Configuring GRUB to triple boot (Suse, Vista, XP)

I'm new to Linux, however I have installed and tried out several distributions for few days at a time over the past few years. My latest tryout is openSuse 10.2 .

Right now I have GRUB configured to boot Suse and Vista + XP. Vista loader takes care of booting XP . I'm wondering if I can have 2 separate options in GRUB to directly boot Vista and XP instead of going through two levels of boot menus (first select Vista loader then select XP or Vista again).

 

Hmm... how's your partition table set up? Or do you know? If Windows XP is your first partition, you might be stuck with the two layers of menus (one of my systems is set up in this manner). If Vista is your first partition, you can probably do something about it.

Before I type out instructions, can you answer the above question?

Thanks.

- Trip

 

1.DELL Utility (Primary partition)/FAT
2.Vista (Primary partition)/NTFS
Extended partitions
...3.XP (Logical)/NTFS
...4.Data (Logical)/NTFS
...5.Data (Logical)/NTFS
...6.Linux SWP/SWP
...7.Linux root/ EX3
...8.Linux data/ EX3

 

Hmmm...

Okay, try this for me. When you get to the GRUB screen, press C. (Or follow any instructions that appear on the screen to get you to the command line) At the prompt, enter these commands:

root (hd0,4)
chainloader +1
boot

If XP starts, then I've got the correct command for GRUB figured out. If it does not, then try changing the number in the first command. It should be 4 if I recall correctly, but if not it could also be 2 or 3 maybe.

If it does not work... on my system it just hangs and it's safe to hold the power button in order to shut the system off.

- Trip

 

If Vista's boot process is anything like Win2K/XP, it chains through a saved copy of the "other" bootblock. GRUB can do exactly the same thing.

What's the BOOT.INI file on Windows look like?

Schwab

 

It's not. I'm not sure how dissimilar it is, but I know it doesn't use boot.ini anymore. I don't think NTLDR is used either, having been replaced with Winload.

I'm not sure whether or not it does what you're describing. On my system that I'm triple booting, XP is my first partition, Vista's my third, (/boot is second) and BOOTMGR is sitting at the beginning of /dev/hda1. It's completely impossible for me to boot XP without going through BOOTMGR, and Vista won't boot at all without going through it.

- Trip

 

Sorry, I was busy yesterday so couldn’t check the forum.

I tried root(hd0,4), root(hd0,3) and root(hd0,2) all three gave me the same Vista boot loader with menu options to boot either Vista or XP.

Yes, Vista doesn’t use the boot.ini, instead it uses a special file named BCD (Boot Configuration Data) located under SystemDrive\Boot directory.

 

Vista sucks..... Why dont u have only XP?
That microsoft imitation of grub/lilo boot loader BCD sucks alot...
I have a few problems because u cant (i dont find a way to edit bcd options... ) configure boot options...
U are trying to boot a logical partition, so it is not the same way like a primary (i think....).
In your partition table u have 2 primary an d the rest are logical right?

If u try boot from a logical, it goes first to the extended and load the vista boot loader...
Do u have xp partition mounted in fstab? There u know the hda number partition. Maybe 4 like tripinva says.. but what is the number of the extended partition? hda3?

In the worse case Vista destroy the boot.ini of the xp partition so it will be always stuck to bcd.... microsoft does this things sometimes.....

 

hmm, can you actually put grub in the MBR, and still run Vista? I'd heard some nasty rumors that Vista would always overwrite the MBR with its own boot loader...