MULTI-BOOT...What is BEST?

[Sleeping Dog]

In the real world of multi-boot systems, what is the best utility to use and how do we use it?  Many of us have to run Windorks and such, but we would like to know how to set up our boxes to boot other OS's too.  Some of us might even have Power PC's and want MAC app's available too.  Some of us have MAC's that run PC apps.  Some of us want to experiment witn old and new boxes.  I like to use DrDOS as a diagnostic utility.

Which multi-boot option lets one pick, chooze, and even maybe multi-(OS)-task on a desktop box?

Inquiring minds want to know...

(Imagine this - Martha Stewart eating prison food.)

Sleeping Dog

[Calum]

well, i have found lilo to be adequate for my needs, and a lot of people use grub, which has more options than lilo and can be reconfigured on the fly, so i hear. Both of those can be set up using a point and click GUI while installing mandrake (which can be done on either a mac or an x86), and with many other distros too.

To properly configure your bootloader though, you'll want to get out your trusty text editor and go for it.

Here's a page about using the windows bootloader

Here's a page about using LiLo

Here's a page about using GRUB

And here's one about using loadlin to dual boot DOS and GNU/Linux.

Hope that's useful!

VoidMain would be the one to talk to about running multiple systems at once, i take it he does it all the time.

[ July 02, 2002: Message edited by: Calum ]

[voidmain]

I would have chimed in but he said he wants to do this on a PPC.  I don't have any experience dual booting on a PPC (the onlything I've ever run on a PPC is AIX).  I don't know if LILO and GRUB will work on it but I prefer using a combination of LILO as the primary boot loader and the boot loaders that come with the other OSs.  For instance, if I select "Windows" at the LILO boot menu and I have NT and Win98 also on the system, it will bring up NTs boot menu where I can then select NT or 98 etc.  However, I now use VMware mostly rather than "multi" booting so I have no need for a boot menu, I can run them all at the same time.

[Sleeping Dog]

Presently, the box that I would like to multi-boot has Red Hat 7.1, Win 98SE and DrDOS 7.x on it.  It is my utility and diagnostics box that I use for testing cards, drives, etc.

I may be inheireting a PPC soon if my client buys the RAID box that I have bid on building for him.  The PPC is about four years old and he says that he hates it.  That is all that I know about it (other than the fact that his primary hard drive crashed last week).

Sleeping Dog

[Sleeping Dog]

By the way, Calum, Void Man,.........thank you for the info.

Sleeping Dog

[Sleeping Dog]

You guys have given me a great idea.  Previously I have been taking old junk boxes, loading Linux on them and giving them to needy kids.  Maybe I could start giving these revitalized systems to old folks too!  What the Hell do they care about OS anyway.....they just want to share email and pictures of their grandkids with their friends.  Besides, can you imagine how it will chap the asses of their kids and grandkids when the little farts find out that granny is running a Linux box?

Lock and load.......

Sleeping Dog

[Calum]

i actually think you're onto something there. Here's Microsoft hammerring away at the kids' market, linux could be going for the 'older' and 'elderly' market, with a lot less effort, and due to its hacker mysticism, many kids would be put to shame and switch to linux themselves!

[Bazoukas]

LOLOLOL That would be so fucking funny.

 Kid with an attitude-"Hey grandma everything ok with your computer"?
 
  Grandma-"Yeah i have some free time on my hands. I think i will recompile the kenrel"

 Kid with a very fuked up look on his face as if earth's gravity increased 5000%- "recompile? The what? Uhhh is that a cookie recipe or something?"

[creedon]

Personal preference: GRUB.  I'm using it to quad-boot Win98, Debian "Woody", Libranet 2.0 and Debian "sid".  Easy configuration, reliable, free, open source; what more could you want?