Reboot into Windows

Karsten1973 · Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2004 8:58 am Post subject: Reboot into Windows

When I started trying out Linux (with a Suse 8.0) Suse somehow managed that you could shut-down Suse Linux and reboot into windows without seeing the bootmanager.

How can I do that with Gentoo and kde?
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adaptr · Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2004 9:13 am Post subject:

You can write a small script that sets the default= line in grub.conf, which will be honored on the next boot.
GRUB itself has support for this as well, but you specifically mentioned "without seeing the boot screen", so that would be it.
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>>> emerge (3 of 7) mcse/70-293 to /
Essential tools: gentoolkit eix profuse screen

Karsten1973 · Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2004 9:17 am Post subject:

Okay. I wouldn't know how to do that

Anyway, at least its explained

Merry Christmas to all of you!
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adaptr · Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2004 9:31 am Post subject:

Make two versions of grub.conf, both identical except for the OS you boot as default.
Name them grub.windows and grub.gentoo.

Then you can put this somewhere in your PATH (/usr/bin for example):

mnxAlpha · Apprentice Joined: 15 Sep 2004 Posts: 210

Slight problem there. What if I boot into Windows? I can't change back to the Linux version of the GRUB config file from Windows, so I wouldn't be able to get back into Linux.

adaptr · Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2004 11:09 am Post subject:

Absolutely - but the OP never mentioned getting back from Windows into Gentoo ;-)

The best way to do it is use the inbuilt function of GRUB to remember the setting you last booted with.
Or you can even specify which OS you would like to boot once the following boot.
A combination of these will do what he wants.
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>>> emerge (3 of 7) mcse/70-293 to /
Essential tools: gentoolkit eix profuse screen

c0balt · Guru Joined: 04 Jul 2004 Posts: 441 Location: Germany

gentsquash · Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2004 8:59 pm Post subject:

adaptr · Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2004 9:54 am Post subject:

Oh certainly - you can tell I come from a DOS world when I don't use symlinks where anything else is overkill or inappropriate ;-)

I would, though - for your aforementioned safety - use absolute paths in the ln command:

cfaun · n00b Joined: 25 Dec 2004 Posts: 63

The problem with this is that you still need to upgrade the MBR using "install-grub"...

And, you will still see the boot screen as long as there is a waiting period in the grub.conf file. Timeout will need to be set to 0 in your grub.conf.

I too, haven't seen anything in the GRUB manual.

So, how SuSE does it, I don't know. BUT, you may want to use Grub for windows to change the MBR on startup. Then, add the commands to boot grub into whatever you had before (either the dual boot setup or just GNU/Linux). Note that this setup has NOT been tested, but it may work...

Aside from recompiling GRUB (or LILO) with the functionality you mentioned, I don't see how SuSE did it though...
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cfaun · n00b Joined: 25 Dec 2004 Posts: 63

Okay, I think I figured out how they did it. This hasn't been tested, so you may need to test and/or modify it. Repeat: this may not work: have a boot floppy ready.

Make two grub.conf files. One will be simply grub.linux, and it will be whatever you use to boot GNU/Linux (or dual boot). The other will be grub.conf, and will be whatever you use to boot Micro$oft Windoze. The script previously given to you should be modifed to the following:

cfaun · n00b Joined: 25 Dec 2004 Posts: 63

One last note. It would be advantagious to emerge sudo and then configure it so you can run the script that boots windows as a normal user.
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cfaun · n00b Joined: 25 Dec 2004 Posts: 63

Sorry for the 8 gazillion postings, but I realized that using the install command was virtually impossible. Thus, here is some code, using an alternative approach. Again, have a boot floppy ready. To make a boot floppy (or 2, actually), see here.

Anyhow, first mount your /boot partition. Your old grub.conf should go to /boot/grub/grub.linux. Assuming your windows partition is on (hd0,0) (replace it with what it is if otherwise), use the following for /boot/grub/grub.win (modified version from the GRUB documentation:

gentsquash · Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2004 3:24 pm Post subject:

adaptr · Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2004 3:55 pm Post subject:

cfaun, I'm not sure what you're getting at here.

You should know that the entire configuration for GRUB is in the grub.conf file, with the sole exception of one parameter only, namely the location of that file.

So what you're talking about simply cannot work, since installing or re-installing the GRUB MBR does - nothing.

With one exception: maintain 2 boot partitions depending on which OS you want to load the next next time.

Or maybe GRUB has the option of booting from different grub directories, so you would only need one boot partition (saves shuffling around with bootable bits and such..) and copy everything except the menu into the second directory, say /boot/grub2.

Point the MBR to the next boot instance, and load up the current one.
This could easily be handled in its entirety from within GRUB, so no editing or such is needed...

You could make menu entries on each boot config for loading an OS and returning to this boot partition next time, or loading an OS and rebooting into the other partition, therefore setting different defaults.

Let me think on this and I'll get back with a full solution.

Nice ;-)

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>>> emerge (3 of 7) mcse/70-293 to /
Essential tools: gentoolkit eix profuse screen

cfaun · n00b Joined: 25 Dec 2004 Posts: 63

In my ignorance, I fail to understand why it should not work, as the contents of the grub.conf are manipulated by the script. But okay...
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adaptr · Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 10:57 am Post subject:

adaptr · Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 11:07 am Post subject:

Oh boy this is getting annoying :oops:

Sorry cfaun, but I still don't see it.

Examining your shell script:

meyerm · Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 1:19 pm Post subject:

Hi,

I guess you need "savedefault". Please search in the forums or google for this grub keyword. With it you can reboot another entry (windows) than your default (linux) once without having to interfere with the bootloader. After rebooting the second OS you get back into the default one.

HTH
Marcel

adaptr · Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 2:58 pm Post subject:

Well, you wouldn't if the name of the option is anything to go by...
I assume it just changes the default - half of the solution, at least.
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>>> emerge (3 of 7) mcse/70-293 to /
Essential tools: gentoolkit eix profuse screen

Naib · Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 3:13 pm Post subject:

Errr? this will mean you wont be able to boot back to linux since windows cant re-change the script

One thing I have wanted is for me to wire a DPST switch to the serial port (via a d-type) and the position of the switch iwll determine what OS is loaded.

But the problem is GRUB at boot does not rad any other input bar the keyboard AND when it reads the input it stops the counter.

I would like GRUB to start up. If switch is in position 1, select OS 1 (unkless keyboard interation)

If switch is in position 2 load OS 2 (unless keyboard interaction)
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cfaun · n00b Joined: 25 Dec 2004 Posts: 63

Karsten1973 · Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2005 1:01 am Post subject:

Did you find anything that would help ?
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I could be arguing on my own time.

syg00 · Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2005 2:38 am Post subject:

Wellll ....
Anyone ever put (a dual-boot) Windoze into hibernate ???.
When you next power-on *no* grub.

How do you reckon they do that ???.
Doesn't help this discussion, but an interesting corollary.

adaptr · Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2005 12:04 pm Post subject: