1 reply to this topic

[xpt]

Advocate GRUB for DOS (Grub4Dos)

Trying to salvage the msgs that I posted on the abandoned English forum...

Post at 2008-2-23

Hi,

I'd like to advocate Grub4Dos in the distros that I like, specifically:

- Slax, http://www.slax.org/forum.php
- wolvix, http://wolvix.org/forum
- grml, http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php

Please comment on the following writing, I mean,

- have I missed anything?
- did I make any mistakes in above claiming?
- did I put them correctly? eg, the benefit of two step booting instead of three, etc.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
So far, seems to me that the GRUB for DOS is still a hidden treasure that
most people haven't realized its beauty and power. Please don't be confused
by its name, GRUB for DOS, Grub4Dos is actually the best GRUB boot loader so
far until GRUB2 is able to catch up with Grub4Dos's features and get mature
enough.

In a nutshell, it is advanced GRUB that

- is 100% compatible with gnu grub 0.97
- so it is a given to have multiple levels of submenus. This is ideal to put multiple distros into the same disk, while keeping and maintain each distros' boot menu individually, instead of having a humongous root menu to gulp everything.
- actively developed and maintained instead of feature-frozen
- can use nice boot up graphics without patching
- can be used as the boot loader for both CDROM and HD, which means
* no more disjointed modules (Isolinux/Syslinux) any more
* no need to endure the limitation of Syslinux from Isolinux any more
* no need to develop separate methods to boot from CDROM and HD installation any more
- can chainload Isolinux (when used as bootable cd-loader), Syslinux, BCDW, EZBOOT (EasyBoot), etc.
- can be put in and boot from both Linux and Windows major partitions
* the ideal boot loader for Slax and its derived distros that can reside in both Linux and Windows partitions
* no need to develop separate methods to boot from Linux based or Windows based HD installation any more
- can be used from within both Linux and Windows environments
- its hybrid executable can be launched from both Linux and DOS/Windows
- uses two step booting instead of three so that it is easier to install and
will not break even if you make changes later (e.g., rearrange your
partitions).
- thus is more tolerable than normal grub when booting USB keys (= better success rate).
- is the only boot loader that can boot up CDROM
- can boot up not only floppy disk images but also Hard Disk/HDD-ZIP/HDD-USB images
- can even boot *straight from* some no-emulation-mode CD .iso files
- can use file as well as partition as the source of the ramdisk
- can use memdisk devices loaded by inited
- can even map a specified range of memory as a ramdisk
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Moreover, I remember that I came over a page that introduce
Grub4Dos in English. It's not the GRUB for DOS tutorial from bean, but someone else, who (actively) participates in bbs.znpc.net Grub4Dos forum discussion.

I remember that at the end of the article, it says that people who submit patches to grub eventually turned around and submit to Grub4Dos instead.

I just can't find it any more. Have any one come across such article?

Or, can you suggest more introductive/tutorial articles in English please?

thanks!

xpt

[was_jaclaz]

Well, you actually ASKED for it:

- is 100% compatible with gnu grub 0.97

Not true, it is NOT 100% compatible as it misses a number of "original" GRUB commands (but has many more missing in it)

- can use nice boot up graphics without patching

Not true, the format of the image is fixed to a relatively low resolution and to 14 colours only, it is rather difficult to create a nice image within these limits.
There is a "gfx" patch that allows for "better" images somewhere on a Russin site, but it was for a rather oldish version and this would mean needing some fixes and a recompile anyway.

- can be used from within both Linux and Windows environments
- its hybrid executable can be launched from both Linux and DOS/Windows

Not completely true, grldr is OS independent, but grub.exe is DOS only. (it CAN work under Linux when called through LOADLIN or KEXEC, but there are problems on many versions/distros - kexec needs to be enabled in the kernel)

- uses two step booting instead of three so that it is easier to install and
will not break even if you make changes later (e.g., rearrange your
partitions).
thus is more tolerable than normal grub when booting USB keys (= better success rate).

this appears to me as a not-yet-proven statement, and expecially the reference to three or two stages as the reason why grub4dos is supposedly more tolerant

- is the only boot loader that can boot up CDROM
- can even boot *straight from* some no-emulation-mode CD .iso files

if you mean that grldr is the only floppy/hd bootloader that can be used as no-emulation bootsector on CD-ROM's, yes, it is correct

- can use memdisk devices loaded by inited

initrd

Or, can you suggest more introductive/tutorial articles in English please?

Just browse the forum, almost ANY thread in here:
http://www.boot-land...ub4dos-f66.html
contain some info for specific settings.

In some rare cases, information can also be used "as is" as a tutorial, here is an example:
http://www.boot-land...mine-t3963.html

jaclaz