StanLin
11-18-2001, 09:49 AM
With GRUB, is it possible to install Linux first and then install Windows?
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bdg1983
11-19-2001, 02:59 AM
If you don't install Grub in the MBR, then yes.
bigrigdriver
11-19-2001, 11:59 AM
Here's a little more information.
Windows will write to the MBR when it is installed. If GRUB is there, it will be overwritten, and you won't be able to boot your Linux partition. So, set up your partitions for Linux and Windows. When you install Linux, make sure that GRUB writes to the boot sector of the Linux partition, and not to the MBR. When you install Windows, you will be able to boot Windows; not Linux. To get around this problem, when you install Linux, and before you install Windows, make a GRUB boot floppy which will contain stages 1 and 2 of GRUB, and the GRUB menu.lst (see the GRUB documentation for how to make the boot floppy). Test the boot floppy to make certain it works (shutdown, insert the floppy, and power up: if GRUB boots into your Linux partition, you can install Windows and still boot Linux). After the Windows install, boot into the Linux partition, and reinstall GRUB to the MBR, edit the /boot/grub/menu.lst to show you both your Linux and Windows OS's. From then on, when you power up, GRUB will be the bootloader, and the GRUB menu will show you both OS's.
To set the default system to boot into, either set the default= line to 0 or 1 (zero for the first OS in the menu, 1 for the second OS), or set default=0, and edit the menu.lst to put you choice of default in the first position in the menu.
See also www.calderasystems.com: (http://www.calderasystems.com:) click on support/knowledge base and run a search for grub. There's an article called "Zen and the Art of Using Grub" which will be very helpful to you.
Windows will write to the MBR when it is installed. If GRUB is there, it will be overwritten, and you won't be able to boot your Linux partition. So, set up your partitions for Linux and Windows. When you install Linux, make sure that GRUB writes to the boot sector of the Linux partition, and not to the MBR. When you install Windows, you will be able to boot Windows; not Linux. To get around this problem, when you install Linux, and before you install Windows, make a GRUB boot floppy which will contain stages 1 and 2 of GRUB, and the GRUB menu.lst (see the GRUB documentation for how to make the boot floppy). Test the boot floppy to make certain it works (shutdown, insert the floppy, and power up: if GRUB boots into your Linux partition, you can install Windows and still boot Linux). After the Windows install, boot into the Linux partition, and reinstall GRUB to the MBR, edit the /boot/grub/menu.lst to show you both your Linux and Windows OS's. From then on, when you power up, GRUB will be the bootloader, and the GRUB menu will show you both OS's.
To set the default system to boot into, either set the default= line to 0 or 1 (zero for the first OS in the menu, 1 for the second OS), or set default=0, and edit the menu.lst to put you choice of default in the first position in the menu.
See also www.calderasystems.com: (http://www.calderasystems.com:) click on support/knowledge base and run a search for grub. There's an article called "Zen and the Art of Using Grub" which will be very helpful to you.
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