How to set up multiboot with linux as one OS?

How to set up multiboot with linux as one OS?

[Barbara J Wagreich]

Hi All:

I'm new to linux but have worked on UNIX.

I'm sure you've discussed this topic before.  I'd appreciate your
feedback.

I am having a PC set up with three operating systems:
DOS/Windows 98, Windows 2000, and red Hat linux 7.2.  I will be using
brltty
(I can't hear).  A friend is doing this for me.  (I would be using JFW
with Windows 98 and Windows 2K.)

what is the best way to set up the multiboot sothat I can choose which OS
I want to invoke?  Also, should the three partitions containing the 3
operating systems be hidden from each other?

Thanks for your help!
Barbara Wagreich

Re: How to set up multiboot with linux as one OS?

[Rafael Skodlar,,,]

Redhat comes with Grub as a default OS loader. Grub is advanced OS
loader which allows you to do many things before you even boot. In my
experience it's better than LILO, the other OS loader. You do not need
to run any configuration command like lilo with Grub. Grub allows you to
simply edit /boot/grub/menu.lst and the configuration becomes effective
right away. Grub has many commands accessible at it's prompt. It's
somewhat similar to Sun loader embedded in EEPROM on their systems.

Partitions do not need to be hidden from each other. While Linux or
other Unix like OSes are able to read windows partitions or even write,
neither W95 nor NT, that's practicaly all Microsoft's OSes are not able
to read Linux partitions. That means you have to think about how you are
going to share files between the OSes if needed.

Even better would be to use different disk drives for different OSes but
that would not change the way OS loaders work. Again, Grub is more
powerfull IMO.

I suggest you partition Linux with traditional number of Unix partitions
for easier maintenance, backups, upgrades, and security reasons.


On Sat, Aug 10, 2002 at 06:29:49PM -0400, Barbara J Wagreich wrote:
> Hi All:
> 
> I'm new to linux but have worked on UNIX.
> 
> I'm sure you've discussed this topic before.  I'd appreciate your
> feedback.
> 
> I am having a PC set up with three operating systems:
> DOS/Windows 98, Windows 2000, and red Hat linux 7.2.  I will be using
> brltty
> (I can't hear).  A friend is doing this for me.  (I would be using JFW
> with Windows 98 and Windows 2K.)
> 
> what is the best way to set up the multiboot sothat I can choose which OS
> I want to invoke?  Also, should the three partitions containing the 3
> operating systems be hidden from each other?
> 
> Thanks for your help!
> Barbara Wagreich

-- 
Rafael
The Gap Between the Rich and the Poor is Constant.

Re: How to set up multiboot with linux as one OS?

[John]

On Sunday 11 August 2002 06:29, Barbara J Wagreich wrote:
> Hi All:
> 
> I'm new to linux but have worked on UNIX.
> 
> I'm sure you've discussed this topic before.  I'd appreciate your
> feedback.
> 
> I am having a PC set up with three operating systems:
> DOS/Windows 98, Windows 2000, and red Hat linux 7.2.  I will be using
> brltty
> (I can't hear).  A friend is doing this for me.  (I would be using JFW
> with Windows 98 and Windows 2K.)
> 
> what is the best way to set up the multiboot sothat I can choose which OS
> I want to invoke?  Also, should the three partitions containing the 3
> operating systems be hidden from each other?

I recommend grub which comes with Red Hat Linux. Your friend will have the 
chance to do this when installing it.

I think W98 and W2K need to be in primary partitions and will thus be hidden 
from each other. As for Linux, it doesn't matter. I would _not_ put it in a 
primary partition on your system.

Grub will handle making the right partition active.


-- 


Cheers
John.

Please, no off-list mail. You will fall foul of my spam treatment.
Join the "Linux Support by Small Businesses" list at 
http://mail.computerdatasafe.com.au/mailman/listinfo/lssb

Re: How to set up multiboot with linux as one OS?

[Barbara J Wagreich]

Rafaeland John:

Thanks for the info about grub.  Yousay it's accessible.  What screen
reader neds to be running in order to see the prompt to specify the OS I
want to invoke?  Or would I jsut type blindly when I think the grub prompt
has been displayed?  Yousaid it's accessible.  I woudl be using brltty for
linux and Jaws for windows 98/2K.

thanks,
Barb

On Sat, 10 Aug 2002, Rafael Skodlar,,, wrote:

> Redhat comes with Grub as a default OS loader. Grub is advanced OS
> loader which allows you to do many things before you even boot. In my
> experience it's better than LILO, the other OS loader. You do not need
> to run any configuration command like lilo with Grub. Grub allows you to
> simply edit /boot/grub/menu.lst and the configuration becomes effective
> right away. Grub has many commands accessible at it's prompt. It's
> somewhat similar to Sun loader embedded in EEPROM on their systems.
>
> Partitions do not need to be hidden from each other. While Linux or
> other Unix like OSes are able to read windows partitions or even write,
> neither W95 nor NT, that's practicaly all Microsoft's OSes are not able
> to read Linux partitions. That means you have to think about how you are
> going to share files between the OSes if needed.
>
> Even better would be to use different disk drives for different OSes but
> that would not change the way OS loaders work. Again, Grub is more
> powerfull IMO.
>
> I suggest you partition Linux with traditional number of Unix partitions
> for easier maintenance, backups, upgrades, and security reasons.
>
>
> On Sat, Aug 10, 2002 at 06:29:49PM -0400, Barbara J Wagreich wrote:
> > Hi All:
> >
> > I'm new to linux but have worked on UNIX.
> >
> > I'm sure you've discussed this topic before.  I'd appreciate your
> > feedback.
> >
> > I am having a PC set up with three operating systems:
> > DOS/Windows 98, Windows 2000, and red Hat linux 7.2.  I will be using
> > brltty
> > (I can't hear).  A friend is doing this for me.  (I would be using JFW
> > with Windows 98 and Windows 2K.)
> >
> > what is the best way to set up the multiboot sothat I can choose which OS
> > I want to invoke?  Also, should the three partitions containing the 3
> > operating systems be hidden from each other?
> >
> > Thanks for your help!
> > Barbara Wagreich
>
> --
> Rafael
> The Gap Between the Rich and the Poor is Constant.
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Blinux-list mailing list
> Blinux-list@redhat.com
> https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
>

Re: How to set up multiboot with linux as one OS?

[Rafael Skodlar,,,]

I don't need special equipment in order to use computers so I cannot
give you advice on that. As far as Grub goes it either boots into
default OS which you select in the configuration file or you need to
select it from the menu.

I'm sure others will tell you how brltty or Jaws can be used with grub
much better than I can.

When you get used to it you can probably type whatever blindly in order
to select the desired OS in grub.

On Sat, Aug 10, 2002 at 11:31:41PM -0400, Barbara J Wagreich wrote:
> Rafael and John:
> 
> Thanks for the info about grub.  Yousay it's accessible.  What screen
> reader neds to be running in order to see the prompt to specify the OS I
> want to invoke?  Or would I jsut type blindly when I think the grub prompt
> has been displayed?  Yousaid it's accessible.  I woudl be using brltty for
> linux and Jaws for windows 98/2K.
> 
> thanks,
> Barb
> 
> On Sat, 10 Aug 2002, Rafael Skodlar,,, wrote:
> 
> > Redhat comes with Grub as a default OS loader. Grub is advanced OS
> > loader which allows you to do many things before you even boot. In my
> > experience it's better than LILO, the other OS loader. You do not need
> > to run any configuration command like lilo with Grub. Grub allows you to
> > simply edit /boot/grub/menu.lst and the configuration becomes effective
> > right away. Grub has many commands accessible at it's prompt. It's
> > somewhat similar to Sun loader embedded in EEPROM on their systems.
> >
> > Partitions do not need to be hidden from each other. While Linux or
> > other Unix like OSes are able to read windows partitions or even write,
> > neither W95 nor NT, that's practicaly all Microsoft's OSes are not able
> > to read Linux partitions. That means you have to think about how you are
> > going to share files between the OSes if needed.
> >
> > Even better would be to use different disk drives for different OSes but
> > that would not change the way OS loaders work. Again, Grub is more
> > powerfull IMO.
> >
> > I suggest you partition Linux with traditional number of Unix partitions
> > for easier maintenance, backups, upgrades, and security reasons.
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Aug 10, 2002 at 06:29:49PM -0400, Barbara J Wagreich wrote:
> > > Hi All:
> > >
> > > I'm new to linux but have worked on UNIX.
> > >
> > > I'm sure you've discussed this topic before.  I'd appreciate your
> > > feedback.
> > >
> > > I am having a PC set up with three operating systems:
> > > DOS/Windows 98, Windows 2000, and red Hat linux 7.2.  I will be using
> > > brltty
> > > (I can't hear).  A friend is doing this for me.  (I would be using JFW
> > > with Windows 98 and Windows 2K.)
> > >
> > > what is the best way to set up the multiboot sothat I can choose which OS
> > > I want to invoke?  Also, should the three partitions containing the 3
> > > operating systems be hidden from each other?
> > >
> > > Thanks for your help!
> > > Barbara Wagreich
> >
> > --
> > Rafael
> > The Gap Between the Rich and the Poor is Constant.
> >

-- 
Rafael

Re: How to set up multiboot with linux as one OS?

[John]

On Sunday 11 August 2002 11:31, Barbara J Wagreich wrote:
> Thanks for the info about grub.  Yousay it's accessible.  What screen
> reader neds to be running in order to see the prompt to specify the OS I
> want to invoke?  Or would I jsut type blindly when I think the grub prompt
> has been displayed?  Yousaid it's accessible.  I woudl be using brltty for
> linux and Jaws for windows 98/2K.

I'm new to the list, am not blind myself, nor have I had dealings with fully 
blind people.

I joined because my mother (in her 80s) has decided she wants a computer, but 
she's concerned about her sight.

When you said you're deaf, I immediately assumed you can see. Foolish on this 
list, I know, but it might take more than a little while to adapt my thinking 
to these circumstances.

The name brltty didn't mean anything to me either, and I misread it.

I still dont know what brltty is, or how it helps you.

Grub can be configured to use the serial port; does this help?


-- 


Cheers
John.

Please, no off-list mail. You will fall foul of my spam treatment.
Join the "Linux Support by Small Businesses" list at 
http://mail.computerdatasafe.com.au/mailman/listinfo/lssb

Re: How to set up multiboot with linux as one OS?

[John]

On Sunday 11 August 2002 12:18, Rafael Skodlar,,, wrote:
> When you get used to it you can probably type whatever blindly in order
> to select the desired OS in grub.

You can, it's just up and down arrows, press "enter."

It shouldn't be hard for a programmer to change it so as make it make a sound 
(sequence of beeps) when it's ready, and blow rasberries if you do something 
wrong.



-- 


Cheers
John.

Please, no off-list mail. You will fall foul of my spam treatment.
Join the "Linux Support by Small Businesses" list at 
http://mail.computerdatasafe.com.au/mailman/listinfo/lssb

Re: How to set up multiboot with linux as one OS?

[Barbara J Wagreich]

Hi Listers:

I sent the enclosed message over the weekend and received two responses
that suggested I use grub instead of lilo to set up boots to
multienvironments (windows 98, windows 2000, and Red Hat linux).  It is my
understanding that grub creates a menu.  I am wondering if this menu is
visible to brltty or whatever at boot time.  The two respondents couldn't
answer this question because they don't use adaptive devices.

Does anyone on the list have experience with menus created by grub for
multi OS environments with  braille displays?  Or is there another wayto
set up multiboots that is accessible?

Thanks for your help!
Barb


On Sat, 10 Aug 2002, Barbara J Wagreich wrote:

> Hi All:
>
> I'm new to linux but have worked on UNIX.
>
> I'm sure you've discussed this topic before.  I'd appreciate your
> feedback.
>
> I am having a PC set up with three operating systems:
> DOS/Windows 98, Windows 2000, and red Hat linux 7.2.  I will be using
> brltty
> (I can't hear).  A friend is doing this for me.  (I would be using JFW
> with Windows 98 and Windows 2K.)
>
> what is the best way to set up the multiboot sothat I can choose which OS
> I want to invoke?  Also, should the three partitions containing the 3
> operating systems be hidden from each other?
>
> Thanks for your help!
> Barbara Wagreich
>
>

Re: How to set up multiboot with linux as one OS?

[John J. Boyer]

Barb,
BRLTTY doesn't start until after the kernel is loaded, so it can't 
display anything at the time when the menu for chosing between OS's is 
displayed. There may be a way to get grub to just put out a string on 
the port to which your braille display is connected, but I haven't been 
able to get this to work with lilo. My system is set up to just wait 
forever with the menu displayed. When i type the name of the OS I want, 
it then displays a smesage saying loading such-and-such on my Braille 
Lite. After a short wait I then see the message BRLTTY 3.0 or something 
similar, then there are a whold bunch of boot messages that go by, som 
so fast that I can't read them. Note that the Braille display must be in 
speech box mode for BRLTTY to work. Use the following sequence to get 
into the correct speech box mode. dots 345-chord (ar-chord), p-chord.
That is all I can say. It is possible to make boot floppies that include 
BRLTTY, but I have not tried it because the normal rescue floppy that 
Redhat makes brings up brltty in about fifteen seconds anyway.
John
On Mon, 12 
Aug 2002, Barbara J Wagreich wrote:

> Hi Listers:
> 
> I sent the enclosed message over the weekend and received two responses
> that suggested I use grub instead of lilo to set up boots to
> multienvironments (windows 98, windows 2000, and Red Hat linux).  It is my
> understanding that grub creates a menu.  I am wondering if this menu is
> visible to brltty or whatever at boot time.  The two respondents couldn't
> answer this question because they don't use adaptive devices.
> 
> Does anyone on the list have experience with menus created by grub for
> multi OS environments with  braille displays?  Or is there another wayto
> set up multiboots that is accessible?
> 
> Thanks for your help!
> Barb
> 
> 
> On Sat, 10 Aug 2002, Barbara J Wagreich wrote:
> 
> > Hi All:
> >
> > I'm new to linux but have worked on UNIX.
> >
> > I'm sure you've discussed this topic before.  I'd appreciate your
> > feedback.
> >
> > I am having a PC set up with three operating systems:
> > DOS/Windows 98, Windows 2000, and red Hat linux 7.2.  I will be using
> > brltty
> > (I can't hear).  A friend is doing this for me.  (I would be using JFW
> > with Windows 98 and Windows 2K.)
> >
> > what is the best way to set up the multiboot sothat I can choose which OS
> > I want to invoke?  Also, should the three partitions containing the 3
> > operating systems be hidden from each other?
> >
> > Thanks for your help!
> > Barbara Wagreich
> >
> >
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Blinux-list mailing list
> Blinux-list@redhat.com
> https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
> 

-- 
Computers to Help People, Inc.
http://www.chpi.org
825 East Johnson; Madison, WI 53703

Re: How to set up multiboot with linux as one OS?

[Barbara J Wagreich]

Hi John:

Thanks for the info.  I don't  use the Braille Lite but the Powerbraille
with a regular keyboard, so what is the command sequence fromt he keyboard
(without chords)?  Does anyone know?

thanks ... Barb


On Mon, 12 Aug 2002, John J. Boyer wrote:

> Barb,
> BRLTTY doesn't start until after the kernel is loaded, so it can't
> display anything at the time when the menu for chosing between OS's is
> displayed. There may be a way to get grub to just put out a string on
> the port to which your braille display is connected, but I haven't been
> able to get this to work with lilo. My system is set up to just wait
> forever with the menu displayed. When i type the name of the OS I want,
> it then displays a smesage saying loading such-and-such on my Braille
> Lite. After a short wait I then see the message BRLTTY 3.0 or something
> similar, then there are a whold bunch of boot messages that go by, som
> so fast that I can't read them. Note that the Braille display must be in
> speech box mode for BRLTTY to work. Use the following sequence to get
> into the correct speech box mode. dots 345-chord (ar-chord), p-chord.
> That is all I can say. It is possible to make boot floppies that include
> BRLTTY, but I have not tried it because the normal rescue floppy that
> Redhat makes brings up brltty in about fifteen seconds anyway.
> John
> On Mon, 12
> Aug 2002, Barbara J Wagreich wrote:
>
> > Hi Listers:
> >
> > I sent the enclosed message over the weekend and received two responses
> > that suggested I use grub instead of lilo to set up boots to
> > multienvironments (windows 98, windows 2000, and Red Hat linux).  It is my
> > understanding that grub creates a menu.  I am wondering if this menu is
> > visible to brltty or whatever at boot time.  The two respondents couldn't
> > answer this question because they don't use adaptive devices.
> >
> > Does anyone on the list have experience with menus created by grub for
> > multi OS environments with  braille displays?  Or is there another wayto
> > set up multiboots that is accessible?
> >
> > Thanks for your help!
> > Barb
> >
> >
> > On Sat, 10 Aug 2002, Barbara J Wagreich wrote:
> >
> > > Hi All:
> > >
> > > I'm new to linux but have worked on UNIX.
> > >
> > > I'm sure you've discussed this topic before.  I'd appreciate your
> > > feedback.
> > >
> > > I am having a PC set up with three operating systems:
> > > DOS/Windows 98, Windows 2000, and red Hat linux 7.2.  I will be using
> > > brltty
> > > (I can't hear).  A friend is doing this for me.  (I would be using JFW
> > > with Windows 98 and Windows 2K.)
> > >
> > > what is the best way to set up the multiboot sothat I can choose which OS
> > > I want to invoke?  Also, should the three partitions containing the 3
> > > operating systems be hidden from each other?
> > >
> > > Thanks for your help!
> > > Barbara Wagreich
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Blinux-list mailing list
> > Blinux-list@redhat.com
> > https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
> >
>
> --
> Computers to Help People, Inc.
> http://www.chpi.org
> 825 East Johnson; Madison, WI 53703
>
>

Re: How to set up multiboot with linux as one OS?

[Rafael Skodlar,,,]

I haven't tried this yet but according to the grub info pages you should
be able to redirect the output to serial port. I used 'pinfo grub' to
obtain the following:

"Using GRUB via a serial line
   If you have many computers or computers with no display/keyboard, it
would be very useful to control the computers with serial
communications. To connect a computer with another via a serial line,
you need to prepare a null-modem (cross) serial cable, and you may need
to have multiport serial boards, if your computer doesn't have extra
serial ports. In addition, a terminal emulator is also required, such as
minicom. Refer to a manual of your operating system, for more
information.

   As for GRUB, the instruction to set up a serial terminal is quite
simple. First of all, make sure that you haven't specified the option
`--disable-serial' to the configure script when you built your GRUB
images. If you get them in binary form, probably they have serial
terminal support already.

   Then, initialize your serial terminal after GRUB starts up. Here is
an example:

     grub> serial --unit=0 --speed=9600
     grub> terminal serial

   The command `serial' initializes the serial unit 0 with the speed
9600bps. The serial unit 0 is usually called `COM1', so, if you want to
use COM2, you must specify `--unit=1' instead. This command accepts
many other options, so please refer to *Note serial::, for more details.

The command `terminal' (*note terminal::) chooses which type of
terminal you want to use. In that case above, the terminal will be a
serial terminal, but you can also pass `console' to the command, like
`terminal serial console'. In this case, a terminal in which you press
any key will be selected as a GRUB terminal.

   However, note that GRUB assumes that your terminal emulator is
compatible with VT100 by default. This is true for most terminal
emulators nowadays, but you should pass the option `--dumb' to the
command, if your terminal emulator is not VT100-compatible or
implements few VT100 escape sequences. If you specify the option, then
GRUB doesn't provide you with the menu interface, because the menu
requires several fancy features for your terminal. Instead, GRUB only
gives you the hidden menu interface and the command-line interface"

Here is another interesting segment from the grub info file:

"GRUB's user interface
   GRUB has both a simple menu interface for choosing preset entries
from a configuration file, and a highly flexible command-line for
performing any desired combination of boot commands.

   GRUB looks for its configuration file as soon as it is loaded. If one
is found, then the full menu interface is activated using whatever
entries were found in the file. If you choose the "command-line" menu
option, or if the configuration file was not found, then GRUB drops to
the command-line interface."

"The simple menu interface

   The menu interface is quite easy to use. Its commands are both
reasonably intuitive and described on screen.

   Basically, the menu interface provides a list of "boot entries" to
the user to choose from. Use the arrow keys to select the entry of
choice, then press <RET> to run it.  An optional timeout is available
to boot the default entry (the first one if not set), which is aborted
by pressing any key.

   Commands are available to enter a bare command-line by pressing <c>
(which operates exactly like the non-config-file version of GRUB, but
allows one to return to the menu if desired by pressing <ESC>) or to
edit any of the "boot entries" by pressing <e>.

   If you protect the menu interface with a password (*note Security::),
all you can do is choose an entry by pressing <RET>, or press <p> to
enter the password."

Grub has it's own tiny shell that you can use to do many things. One
possibility is to create grub floppy and play with it. That way you do
not mess with your current configuration.

>From grub FAQ:

How to create a GRUB boot floppy with the menu interface?
     The easiest way is:

       1. Create filesystem in your floppy disk. For example:

               $ mke2fs /dev/fd0

       2. Mount it on somewhere, say, `/mnt'.

       3. Copy the GRUB images to `/mnt/boot/grub'. Only `stage1',
          `stage2' and `grub.conf' are necessary. You may not copy
          "stage1.5"s.

       4. Run the following command (substitute `/usr/sbin/grub' for
          `/sbin/grub' if you are using an older system):

               $ /sbin/grub --batch <<EOT
               root (fd0)
               setup (fd0)
               quit
               EOT

end of FAQ segment.

Grub files traditionaly reside in /boot/grub.

I suggest you try command
pinfo grub

and learn more about grub that way. Command pinfo navigates similarly to
lynx, another words, it has links to other parts of document inside the
text.

Grub is usable even if the config file is messed up since you can edit
it at boot prompt. Not so for lilo. If config in lilo is bad you need
another way (floppy or CD) to boot and fix it.

I hope this helps you a bit to understand how grub works.

--
Rafael

On Mon, Aug 12, 2002 at 11:54:02AM -0400, Barbara J Wagreich wrote:
> Hi Listers:
> 
> I sent the enclosed message over the weekend and received two responses
> that suggested I use grub instead of lilo to set up boots to
> multienvironments (windows 98, windows 2000, and Red Hat linux).  It is my
> understanding that grub creates a menu.  I am wondering if this menu is
> visible to brltty or whatever at boot time.  The two respondents couldn't
> answer this question because they don't use adaptive devices.
> 
> Does anyone on the list have experience with menus created by grub for
> multi OS environments with  braille displays?  Or is there another wayto
> set up multiboots that is accessible?
> 
> Thanks for your help!
> Barb
> 
> 
> On Sat, 10 Aug 2002, Barbara J Wagreich wrote:
> 
> > Hi All:
> >
> > I'm new to linux but have worked on UNIX.
> >
> > I'm sure you've discussed this topic before.  I'd appreciate your
> > feedback.
> >
> > I am having a PC set up with three operating systems:
> > DOS/Windows 98, Windows 2000, and red Hat linux 7.2.  I will be using
> > brltty
> > (I can't hear).  A friend is doing this for me.  (I would be using JFW
> > with Windows 98 and Windows 2K.)
> >
> > what is the best way to set up the multiboot sothat I can choose which OS
> > I want to invoke?  Also, should the three partitions containing the 3
> > operating systems be hidden from each other?
> >
> > Thanks for your help!
> > Barbara Wagreich
> >

Re: How to set up multiboot with linux as one OS?

[Pawel (Paul) Loba]

Good day:
I'm not an expert in any respect but I've got the feeling that Win2k 
will force you to use its own boot-loader. And if you are more familiar  
with Windows environment than wit Linux, perhaps, it can be the best way 
of booting your system to start with.
If you want to take a trouble of looking through the archives of this 
list, you should be able to find some suggestions about boot-loaders 
posted by visually impaired members of it. There were some very 
interesting emails from Janina Sojka about lilo, for instance.

Hope it helps,
Pawel.

 On Mon, 12 Aug 2002, Barbara J 
Wagreich wrote:

> Hi Listers:
> 
> I sent the enclosed message over the weekend and received two responses
> that suggested I use grub instead of lilo to set up boots to
> multienvironments (windows 98, windows 2000, and Red Hat linux).  It is my
> understanding that grub creates a menu.  I am wondering if this menu is
> visible to brltty or whatever at boot time.  The two respondents couldn't
> answer this question because they don't use adaptive devices.
> 
> Does anyone on the list have experience with menus created by grub for
> multi OS environments with  braille displays?  Or is there another wayto
> set up multiboots that is accessible?
> 
> Thanks for your help!
> Barb
> 
> 
> On Sat, 10 Aug 2002, Barbara J Wagreich wrote:
> 
> > Hi All:
> >
> > I'm new to linux but have worked on UNIX.
> >
> > I'm sure you've discussed this topic before.  I'd appreciate your
> > feedback.
> >
> > I am having a PC set up with three operating systems:
> > DOS/Windows 98, Windows 2000, and red Hat linux 7.2.  I will be using
> > brltty
> > (I can't hear).  A friend is doing this for me.  (I would be using JFW
> > with Windows 98 and Windows 2K.)
> >
> > what is the best way to set up the multiboot sothat I can choose which OS
> > I want to invoke?  Also, should the three partitions containing the 3
> > operating systems be hidden from each other?
> >
> > Thanks for your help!
> > Barbara Wagreich
> >
> >
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Blinux-list mailing list
> Blinux-list@redhat.com
> https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
> 

Re: How to set up multiboot with linux as one OS?

[Janina Sajka]

Is it connected via serial port? If so, and if you're using lilo, be sure 
the header of your /etc/lilo.conf has lines like the following:


prompt
timeout=500
message=/boot/message
serial=0,9600N8

The last of these lines is specific to the serial port you're connected 
on. It should match the actual port you're on, and the handshake 
parameters.

The /boot/message file is also very important. By default, RH installs a 
file that displays a graphic on screen, but you can make that file fully 
text, and you'll want to do that.

The above lines should bring up a "Boot>" prompt that gives you about 50 
seconds to make an OS choice.

PS: If you're connected over USB, you're probably out of luck.

Re: How to set up multiboot with linux as one OS?

[Janina Sajka]

On Mon, 12 Aug 2002, Pawel (Paul) Loba wrote:

> Good day:
> I'm not an expert in any respect but I've got the feeling that Win2k 
> will force you to use its own boot-loader.


Not at all.

I set up a dual boot with Linux and Win2K for someone yesterday using 
Lilo. It works like a charm.

Re: How to set up multiboot with linux as one OS?

[philwh]

Hi.
Here is another way.
1) to install win 98se and win 2000, you must install win98 first
then win 2k.
win2k will install its own loader intot he
win98 partition.
you can then configure win 2k
to boot into win98 first, or if you press down arrow
then press enter it will boot into win 2k
now here is the way I do it.
I configured win98 to boot into dos directly.
I then use loadlin to boot into linux if I wish
using a batch file.
therefore, I only have to contend with 2 menu choices
at boot time, win98 as default, or win 2k or win xp as
in my case as my second choice.
If I want to get into win98,
I let it boot into dos, then type
win.

phil

Re: How to set up multiboot with linux as one OS?

[John]

Grub can be configured to use the serial port. It expects a VT100-compatible 
terminal by default, but can also use a dumb terminal.


On Tuesday 13 August 2002 00:23, John J. Boyer wrote:
> There may be a way to get grub to just put out a string on 
> the port to which your braille display is connected,

-- 


Cheers
John.

Please, no off-list mail. You will fall foul of my spam treatment.
Join the "Linux Support by Small Businesses" list at 
http://mail.computerdatasafe.com.au/mailman/listinfo/lssb

Re: How to set up multiboot with linux as one OS?

[Janina Sajka]

Here's what lilo does for me that is specific to accessibility in my view. 
To date, no one has shown me how to get this same functionality out of 
grub:

1.)	Gives me a double beep via two Ctrl-G chars in my ASCII 
/boot/message file;

2.)	Provides a "Boot>" prompt to whatever device I've connected on a 
serial port specified in /etc/lilo.conf, according to specs provided in 
that file;

3.)	Allows me to define single-char aliases for each of my kernel 
configurations;

4.)	Allows me to specify a comfortable time interval for specifying my 
choice before proceeding to boot a kernel I've defined as default;



On Tue, 13 Aug 2002, John wrote:

> Grub can be configured to use the serial port. It expects a VT100-compatible 
> terminal by default, but can also use a dumb terminal.
> 
> 
> On Tuesday 13 August 2002 00:23, John J. Boyer wrote:
> > There may be a way to get grub to just put out a string on 
> > the port to which your braille display is connected,
> 
> 

-- 
	
				Janina Sajka, Director
				Technology Research and Development
				Governmental Relations Group
				American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)

Email: janina@afb.net		Phone: (202) 408-8175

Chair, Accessibility SIG
Open Electronic Book Forum (OEBF)
http://www.openebook.org

Re: How to set up multiboot with linux as one OS?

[Boris Daix]

Look for BRLTTY in google. I think that as Grub is a very low-level
prog, it won't be accessible via braille display. But taking care of
arrow moving (to choose) should work well. What I don't know it's if
Grub can load ntkernels - lilo can't, and I personally had to
customize the boot.ini file to have multiboot (see NT+Linux howto).

John <valhalla@computerdatasafe.com.au> writes:

> On Sunday 11 August 2002 11:31, Barbara J Wagreich wrote:
>> Thanks for the info about grub.  Yousay it's accessible.  What screen
>> reader neds to be running in order to see the prompt to specify the OS I
>> want to invoke?  Or would I jsut type blindly when I think the grub prompt
>> has been displayed?  Yousaid it's accessible.  I woudl be using brltty for
>> linux and Jaws for windows 98/2K.
>
> I'm new to the list, am not blind myself, nor have I had dealings with fully 
> blind people.
>
> I joined because my mother (in her 80s) has decided she wants a computer, but 
> she's concerned about her sight.
>
> When you said you're deaf, I immediately assumed you can see. Foolish on this 
> list, I know, but it might take more than a little while to adapt my thinking 
> to these circumstances.
>
> The name brltty didn't mean anything to me either, and I misread it.
>
> I still dont know what brltty is, or how it helps you.
>
> Grub can be configured to use the serial port; does this help?
>
>
> -- 
>
>
> Cheers
> John.
>
> Please, no off-list mail. You will fall foul of my spam treatment.
> Join the "Linux Support by Small Businesses" list at 
> http://mail.computerdatasafe.com.au/mailman/listinfo/lssb
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Blinux-list mailing list
> Blinux-list@redhat.com
> https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
>

-- 
Boris Daix

	"Feel free to be free, or not to be..."

Re: How to set up multiboot with linux as one OS?

[Boris Daix]

It seams really interesting ! So LILO is able to load NT kernels ?
What a progress... You say you've done it yesterday, and it worked ?
;-) Because if it does, there are no real problem to manage boot time,
even if the prompt can't be read : simply put a big delay (as you did)
and that's all.

Janina Sajka <janina@afb.net> writes:

> On Mon, 12 Aug 2002, Pawel (Paul) Loba wrote:
>
>> Good day:
>> I'm not an expert in any respect but I've got the feeling that Win2k 
>> will force you to use its own boot-loader.
>
>
> Not at all.
>
> I set up a dual boot with Linux and Win2K for someone yesterday using 
> Lilo. It works like a charm.
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Blinux-list mailing list
> Blinux-list@redhat.com
> https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
>

-- 
Boris Daix

	"Feel free to be free, or not to be..."

Re: How to set up multiboot with linux as one OS?

[Boris Daix]

I propose the following :
- install win98, and then win2k.
- read the "Linux+NTloader HOWTO" (or something like that), you can
find it in HOWTO lists (or mini-howtos, I can't remember).
It says that during install of Linux, lilo is shouldn't be put on MBR
(very first part of HD) as usual because Win2k needs its own loader
(it could have been enabled in earlier versions but I won't test
because if not, I'd have to reinstall W2k). Lilo is put on the
beginning of the Linux partition instead of MBR, and little things
needs to be done from linux to feed Win2k's own loader so that it can
boot Linux. After this is done, at boot time, a menu appears and you
simply choose what OS you like.

But, far simplier, I can say that booting Linux from floppy will
prevent you from such borring work : install win stuff in order (98
and then 2k), install Linux without any loader for it (neither lilo
nor grub) but do a boot floppy (with lilo on it). And then, if you
want a win os, the little Win2k's loader asks you which one you want
(98 or 2k)d and if you want to boot linux you simply insert the
floppy. I've done this a loooooong time, because I didn't want to
break anything because it is a lot of work to build all back.

Anyway, boot time is often done blindly : if BRLTTY is automatically
launched in your Linux, it would give you the hand very soon after
boot. For win, one hit on down-arrow and then return would be enough
to lauch the second (not defautl) win OS.

So, hope this was clear enough to be understood... ;-)

Good luck !

ps: if Janina is really really sure that LILO can load Windows 2000
(NT based OS - let's say NT 5), the LILO fashion would be far better
as it's often the default for loading Linux.
pps: ask if some things are not so clear...

Barbara J Wagreich <bjw@world.std.com> writes:

> Hi All:
>
> I'm new to linux but have worked on UNIX.
>
> I'm sure you've discussed this topic before.  I'd appreciate your
> feedback.
>
> I am having a PC set up with three operating systems:
> DOS/Windows 98, Windows 2000, and red Hat linux 7.2.  I will be using
> brltty
> (I can't hear).  A friend is doing this for me.  (I would be using JFW
> with Windows 98 and Windows 2K.)
>
> what is the best way to set up the multiboot sothat I can choose which OS
> I want to invoke?  Also, should the three partitions containing the 3
> operating systems be hidden from each other?
>
> Thanks for your help!
> Barbara Wagreich
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Blinux-list mailing list
> Blinux-list@redhat.com
> https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
>

-- 
Boris Daix

	"Feel free to be free, or not to be..."