[clug] separate boot partition?

[Rodney Peters]

On Fri, 29 Apr 2011 04:00:03 linux-request at lists.samba.org wrote:
> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2011 15:15:53 +1000
> From: Michael James <clug3 at james.st>
> To: linux at lists.samba.org
> Subject: [clug] separate boot partition?
> Message-ID: <201104281515.53122.clug3 at james.st>
> Content-Type: Text/Plain;  charset="us-ascii"
> 
> Is there ANY reason to still have boot in a separate partition?
> 
> In the dark ages of BIOSs that couldn't understand
>  deep disk geometry, it protected you when upgrading kernels.
> 
it's still necessary when GRUB is the the bootloader and is unable to 
read the root filesystem.  btrfs is an example.  GRUB 0.9x can't read 
it and is not being further developed.  GRUB 2 can't read it (yet ?)

With GRUB 0.9x it is also a lot simpler to have a separate boot 
partition when the root filesystem is on LVM.

> Even after that, installs with a separate boot partition
>  hibernated and resumed faster for some reason.
> 
> Nowadays Ubuntu wants to store every kernel it ever ran
>  and my 64 Meg boot partitions are looking very yesterday.
> 
> Are they?
> 
> TIA, michaelj
> 
> 
> 
> PS: When setting up a dual boot system,
>  I like slipping a little ext2 boot/grub partition
>  in front of the Windows NTFS partition.
> Windows can't read it, so it doesn't get upset,
>  and leaves me cleanly* in control** of the boot process.
> 
> Is this a reason to still have a boot partition?
> 
I also like the grub partition of a few MiB.  Something I can fall 
back to if some misbehaving distro takes control of the boot process, 
but does not identify all bootable systems.

The bootloader on this little partition can be completely self-
contained with Grub 0.9x and can be maintained from a rescue CD - not 
so with GRUB 2, which must execute configuration procedures from a 
running OS, on a different partition.
 
> 
> 
> *Cleanly: Lack of use and bit-rot mean the Windows system
>  is usually broken, so I insist on being able to fire Linux
>  withOUT depending on anything Windows.
> 
> **In control: I have the satisfaction of labeling Windows,
>  "Endless Frustration" in grub, providing due warning to all.

Rod