linux and xp

Hi All,

First, is there a separate group for GRUB?

Second, I know how to configure LILO, but not grub. I have an XP box with
Linux on it. The XP is there just in case I have to reboot and run some ASP
code that we have. But I want the system to default boot into Linux.

For the moment, I have a boot floppy that'll boot me into Linux, but it
takes forever to read the floopy and get booted up. Besides, sometimes
smartass (I haven't figured out who yet) at the office pops the disk out and
then don't pop it back in despite a large sign that says SERVER - DO NOT
TOUCH. I want the boot loader to give the the option of booting either into
Linux or Windows.

I already read the howto on getting the xp boot loader to go into Linux.
Can I instead have GRUB on the boot loader, and if so how?

Also, if I wanted to remove XP from the boot loader altogether, what do I
do? For instance, if I wanted to replace XP with Win 98 coz it has a
smaller footprint, how do I do it? XP won't let me remove it.

Thanks,
Z

Hi,

first of all, you are on the wrong NG. This is about networking and not
boot managers.

> I already read the howto on getting the xp boot loader to go into Linux.
> Can I instead have GRUB on the boot loader, and if so how?

Anyways, i have Win2K and Debian on my box using the NT bootloader of
2k to boot into both OSs. You can do similar things with XP
(since it has the same bootloader mechanism).
Why not use it? You can set Linux as the default OS to boot....

If you really don't like the XP loader, GRUB would be ok.
I think the following article is a good point to start:

http://portal.suse.com/sdb/en/2002/0..._overview.html

> Also, if I wanted to remove XP from the boot loader altogether, what do I
> do? For instance, if I wanted to replace XP with Win 98 coz it has a
> smaller footprint, how do I do it? XP won't let me remove it.

Ok, the Win2K bootloader (and the XP boot loader as well akaik), reads
the BOOT.INI (usually in C:\) where the boot entries are specified.
You can edit this file with any text editor to make the changes you want.
Including the removal of the XP entry. But you have to know about the
syntax.
Take care of file attributes. It is set to read only and system file.
Remove these attribs before editing and restore them afterwards.

Ok, if you want another Win to be installed, do this before you install grub.
Win usually doesn't care about installed bootloaders but puts its own
version in the MBR of your disc.
So i advice you to install Windows, boot into linux with your FDD and
then install grub (also into the MBR).

HTH

Ralf