[clug] Grubbing around

[Keith Sayers]

On Sunday 10 July 2011 in response to my enquiry Freds suggested :
 
> If a grub guru doesn't provide a solution, I would do a minimal install of
> Ubuntu by shrinking the last partition.
> 2Gb should be plenty if you don't intend to use it
> It should install grub with all your operating systems listed.

	That sounds most promising.  There is ample room on the drive.  That first partition 
is 31Mb and I have somehow left an unallocated 8Mb at the far end.  Now that I know just 
how large a partition each component needs I could do a more sensible allocation and 
certainly provide 2Gb in the first one - but what constitutes a 'minimal install', please?  
Could I do that from a Kubuntu 10.4 CD?

While Gordon C opened up a whole new play area with :

> Recently been trying to fix problems myself (for multiple Linux OS).
> Used the "dd" command in the manner similar to below:
>  dd if=/dev/hda of=mbrcontent bs=1 count=512

	Fascinating!  So far I have used only cp for moving files but dd offers many more 
possibilities - apparently I could turn them round, inside out, upside down, etc?  
Seriously though it obviously has promise but I had better read myself into it and then go 
slow and careful.

While a sagacious Steve Jenkin counselled :

> I think this is grub2 in kubuntu 10.04, not 'classic grub'.
> [Keith: is it a more recent version kubuntu?]

	I have assumed Grub2 - it came from a month-old download of Kubuntu10.4.

> Keith uses a set of removable drives, IDE/ATA (not SATA) drive caddies
> which are loaded into two drive bays.
> He doesn't have a permanently mounted (fixed) drive in his system.

	Not quite - the SATA drive is 'fixed' in the sense that it is inside the box, not in a 
tray.  I plan for this to be my main systems drive.

> I think he wants to make the consolidated drive multi-boot.

	Correct - it would contain all the other systems I might occasionally need and 
thereby become the only alternate to the SATA drive.

> In 'classic grub', ....  need to get an MBR + efs filesystem + /boot/grub/menu.conf on   
> the target drive AND then modify menu.conf for the new device numbers.

	Had not seen menu.conf - I will have a look for it - therein could be this 
recalcitrant UUID entry.

> With 'grub2', I just don't know.
> Anyone experienced in this sort of shuffle?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keith Sayers                                                       keiths at apex.net.au
6 Clambe Place
CHARNWOOD, ACT 2615,
Australia                                            http://www/apex.net.au/~keiths
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------