name=Matthew%20Campbell&email=trenix25%40pm.me -------- Original Message -------- On Jun 12, 2020, 11:46 PM, David Christensen < dpchr...@holgerdanske.com> wrote:
On 2020-06-12 17:58, Matthew Campbell wrote: > I hope I don't create a fight with this. > > I booted the Debian netinst disc and installed Linux on /dev/sdb1 as the root > partition. My computer is old. Computer make and model? Processor? RAM module quantity, size, and slot? HDD makes, models, interfaces, and sizes? Optical drive supported media? Toshiba Satellite laptop, possibly P19 or P190, something like that. I don't remember and can't find it. enp10s8 10-baseT ethernet wlp3s0 2.4 & 5 GHz wifi adapter (uses nonfree firmware package, already downloaded) Intel Centrino Core 2 CPU T5200 @ 1.60 GHz 2048 MB of RAM, type & number of pins unknown, laptop profile /dev/sda: Toshiba MK1234GS, 111.8 GiB (Internal) /dev/sr0: MATSHITADVD-RAM UJ-850S , DVD R/W (Internal IDE) /dev/sdb: Toshiba External USB 3.0 3.7 TiB /dev/sdc: PNY 32 USB 2.0 FD 28.9 GiB System BIOS version: V3.30 UUID: C08D94F8158FD811815F001636D1AA94 Memory: 640 kB + 2047 MB > The system BIOS does not see this hard drive, nor does Grub, but the Linux > kernel does. Please post the BIOS/CMOS Setup configuration variable names, available options, and current values for anything related to drives, boot order, etc.. Boot order: CD/DVD PNY USB 2.0 FD - (USB 2.0) TOSHIBA MK1234GSXIDE S WD 2500BMV Eternal - (USB 2.0) FDD (Not present) LAN (Not configured) > I'm running the 4.19.0-9-686-pae kernel, #1 SMP Debian 4.19.118-2 and Buster > 10.4.0. > > The installation program tried to set up Grub on /dev/sda, but since Grub > cannot see /dev/sdb the system gets stuck in rescue mode. It sees two hard > drives hd0 and hd1, but says both have unknown filesystems. I had to install > Linux on a 32 GB USB flash drive just to get my computer to boot. Now I can > boot Windows again too. The flash drive is _really_ slow. Which device (/dev/sda or /dev/sdb) is Windows and which is Debian? Windows Vista factory installed on /dev/sda2 (Boot flag active) (Only Windows) Debian Linux installed on /dev/sdb1 (Could not set the boot flag) (Only Linux) Where do the names 'hd0' and 'hd1' come from? Grub when booting /dev/sda. Grub enters rescue mode. Used ls. What is the make and model of your USB flash drive? Answered above. Are you using a USB 2.0 port or a USB 3.0 port? All USB ports are USB 2.0. > Grub has /dev/sdb1 listed as an option, but says the disk does not exist and > to load the kernel first, which of course is on the new hard drive partition > /dev/sdb1 which I can access just fine after starting the kernel. The catch > is that I have to boot the flash drive /dev/sdc1 to do so thus making it the > root filesystem. I have always installed GRUB to a drive device node -- e.g. /dev/sda -- and never to a partition device node -- e.g. /dev/sdb1. How do you boot the USB flash drive? Plugged it in and booted. Uses DOS MBR. /dev/sdc1 set to active. Uses ext4. > 1) How can I help Grub see and use /dev/sdb1 ? What you are attempting is called "dual-boot". I avoid that. I install one small SSD in each computer and install one operating system. My servers have large HDD's in RAID. One server has the bulk of my data (download, music, pictures, video, etc.). I installed Samba and use it as a file server for my LAN. > 2) Can I create a CD or USB flash drive with which to boot the computer so it > loads the kernel and mounts /dev/sdb1 as the root file system? That is possible, but the above is better. > 3) How long is my flash drive likely to last? Will it wear out as I continue > to use it? Will reading from it damage it, or just writing to it? I use SanDisk Ultra Fit USB 3.0 16 GB flash drives for live drives. I have also used them as system drives in the past. I like the small form factor that does not stick out (and get broken off), but they run hot and are not very fast. The interactive user experience can be choppy, especially if multiple processes write to the flash drive at the same time. None have died yet, but macOS Time Machine smoked (!) a 128 GB drive after about a year. > 4) How exactly does Grub work? What is the process, step by step? > How do I configure Grub to do what I want? > The installation program seems determined to do everything its own way. I set up my machines so that the system drive is /dev/sda. I configure the Debian Installer to install GRUB there. If you want to learn more about GRUB: 1. Enter the command 'apropos grub' and then read the listed manual pages. man: command not found Therefore no man -k 2. Read the Debian Installation Guide: https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/installmanual I'll check that out. Thanks you. 3. Use a search engine to find additional information, such as the GRUB project site: https://www.gnu.org/software/grub/ Thanks. 4. Read the source code. Source code? That will take a while. Likely thousands of lines of code to cover everything related to Grub. > Thank you for your assistance in these matters. YW. :-) David
