Why must GRUB be installed to a drive rather than a partition, and how does the BIOS find it?
Why must "device for bootloader" be /dev/sda
instead of /dev/sda1
or /dev/sda2
?
Is it that GRUB can't be installed on a partition?
How does BIOS recognize the bootable devices? Is it that installation writes into BIOS?
boot grub2 system-installation bios
add a comment |
Why must "device for bootloader" be /dev/sda
instead of /dev/sda1
or /dev/sda2
?
Is it that GRUB can't be installed on a partition?
How does BIOS recognize the bootable devices? Is it that installation writes into BIOS?
boot grub2 system-installation bios
If a BIOS based system, BIOS boots from the MBR, or very first sector of a hard drive. It cannot directly read a partition. New UEFI systems boot from an ESP - efi system partition. Parts of grub are in boot loader location, parts may be hidden and grub menu is in your /boot/grub/grub.cfg. gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub/grub.html#Introduction
– oldfred
Nov 27 '18 at 16:39
add a comment |
Why must "device for bootloader" be /dev/sda
instead of /dev/sda1
or /dev/sda2
?
Is it that GRUB can't be installed on a partition?
How does BIOS recognize the bootable devices? Is it that installation writes into BIOS?
boot grub2 system-installation bios
Why must "device for bootloader" be /dev/sda
instead of /dev/sda1
or /dev/sda2
?
Is it that GRUB can't be installed on a partition?
How does BIOS recognize the bootable devices? Is it that installation writes into BIOS?
boot grub2 system-installation bios
boot grub2 system-installation bios
edited Jan 11 at 19:03
Zanna
50.6k13135241
50.6k13135241
asked Nov 27 '18 at 16:18
ranshransh
180117
180117
If a BIOS based system, BIOS boots from the MBR, or very first sector of a hard drive. It cannot directly read a partition. New UEFI systems boot from an ESP - efi system partition. Parts of grub are in boot loader location, parts may be hidden and grub menu is in your /boot/grub/grub.cfg. gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub/grub.html#Introduction
– oldfred
Nov 27 '18 at 16:39
add a comment |
If a BIOS based system, BIOS boots from the MBR, or very first sector of a hard drive. It cannot directly read a partition. New UEFI systems boot from an ESP - efi system partition. Parts of grub are in boot loader location, parts may be hidden and grub menu is in your /boot/grub/grub.cfg. gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub/grub.html#Introduction
– oldfred
Nov 27 '18 at 16:39
If a BIOS based system, BIOS boots from the MBR, or very first sector of a hard drive. It cannot directly read a partition. New UEFI systems boot from an ESP - efi system partition. Parts of grub are in boot loader location, parts may be hidden and grub menu is in your /boot/grub/grub.cfg. gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub/grub.html#Introduction
– oldfred
Nov 27 '18 at 16:39
If a BIOS based system, BIOS boots from the MBR, or very first sector of a hard drive. It cannot directly read a partition. New UEFI systems boot from an ESP - efi system partition. Parts of grub are in boot loader location, parts may be hidden and grub menu is in your /boot/grub/grub.cfg. gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub/grub.html#Introduction
– oldfred
Nov 27 '18 at 16:39
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
In BIOS mode, the computer system looks for a bootloader in the very head end of the computer, which is pointed to by /dev/sdx
, while /dev/sdxn
points to the head end of partition n in drive x.
If you have a bootloader in very head end of the computer (MBR), you can chainload to the head end of a partition (PBR), and in this case it can be useful to install a (second) bootloader there.
If you do not want to overwrite the head end of a partition (MBR), you can write to the head end of partition (PBR) without chainloading. Later on you can run sudo update-grub
in the main operating system and get grub menuentries for the new (dual- or multi-boot) operating system.
add a comment |
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1 Answer
1
active
oldest
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1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
In BIOS mode, the computer system looks for a bootloader in the very head end of the computer, which is pointed to by /dev/sdx
, while /dev/sdxn
points to the head end of partition n in drive x.
If you have a bootloader in very head end of the computer (MBR), you can chainload to the head end of a partition (PBR), and in this case it can be useful to install a (second) bootloader there.
If you do not want to overwrite the head end of a partition (MBR), you can write to the head end of partition (PBR) without chainloading. Later on you can run sudo update-grub
in the main operating system and get grub menuentries for the new (dual- or multi-boot) operating system.
add a comment |
In BIOS mode, the computer system looks for a bootloader in the very head end of the computer, which is pointed to by /dev/sdx
, while /dev/sdxn
points to the head end of partition n in drive x.
If you have a bootloader in very head end of the computer (MBR), you can chainload to the head end of a partition (PBR), and in this case it can be useful to install a (second) bootloader there.
If you do not want to overwrite the head end of a partition (MBR), you can write to the head end of partition (PBR) without chainloading. Later on you can run sudo update-grub
in the main operating system and get grub menuentries for the new (dual- or multi-boot) operating system.
add a comment |
In BIOS mode, the computer system looks for a bootloader in the very head end of the computer, which is pointed to by /dev/sdx
, while /dev/sdxn
points to the head end of partition n in drive x.
If you have a bootloader in very head end of the computer (MBR), you can chainload to the head end of a partition (PBR), and in this case it can be useful to install a (second) bootloader there.
If you do not want to overwrite the head end of a partition (MBR), you can write to the head end of partition (PBR) without chainloading. Later on you can run sudo update-grub
in the main operating system and get grub menuentries for the new (dual- or multi-boot) operating system.
In BIOS mode, the computer system looks for a bootloader in the very head end of the computer, which is pointed to by /dev/sdx
, while /dev/sdxn
points to the head end of partition n in drive x.
If you have a bootloader in very head end of the computer (MBR), you can chainload to the head end of a partition (PBR), and in this case it can be useful to install a (second) bootloader there.
If you do not want to overwrite the head end of a partition (MBR), you can write to the head end of partition (PBR) without chainloading. Later on you can run sudo update-grub
in the main operating system and get grub menuentries for the new (dual- or multi-boot) operating system.
answered Nov 27 '18 at 16:39
sudodussudodus
23.8k32874
23.8k32874
add a comment |
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If a BIOS based system, BIOS boots from the MBR, or very first sector of a hard drive. It cannot directly read a partition. New UEFI systems boot from an ESP - efi system partition. Parts of grub are in boot loader location, parts may be hidden and grub menu is in your /boot/grub/grub.cfg. gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub/grub.html#Introduction
– oldfred
Nov 27 '18 at 16:39