THE PROBLEM
=============
The problem about boot loaders in a multi distribution environment is
the grub configurations being overlapped.
Imagined this partition layout:
part 1: windows
part 2: ubuntu
part 3: debian
If you install first windows, then ubuntu and then debian is great
possible that debian makes its menu.lst be the default one.
It can also have the correct lines for booting ubuntu or it might have
not them.
I suppose that there is more complication when you run the update-grub
command when a kernel has been updated.
THE DISCUSSION
================
When there are multiple distros I've been regularly astonished of the
ones that advice of copy-and-paste lines from other menu.lst and add it
to your current one. And they are people that not even use
copy-and-paste and advice to add the lines by hand.
I think the problem is here is that no one knows that a command called
configfile exists.
In my computer I have 4 menu.lst and I have not used the configfile
approach. I have installed grub in the distros' partition and also in
the mbr which is associated with a grub installed on a /boot partition.
Disk /dev/sda: 137.4 GB, 137437871104 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 16709 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 1275 10241406 c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/sda2 1276 1287 96390 83 Linux (/BOOT)
/dev/sda3 1288 3719 19535040 83 Linux (DEBIAN)
/dev/sda4 3720 16709 104342175 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 3720 15147 91795378+ 83 Linux (/HOME)
/dev/sda6 15148 16166 8185086 83 Linux (FEDORA)
/dev/sda7 16167 16198 257008+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda8 16199 16709 4104576 83 Linux(TEST DISTROS)
THE SOLUTION
=============
I think that if grub2 is going to have scripting and so many new
features we should take advantage of them and change the way computers
do boot.
#1) All Linux installers should set or reuse a ext2 partition next to
the windows one as a /boot one where grub2 is installed.
#2) /boot/grub/
will have a new folder called:
/boot/grub/menu/
which will be filled with .cfg files from the different distros that
are installed in a computer.
As an example ubuntu installed on /dev/sda2 should have a
ubuntu-sda2.cfg file in there.
#3) grub2 should include tools to deal with this .cfg files from the
linux environment.
#4) /boot/grub/grub2.cfg will be used for determining which of the .cfg
files inside /boot/grub/menu is the default one and which it is the
timeout for it.
(If only one .cfg file is found then timeout is 0).
#5) The problems that happened when a distro had been patched for doing
one thing or another one will not exist. Why? Because distros can take
advantage of the modules in order to add its own enhacements to grub2.
#6) /boot/grub/grub2.cfg security should be enhanced.
What are your thoughts about this idea?
adrian15
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