How To Install Burg (boot loader based on Grub)

[battleshooter]

How might this look different if one is booting from a sd card?

I think it's similar to nilsonmorales' usb case. As the mbr is written to the usb/sdcard and is the device being booted from, it sees itself as the first hence set root='(hd0,1)', first drive, first partition.

How might one write the boot code for Android?

I really wondered how I was going to answer this question, but thankful Android is Linux at heart, it still looks basically the same, (at least to me) load the kernel with Linux, initrd.img with initrd

Here's a template of what I think would work for you for the Android entry:

Code: Select all

#Android Example#
menuentry 'Android' --class andoid --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os --group group_main {
set root='(hd0,1)'
linux androidx86/kernel
androidboot.hardware=generic_x86 SRC=/androidx86 
initrd androidx86/initrd.img
} 

I don't think that will work out of the box, probably need to tweak and experiment a bit, but it's a start. I didn't include the UUIDs, in my experience I haven't needed them to boot with BURG, but if this fails, it would be my first port of call to add, as well as checking the locations given in the entry check out.

Burg, Grub (legacy), Grub2, or grub4dos

What are you most familiar with? That's what I'd go with as you'll be doing most the hands on work, any online help will really only be us shouting directions from the distance I don't think any of them should have any trouble booting Android provided the boot parameters are correct.

Me personally, I have no experience with grub4dos, so I won't be much help there. There's quite a lot of information out there though so I think you're free to take your pick which way you want to go regardless of my limitations.

[edoc]

I'm most familiar with GRUB but am guessing there was a reason they updated to GRUB2 - has GRUB-legacy been eol'd?

I don't need the graphics piece of BURG.

I don't understand the difference between GRUB/GRUB2 & grub4dos -- especially as it applies to the task of multi-boot from a sd card on my W500P tablet.

[amigo]

grub4dos is based on legacy grub (0.97) which was started many years ago. It adds lots of additional functionality, while maintaining compatibility with legacy grub config files. grub2 is re-write from scratch, in order to fix some basic flaws of grub legacy. Its config files are not compatible with grub-legacy or grub4dos.

[battleshooter]

grub4dos is based on legacy grub (0.97) which was started many years ago. It adds lots of additional functionality, while maintaining compatibility with legacy grub config files. grub2 is re-write from scratch, in order to fix some basic flaws of grub legacy. Its config files are not compatible with grub-legacy or grub4dos.

So looks like grub4dos might be what you're after Edoc, instead of Burg. You're used to grub and grub4dos is the updated version.

Thanks for the summary amigo.

[mikeb]

in order to fix some basic flaws of grub legacy.

Ok that begs the question as to what these are?
(international support? one bonus of the windows bootloader change and grub 2 does seem to mimic it in many ways)

Always been curious about that one and you probably will give a clearer answer than wading through the internet.

mike

[edoc]

Our 19yr old son & I plan to work together through the CodeAcademy.com free online training courses this Winter/Spring - so I need to get my head into code learning mode.

I have no problem learning Grub2 if it is in fact better - and it's likely to be around longer than Grub-legacy and the grub4dos patched Grub-legacy.

WDYT?

[amigo]

legacy-grub will only work on ix86 machines. I use a fairly-patched version of grub-0.97 which includes some patches back-ported from grub4dos. grub4dos has added hundreds of new features and so it is hard to isolate and backport code from their base -it has been independent for more than 10 years now. fedora, ubuntu, opensuse, mandriva, LFS , arch and gentoo all use a few common patches. And some of them use drastically-patched versions, or did when they still used grub-legacy.

[mikeb]

Okay...so it seems grub4dos has sort of kept things more up to date at least for PCs while retaining the simplicity of grub 1 in general use .... therefore grub 2 to include other architecture support basically.

Funny I got hammered here a few years back for wondering why grub4dos was not used instead of legacy grub for reasons of being more up to date and more flexible in matters puppy (frugal to fat32 for example...)

well thanks for the info

mike

[nilsonmorales]

Found this in devianart, so i just add the puppylogos