Dual Boot Problem - Linux BootLoaders

[Tim Frost]

> Grub is supposed to autoconfigure, but the last three kernel updates 
> leaded to misconfiguration of the /boot/grub/menu.lst, and the first to 
> a kernel panic (I put a glance at the file before rebooting, the other 
> times) and this, on two different machines/kernel versions (a k7 and a 686).
> 
> The root and kernel lign came with:
> 
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
> 
> root            (hd0,6)
> kernel          /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-9-686 root=/dev/hda8 ro quiet
> 
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
> instead of root=/dev/hda7

Do you have a separate /boot partition?
My disk has:
tim at marvin:~$ sudo fdisk -l

Disk /dev/hda: 200.0 GB, 200049647616 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 24321 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/hda1               1          12       96358+  83  Linux
/dev/hda2              13        7307    58597087+  83  Linux
/dev/hda3            7308       24321   136664955    5  Extended
/dev/hda5            7308       15209    63472783+  83  Linux
/dev/hda6           15210       23719    68356543+  83  Linux
/dev/hda7           23720       24321     4835533+  82  Linux swap /
Solaris
tim at marvin:~$ mount
/dev/hda2 on / type ext3 (rw,errors=remount-ro)
/dev/hda1 on /boot type ext3 (rw)
/dev/hda5 on /home type ext3 (rw)
/dev/hda6 on /var type ext3 (rw)


and grub has:
title		Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.12-9-386 
root		(hd0,0)
kernel		/vmlinuz-2.6.12-9-386 root=/dev/hda2 ro quiet splash
initrd		/initrd.img-2.6.12-9-386
savedefault
boot

This means that grub is operating inside the /boot partition /dev/hda1 =
(hd0,0), but loading /dev/hda2 as the file system root directory.
> 
> what a fun! :(
> I keep erasing the 'splash' line, it puts it back each time, too.

You may be able to eliminate the "splash" from new kernels, by changing
the line 
	# nonaltoptions=quiet splash

to read as follows:
	# nonaltoptions=quiet 

(This works because the options in that commented line are copied to
each linux stanza created during a kernel upgrade.)

Of course, you still need to remove the "splash" option from the
existing kernel entries, since that line is only used when a new kernel
is installed.

> 
> That's why I would consider studying Lilo further, and experiment. Why not ?
> a '/sbin/lilo' after a kernel update is not a big deal to invoke after 
> all. Do anyone know and use it ?
> Thanks, and best greetings, Joyce Markoll.
> 
>