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11 SuperGrub

The Ultimate Guide for the rest of us


11 SuperGrub

Postby LeadFingers » Thu Apr 03, 2008 6:29 am

To fix a borked Grub or duel booting, there's nothing like SuperGrub.
~400Kb for floppy, ~300Kb for USB, ~400Kb for CD
Download the format you want, (Live CD, floppy, or USB pendrive)
Transfer or burn to whatever you're using
Make sure bios is set to boot for the format you are using
boot
Follow the SuperGrub directions, and your Grub is as good as new.
The quick-thinkers & the bold, can stop reading here


__________________________Quick menu explanations__________________________

Super Grub Disk With Help
-You can choose Super Grub Disk with the classical (normal) help.

Super Grub Disk No help
-You can choose SGD not to display any help.
For those who know what they are doing and in a hurry.
For advanced users
.

GRUB => MBR & !LINUX! (1) Auto
-This is the indicated option for newbies.
It tries to find the first stage1 file,
installs GRUB into the MBR,
tries to find menu.lst and boots its.

GRUB => MBR & !LINUX! (>=2) Manual
-Same thing as above, but if you have more than one Linux
now you can choose which stage1 to install and which menu.lst to boot.

!WIN!
So sad... this option boots windows.

WIN => MBR & !WIN!
-This is even more sad...
this option adds a syslinux bootloader that chainloads the first active partition
which usually contains Windows.

EASY LIVE SWAP
-This option switches the hard disk boot priority around in the BIOS using (map) commands,
but the changes are not persistent.


_____________There are two main ways to use your Super Grub Disk_______________


1) Select the appropriate Super Grub Menu option to do what you need by pressing your down or up arrow keys on your keyboard, then press your Enter
(Some of these features are unique to Super Grub Disk)

2) Press your ckey to go into GRUB Command Line mode.
You should be given a black background with white text on it and below that, a grub>_ prompt.
GRUB is the only bootloader that I know of that has a command line. GRUB's command Line is a very powerful and flexible feature, and anyone with a few instructions can do amazing things with GRUB's Command Line.



________________Select the appropriate Super Grub Menu option_________________

Super Grub Disk's English Menu has four options plus the Quit menu.

The first two options are for those who like things quick and easy

1) Gnu/Linux is for computers with a single hard disk and just one or two operating systems when you want to boot Linux or install your Linux's GRUB boot loader to MBR.

2) Windows is for computers with a single hard disk and just one or two operating systems when you want to boot Windows, or install your Windows's NTLDR boot loader to MBR.

3) Boot & Tools leads to another menu that lets you boot a Master Boot Record of a non-first hard disk, boot an operating system by it's boot sector, activate a partition (set the boot flag), and hide or unhide a partition.

4) Advanced is for complex computers, possibly with many partitions and multiple hard disks.
In most of these menus you can expect to be asked to select a hard disk from a menu and then a partition, it's not as automatic as in the simple menus, but it's still pretty easy once you try it.


______________________________Quick Solutions______________________________

I installed GRUB to MBR with a Gnu/Linux distro (dual boot), and Windows no longer boots.

1) I just want to boot Windows for now, I'll fix it later,

a. boot your SGD floppy disk, USB disk or CD-ROM
b. English Super Grub Disk
c. Windows
d. Boot Windows

This will boot Windows for now for you and you can verify that Windows is still okay and able to be booted. You can access all your data and get any urgent work done. You can fix the problem more permanently later on when you have time or you are in a better mood.

2) I want my MBR pointing to Windows bootloader again - right now!

a. boot your SGD floppy disk, USB disk or CD-ROM
b. English Super Grub Disk
c. Windows
d. Fix Boot of Windows

________________________________________________________________________

I installed Windows on a first hard disk but I unplugged it and plugged it in as a non-first hard disk. Now I want to boot it.

a. boot your SGD floppy disk, USB disk or CD-ROM
b. English Super Grub Disk
c. Boot and Tools
d. Boot Master Boot Record (MBR)

_________________________________________________________________________

I reinstalled Windows and Linux no longer boots.

a. boot your SGD floppy disk, USB disk or CD-ROM
b. English Super Grub Disk
c. Gnu/Linux
d. Fix Boot of Gnu/Linux (GRUB)
e. select your Linux partition
f. see message, 'SGD has succeeded'
g. you're done! reboot

_________________________________________________________________________

I think I made a mistake when I edited my menu.lst file and Linux no longer boots.

You might need to use Super Grub Disk to boot with so you can fix your menu.lst file easliy. Right now you can't fix the file because you can't boot, and you can't boot because you can't fix the file... so you are stuck!
Don't worry, SGD to the rescue!

a. boot your SGD floppy disk, USB disk or CD-ROM
b. English Super Grub Disk
c. Gnu/Linux
d. Boot Gnu/Linux Directly

'Boot Gnu/Linux Directly' will bypass the menu.lst file and boot your Linux OS via symlinks to the kernel in the root of the filesystem.

_________________________________________________________________________

I installed GRUB, (or LiLo), to MBR but I can't find it. I have more than one hard disk in this computer. Maybe it went to the MBR of the wrong hard disk. I want to try booting from another hard disk to find out.

a. boot your SGD floppy disk, USB disk or CD-ROM
b. English Super Grub Disk
c. Boot and Tools
d. Boot Master Boot Record (MBR)
e. Boot Master Boot Record
f. Choose a hard disk from the list

_________________________________________________________________________

I'm getting a black screen with a grub>_ prompt

Usually this means GRUB's stage1 and stage1_5 files in the MBR and first track of the hard disk are okay, and stage2 in the Linux partition is alright but there is no menu.lst file or if there is one it has been renamed or moved.
Super Grub Disk can help you by booting your Linux kernel and initrd.img directly (via symlinks), so you will be bypassing the menu.lst file.

a. boot your SGD floppy disk, USB disk or CD-ROM
b. English Super Grub Disk
c. Gnu/Linux
d. Boot Gnu/Linux Directly

_________________________________________________________________________

I get a black screen with grub>_ on it

It's not a GRUB prompt if the underscore isn;t blinking and you can't type a command after it.



=========================================================================

Linux won't boot

* GNU/Linux is installed in your pc, dual booting with Windows on the same hard disk. You needed to reinstall Windows, but when Windows re-installs it overwrites your MBR with its own code to make the MBR point only to the Windows bootloader. You no longer have the option for booting GNU/Linux as GRUB menu no longer appears on boot. You can use Super Grub Disk to boot Linux with for now, or you can automatically restore the MBR code and make it point to GRUB in your Gnu/Linux installation again. See 'Restore GRUB in Hard Disk' feature, on the English Super Grub Disk menu.

* You have more than one hard disk in your computer. You have Windows on one hard disk and you just installed Linux on another. You asked Linux to write GRUB to MBR. When the computer reboots for the first time though, it still only boots into Windows like before. ??? Maybe GRUB has been written to MBR on a non-first hard disk by mistake, where the BIOS won't see it. The BIOS only looks for the MBR on the first hard disk for the bootloader's code. You can check this and verify whether or not this is the problem by booting from the MBR on the non-first hard disk with S.G.D. See the 'Classic Boot' menu, available from the Super GRUB Disk English Super Grub Disk menu.

* You are multi-booting more than one Linux operating system. Since your second Linux system may be a only for testing purposes, you don't want the second Linux installation to overwrite your main system's code on your MBR. Instead, you install the bootloader code for the test install to the first sector of its own partition. You can boot it with Super GRUB Disk, and add the test install's entry to the main system's GRUB configuration file later on if this install is to be kept. Some Linux enthusiasts make test installs that are just for conducting experiments on that might break the system, so the test install is only temporary anyway. In that case you can just boot the partition or disk it is on with Super Grub Disk, and not install its bootloader to MBR. Super Grub Disk has several ways to manually boot or scan your computer for a Linux partition that isn't listed in any bootloader menu available from the MBR. See 'Boot Gnu/Linux and other OSes', 'Special Boot', and 'Classic Boot', all available from the Super Grub Disk's English Super Grub Disk menu.

* You are normally a skilled or semi-skilled Linux user, and you tried editing your /boot/grub/menu.lst file (to add a nice fancy splash image you made,or something like that), but you must have made some kind of an error, and now your computer won't boot at all. You can boot with Super GRUB Disk and fix your mistake. See 'Boot Gnu/Linux and other OSes', 'Special Boot', and 'Classic Boot', all available from the Super Grub Disk's English Super Grub Disk menu.



Windows won't boot

* Windows was installed in your computer and you installed Linux to make it into a dual boot computer. The Linux install went smoothly, writing code to your MBR to make it point to GRUB in the new Linux install. It boots into Linux fine, but you are not offered a choice in the new grub menu for selecting Windows. You may be new to Linux, so you don't know how to edit your new GRUB menu to add the option for booting Windows. You have important files in Windows you need to have ready by a certain deadline and you haven't got time right now to start learning Linux already. You just want to be able to boot Windows right now until you can get your urgent work out of the way. You'll learn how to fix your installed version of GRUB later when you have some spare time. You can boot Windows automatically for now with Super Grub Disk. You can use the 'Boot Windows' function found in the Super Grub Disk's English Super Grub Disk menu.

* You have more than one Windows installation in a hard disk, and you need to 'hide' one Windows from the other to make either of them bootable. You need the 'Tools' menu, available from the Super Grub Disk's English Super Grub Disk menu.

* You have Windows installed on a non-first hard disk, and you need to be able to 'swap' hard disks with Super Grub Disk to be able to boot it.

* You can not boot Windows because your MBR is corrupt. With Super Grub Disk you will be able to boot the partition where Windows reside. You can use 'Classic Boot', available from the Super Grub Disk English Super Grub Disk menu and then choose, 'Boot Partition'.

* No Active Partition Found message appears. With Super Grub Disk you will be able to activate partitions. You need the 'Tools' menu, available from the Super Grub Disk's English Super Grub Disk menu.

=========================================================================

__________***Note***___________

GRUB helps you
boot your Linux OS,
restore GRUB in a MBR (you can choose which hard disk's MBR too),
install GRUB's IPL to a partition (boot sector),
or
restore NTLDR's IPL in a MBR.

LILO is for installing LiLo's IPL in an MBR.
Gnu/Linux (Advanced) contains the options to
restore GRUB's or LiLo's IPL to MBR for you,
boot a Linux OS by it's menu.lst file,
boot a Linux OS by it's kernel directly (via symlinks),
or boot any OS by its boot sector if the boot sector contians an IPL for a boot loader.
You can also set the boot flag on a Linux partition, (sometimes needed for LiLo).
Windows (Advanced) leads to a menu where you can
restore Window's NTLDR bootloader's IPL to MBR (equivalent to FIXMBR),
boot Windows by its boot sector (bypassing the MBR),
boot Windows on a non-first hard disk,
set the boot flag on a Windows partition,
and
re-install Windows NTLDR's IPL to a boot sector (equivalent to FIXBOOT).
Boot other OSes give you a menu for booting
Hurd
and
Open Solaris
Special Boot offers you to swap hard disks and boot, which means your hard disks will be temporarily switched as far as your BIOS can tell.
Configuration is a menu where you can have some fun with color schemes or access some special keyboard settings if you need them.
Miscellanea give you a menu for selecting to boot your Linux installation or fix a Windows boot sector (equivalent to FIXBOOT).

and finally,
Quit has two options,
Halt P.C. (Shut down)
or
Reboot P.C. (Restart)


Press your 'c' key to go into GRUB Command Line mode

It is important to realize that all of Super Grub Disk's menus and functions are based on commands that can be optionally typed by hand at the Command Line Interface when you know which commands to use. GRUB's Command Line Interface is very useful because it provides feedback. This feedback can provide important clues to help a user solve a booting problem or teach a new user how to use GRUB better by telling them what to do next.

Super Grub Disk can provide a Command Lne Grub Interface when there may be no GRUB at all in the computer for one reason or another, (it does happen sometimes).
1st Box: Ultimate Edition 2.0 x64/ 1.8 x64
2nd Box: XP (dusty)
3rd Box: Stable Media box Ultimate Edition 1.8 x64 with XBMC

The Oxen are slow but the Earth is patient ~Chuen~
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LeadFingers
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Age: 63
Operating System: Ultimate Edition 3.1 64 BIT

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