[Mageia-dev] Grub2 vs. Grub Legacy in M3

[Felix Miata]

On 2013-01-28 19:27 (GMT) Barry Jackson composed:

> Grub2 can install it's kernel in the root filesystem which can be booted
> directly. Installing the grub2 package, whether during install or later
> automatically builds /boot/grub/i386-pc/core.img and also creates a
> grub.cfg ready for use.
> Chanloading is un-necessary since an entry in menu.lst on a legacy
> system will boot a grub2 Mageia system using:

>    	title Mageia via GRUB 2
> 	root (hdx,y)
>    	kernel /boot/grub2/i386-pc/core.img

> ...as explained in the above README.Mageia

>> If you do it this way, you can install whatever you want as a bootloader
>> on the MBR, and each partition can have whatever BIOS-compliant
>> bootloader it wants, including grub, grub2, lilo, OS/2, DOS, or Wndows.

> Yes, I use a small grub2 partition sda1 as "master".
> To boot into Mageia grub2 systems I use the grub2 multiboot command:

> 	menuentry 'Mageia-3 multi sda6' {
> 	search --no-floppy --label --set=root mageia-3
> 	multiboot /boot/grub2/i386-pc/core.img
> 	}

This thread made it register in my brain for the first time that Grub2 can be 
installed on the same / as Grub Legacy without interfering with it. So, on 
one of my two Cauldron systems configured to my whim with Grub Legacy, I did:

	# urpmi grub2

Which tried to intstall

	grub2
	os-prober
	mageia-theme-default
	mageia-theme-common
	plymouth-plugin-label
	plymouth-plugin-script
	plymouth-system-theme

Proceed...? N

	# urpmi --no-suggests grub2

which installed only grub2 and os-prober, and took several minutes to 
complete (which the known lethargic os-prober is obviously responsible for).

I added a stanza to my master bootloader to load /boot/grub2/i386-pc/core.img 
and rebooted, selecting the /boot/grub2/i386-pc/core.img stanza. Results:

Good start:
1-/boot/grub2/i386-pc/core.img in a Grub Legacy stanza succeeds

Not good from then on:
1-Grub2 error message due to not finding some png file

2-25 item Grub 2.00 menu (grub.cfg:
	http://fm.no-ip.com/Tmp/Linux/Mdv/grub.cfg.gx27b-cauldron3-1.txt ). After 
selecting a selection from a master bootloader, there's no good reason to see 
similar selections as in the previous menu unrelated to the chosen selection. 
IOW, when not a master bootloader (i.e. "chainloaded" via core.img, only 
Mageia entries attributable to selected filesystem hosting core.img should be 
in this menu.

3-Grub2 menu uses same awful spindly-looking font responsible in large part 
for my distaste for *buntu

4-default menu selection for Cauldron causes this cmdline:

	BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-prv root=UUID=bbe8a402-5fb1-4247-b372-5bb6cff4e18c 
ro splash

which is nothing like the default Grub Legacy menu stanza's cmdline result:

	root=LABEL=22cauldrn splash=verbose noresume video=1152x864 vga=794 3

obviously caused by Grub2 installation disregarding content of pre-existing 
menu.lst, which means

5-semi-legible blue on black graphical progress bar instead of normal 
complement of startup messages when splash=verbose

6-post ESC, startup messages are inappropriately tiny

7-tty text is too tiny to use (same as startup messages; screen's preferred 
mode 1600x1200 used instead of legible mode 1152x864)

8-KDM is on tty2, the location I reserve for certain class of recurring 
activities, instead of where expected on tty7

9-preferred initial runlevel as evidenced by menu.lst cmdline options was not 
specified

10-tty1 cleared before displaying login prompt (even after customizing 
/etc/systemd/sytem/getty.target.wants/getty at tty1.service with 
s/TTYVTDisallocate=yes/TTYVTDisallocate=no/; same problem on Rawhide & 
Factory; OT)

Such displeasures as 1-9 are the reason why in Grub Legacy vs. Grub2 
discussions I point out that Grub2 is still v1.0 software. Just how much of 
these observations are due to upstream decisions or yet-to-dos rather than 
distro implementation decisions, implementor inexperience or bugs I won't try 
to guess.
--
"The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant
words are persuasive." Proverbs 16:21 (New Living Translation)

  Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks!

Felix Miata  ***  http://fm.no-ip.com/