remote dual booting

[nivw]

Hay,
I seek a solution to allow switching from windows to linux and back from a remote pc.
I guess I can change the default value to point to windws in linux.
I still need to be able to change that value from windows - to allow boot to linux.
I couldnt get a driver to read the EXT2 /boot partition. can I put /boot/grub/grub.conf on a fat partition?

Niv

[huh_dude]

1st Storyline screen Postulate:
This kinda Soapie is reaching hacker territory, hypothetically the hero'd be asked to demonstrate a marketable enterprise solution as proof of good faith to mankind. In the future anticipating legal inquiries you, the protagonist, based on the correct hypothesis that you are steered toward criminal suspicion necessitated that you phrase a carefull business plan alibi. Which anyone can recite back instantly. At a guess your identity has been analysed by millions of religious fanatics, but in the follow-up series season you evolve a genetic variation. Which makes you invulnerable to decayed pizza and gravitic shifts in the time-space envelope. You remain seated because of it.

[Rodent]

From the grub manual

Support multiple filesystem types
Support multiple filesystem types transparently, plus a useful explicit blocklist notation. The currently supported filesystem types are BSD FFS, DOS FAT16 and FAT32, Minix fs, Linux ext2fs, ReiserFS, JFS, XFS, and VSTa fs

So yes you can have /boot on a FAT partition. And choose reboot OS by toggling default remotely.

-- OR --

Just have it toggle though grub.conf (untested)
This should make linux reboot to windows and vica versa every time.

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timeout 10
# boot last saved entry
default saved

# For booting GNU/Linux
title GNU/Linux 2.6.15
root (hd0,0)
kernel /kernel-2.6.15-r7 root=/dev/sda4
# boot into windows next
savedefault 1

# For booting Windows NT or Windows95
title Windows XP
rootnoverify (hd1,0)
map (hd0) (hd1)
map (hd1) (hd0)
makeactive
chainloader  +1
# boot into linux next
savedefault 0

[nivw]

thnaks for the replay
I am just about to use the — Command: configfile file Load file as a configuration file located on a different fat partition . I usually like to use a seperate partition for the virtual memory of windows. as it can be fat , I can put grub.conf there.

lets recap, what disadvatages are there to using fat for /boot?

I am thinking of a secnerio of an old pc that cant boot from a partition exciding cylinder 1024. /boot must reside on a logical partition - so both linux and windows may access it. I think it is imposible to boot of a logical partition - right?

Niv

[cyrillic]

lets recap, what disadvatages are there to using fat for /boot?

Yes, you can have a vfat /boot partition, but be aware that symlinks don't work on vfat.

This means that the 2 default symlinks grub.conf -> menu.lst and boot -> . won't be there.

[nivw]

OK I took the fat partition approch.
I decided to cultivate a 512Mb logical fat32 partition to be used for windoz virtual memory.
there I put the grub.conf file.

I should point out that /boot/grub/grub.conf still exist, and the first few lines there read:

timeout 5
default 0
title load menu from fat partition
configfile (hd0,8)/grub.conf

[zen_guerrilla]

You can also get a null modem serial cable and configure grub to use console on serial port. Just add somehing like the following lines in /boot/grub/menu.lst:

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# serial console
serial --unit=0 --speed=9600 --word=8 --parity=no --stop=1
terminal --timeout=3 serial console

then emerge net-misc/taylor-uucp and run

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cu -l ttyS0 -s 9600

or run hyperterminal on a windows box to connect to that box over serial and control grub.

[dinkumator]

if you use LILO its easy in linux:

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lilo -R windows

sets a one-time default for the next restart to the label "windows"