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdc1 1 30401 244196001 7 HPFS/NTFS
I think Arch is on the 40GB partition
Menu.lst
# menu.lst - See: grub(8), info grub, update-grub(8)
# grub-install(8), grub-floppy(8),
# grub-md5-crypt, /usr/share/doc/grub
# and /usr/share/doc/grub-doc/.
## default num
# Set the default entry to the entry number NUM. Numbering starts from 0, and
# the entry number 0 is the default if the command is not used.
# You can specify 'saved' instead of a number. In this case, the default entry
# is the entry saved with the command 'savedefault'.
# WARNING: If you are using dmraid do not use 'savedefault' or your
# array will desync and will not let you boot your system.
default 0
## timeout sec
# Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry
# (normally the first entry defined).
timeout 0
## hiddenmenu
# Hides the menu by default (press ESC to see the menu)
hiddenmenu
# Pretty colours
#color cyan/blue white/blue
## password ['--md5'] passwd
# If used in the first section of a menu file, disable all interactive editing
# control (menu entry editor and command-line) and entries protected by the
# command 'lock'
# e.g. password topsecret
## password --md5 $1$gLhU0/$aW78kHK1QfV3P2b2znUoe/
# password topsecret
# examples
# title Windows 95/98/NT/2000
# root (hd0,0)
# makeactive
# chainloader +1
# title Linux
# root (hd0,1)
# kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro
# Put static boot stanzas before and/or after AUTOMAGIC KERNEL LIST
### 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
## DO NOT UNCOMMENT THEM, Just edit them to your needs
## ## Start Default Options ##
## default kernel options
## default kernel options for automagic boot options
## If you want special options for specific kernels use kopt_x_y_z
## where x.y.z is kernel version. Minor versions can be omitted.
## e.g. kopt=root=/dev/hda1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8=root=/dev/hdc1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8_2_686=root=/dev/hdc2 ro
# kopt=root=UUID=ce3a864f-3f72-480b-96b3-54516b307170 ro
## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=ce3a864f-3f72-480b-96b3-54516b307170
## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. alternative=true
## alternative=false
# alternative=true
## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. lockalternative=true
## lockalternative=false
# lockalternative=false
## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=quiet splash
## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options
## e.g. lockold=false
## lockold=true
# lockold=false
## Xen hypervisor options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenhopt=
## Xen Linux kernel options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenkopt=console=tty0
## altoption boot targets option
## multiple altoptions lines are allowed
## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options
## altoptions=(recovery) single
# altoptions=(recovery mode) single
## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst
## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the
## alternative kernel options
## e.g. howmany=all
## howmany=7
# howmany=all
## specify if running in Xen domU or have grub detect automatically
## update-grub will ignore non-xen kernels when running in domU and vice versa
## e.g. indomU=detect
## indomU=true
## indomU=false
# indomU=detect
## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option
## e.g. memtest86=true
## memtest86=false
# memtest86=true
## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system
## can be true or false
# updatedefaultentry=false
## should update-grub add savedefault to the default options
## can be true or false
# savedefault=false
## ## End Default Options ##
title Ubuntu 9.04
uuid ce3a864f-3f72-480b-96b3-54516b307170
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-11-generic root=UUID=ce3a864f-3f72-480b-96b3-54516b307170 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-11-generic
quiet
#title Ubuntu 9.04, kernel 2.6.28-11-generic (recovery mode)
#uuid ce3a864f-3f72-480b-96b3-54516b307170
#kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-11-generic root=UUID=ce3a864f-3f72-480b-96b3-54516b307170 ro single
#initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-11-generic
#title Ubuntu 9.04, memtest86+
#uuid ce3a864f-3f72-480b-96b3-54516b307170
#kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
#quiet
# (0) Arch Linux
title Arch Linux
root (hd1,0)
kernel /vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda3 ro
initrd /kernel26.img
### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
title Arch
rootnoverify (hd0,1)
chainloader +1

How to Restore Arch's grub after Ubuntu install to 2nd disk

I installed Ubuntu to sdb after installing Arch to sda. Ubuntu was installed with LVM, though Arch does not use LVM.
I want to wipe out ubuntu now, but it seems to be in control of my boot process, and as a newb, I'm not quite sure how that process transpires. I have read the Grub article on Arch's Wiki site, but that doensn't help me.
After booting into Arch and running:
# grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
and then rebooting, I still have the Ubuntu Grub menu on the next boot. My Arch /etc/default/grub is the same one that I used before installing Ubuntu - I'm not concerned about adding Ubuntu to the menu, so that's not an issue.
What do I need to do to get Arch back in control of the boot process?
Thanks in advance!

Kilz wrote:Here is an option in case you cant figure it out. Rename the /boot directory in the ubuntu install and copy the /boot directory from Arch in its place. Reboot, if everything works fine delete everything in the Ubuntu partition but /boot. Rename the /boot directory in the Arch install then shrink the ubuntu partition and mount it in the arch install as /boot. in the end you will just have a separate boot partition that will take up little space.
Thanks again. I finally got it working, but via a different, somewhat convoluted route.
I screwed things up and ended up with only a grub prompt at boot. Following instructions found online, I was able to boot my arch disk (sda), then ran grub-install and grub-mkconfig. The install ran without errors (as before) but grub-mkconfig reported errors. I had been disregarding these errors, because I thought they were related to the custom font and background in my /etc/default/grub file, and another source explained that I could ignore errors when setting fonts and background there (not sure if that source was reliable). But one of the errors on grub-mkinstall reported it couldn't find device.map. There was no device.map in /boot/grub.
Also of note, I had renamed the old /boot/grub/grub.cfg and left the /boot/grub directory without a proper grub.cfg file - probably why I got a grub menu at boot!
In the end, I created a device.map in /boot/grub/ and re-ran grub-mkconfig, but still got an error. So I commented out the font and background lines in /etc/default/grub and also renamed my old backup /boot/grub/grub.cfg-backup to the proper "grub.cfg", then re-ran grub-mkconfig. This time there were not errors reported from grub-mkconfig and with a quick glance at the contents, I was able to figure out that the menu entries looked good.
I was able to reboot with the appropriate arch menu at this point! While I'm not sure which step "fixed" my problem, I wanted to at least record my steps here for future users - perhaps one of the options above will help someone else. Worth mentioning is that the ubuntu (sdb) drive was LVM, and I think that might have played into some of my difficulties, but I'm not sure about that.
The device.map that I created looked like this, where sda is my arch disk and sdb is the ubuntu installation (still not sure if it is needed, though):
(hd0) /dev/sda
(hd1) /dev/sdb
Last edited by stringchopper (2013-02-14 08:38:52)

What's wrong with my Arch linux grub bootup/FSTAB? [Solved]

So ever since I did a fresh install of Arch Linux, every time it boots up and I select the Grub option it says "A start job is running for /dev/drive/" and shortly after it says timed out and continues onto the login screen as normal.
I have two drives, Windows is on the other one and on the Linux one I have just two partitions, root and swap.
I've tried to do a couple of things such as creating another grub option and setting the root to that ID however it still seems to be occurring. It seems to me that it keeps changing because sometimes when I boot it doesn't do it but it is very rare that it doesn't do the start job.
How can I permanently make the GRUB2 menu boot the correct drive and partitions, both root{ext4} and swap without it having to run a start job every time I boot it up?
Last edited by Developer (2015-04-09 19:02:42)

WorMzy wrote:
Note that sda,sdb,sdc... names are assigned on a first-come, first-served, per boot basis, so they are not ideal for use in your fstab. Instead, you should use UUIDs or labels.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Pe … ice_naming
The problem is back, the drive names keep changing, how can I use UUID's for the fstab?
I saw something about UUID's above each drive name however, they were commented out. Do I replace the drive name part with the UUID for every drive, so for example:
/dev/sdb1 / ext4 rw,relatime,discard,data=ordered
to
UUID=b411dc99-f0a0-4c87-9e05-184977be8539 /home ext4 rw,relatime,discard,data=ordered
Or do I just uncomment the UUID part? which would leave me with something along the lines of:
UUID=b411dc99-f0a0-4c87-9e05-184977be8539
/dev/sdb1 / ext4 rw,relatime,discard,data=ordered

Recovering Arch from Grub prompt (GRUB4DOS)

Long story short, I needed to install Windows 8 with my Arch already installed, wiping out the bootloader (I don't get what actually happens so I might be wrong here on the technical side).
I've tried different methods, from using programs like EasyBCD to command-line work (detailed here https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php … #p1344396), and I've reached the conclusion that perhaps I need to work on the GRUB prompt itself. As described in that link, I might have been on to something with
root (hd0, 2)
setup (hd0)
except that the command setup cannot be found.
Also, I'd like to point out that sometimes my computer boots into a black-and-white list (kinda like GRUB), and sometimes it uses the metro-style "Choose an Operating System", the one with the light blue background.
Any help please? I'd just like to get my Arch setup back.
Last edited by jddantes (2013-11-06 11:56:37)

I ran it again, and it showed other devices:
Boot Info Script 0.61 [1 April 2012]
============================= Boot Info Summary: ===============================
=> Syslinux MBR (4.04 and higher) is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda.
=> Syslinux MBR (4.04 and higher) is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb.
sda1: __________________________________________________________________________
File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7: NTFS
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files: /bootmgr /Boot/BCD
sda2: __________________________________________________________________________
File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7: NTFS
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files: /bootmgr /Windows/System32/winload.exe
sda3: __________________________________________________________________________
File system: ext4
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System:
Boot files:
sdb1: __________________________________________________________________________
File system: vfat
Boot sector type: SYSLINUX 4.04 2011-04-18
Boot sector info: Syslinux looks at sector 1053216 of /dev/sdb1 for its
second stage. SYSLINUX is installed in the directory.
The integrity check of the ADV area failed. No errors
found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files: /syslinux/syslinux.cfg /ldlinux.sys
============================ Drive/Partition Info: =============================
Drive: sda _____________________________________________________________________
Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders, total 312581808 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Partition Boot Start Sector End Sector # of Sectors Id System
/dev/sda1 * 2,048 718,847 716,800 7 NTFS / exFAT / HPFS
/dev/sda2 718,848 155,650,047 154,931,200 7 NTFS / exFAT / HPFS
/dev/sda3 155,650,048 228,614,143 72,964,096 83 Linux
Drive: sdb _____________________________________________________________________
Disk /dev/sdb: 7731 MB, 7731314688 bytes
237 heads, 1 sectors/track, 63714 cylinders, total 15100224 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Partition Boot Start Sector End Sector # of Sectors Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 2,048 15,099,903 15,097,856 b W95 FAT32
"blkid" output: ________________________________________________________________
Device UUID TYPE LABEL
/dev/loop0 squashfs
/dev/sda1 2A7699B97699866B ntfs System Reserved
/dev/sda2 7044B3C644B38CFA ntfs
/dev/sda3 31df11a9-14a7-44f7-80c9-763ee40106c5 ext4 LFS Partition
/dev/sdb1 8E5A-F18E vfat MYLINUXLIVE
================================ Mount points: =================================
Device Mount_Point Type Options
/dev/loop0 /rofs squashfs (ro,noatime)
/dev/sdb1 /cdrom vfat (ro,noatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro)
=================== sda3: Location of files loaded by Grub: ====================
GiB - GB File Fragment(s)
= boot/grub/stage2 1
========================= sdb1/syslinux/syslinux.cfg: ==========================
# D-I config version 2.0
include menu.cfg
default vesamenu.c32
prompt 0
timeout 300
ui gfxboot bootlogo
================= sdb1: Location of files loaded by Syslinux: ==================
GiB - GB File Fragment(s)
?? = ?? ldlinux.sys 1
?? = ?? syslinux/chain.c32 1
?? = ?? syslinux/gfxboot.c32 1
?? = ?? syslinux/syslinux.cfg 1
?? = ?? syslinux/vesamenu.c32 1
============== sdb1: Version of COM32(R) files used by Syslinux: ===============
syslinux/chain.c32 : COM32R module (v4.xx)
syslinux/gfxboot.c32 : COM32R module (v4.xx)
syslinux/vesamenu.c32 : COM32R module (v4.xx)
=============================== StdErr Messages: ===============================
awk: cmd. line:36: Math support is not compiled in
./bootinfoscript: line 1646: [: 2.73495e+09: integer expression expected
No volume groups found

Adding a GRUB2 distro to Arch's GRUB Legacy

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