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Debian is the main distribution I use. However, I have been trying other distributions lately. I tried openSuse, which changed the OS selection screen into an overly flashy one, but ...
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  1. 06-17-2010 #1
    Cobalt60
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    Fedora alongside Debian, cant choose Debian to boot

    Debian is the main distribution I use. However, I have been trying other distributions lately. I tried openSuse, which changed the OS selection screen into an overly flashy one, but I could still choose which OS to boot. I then replaced Suse with Ubuntu, which changed the screen into an even less flashy one than Debian had on there, but anyway, I could still choose which OS to boot. Now, I just installed Fedora alongside Debian and Ubuntu, but I get no choice of what to boot into, it just boots right into Fedora.

    So, I need to boot into Debian, and want the option to choose between the currently installed 3 distros I have installed.

    Thanks for any help

    -Chris P
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  2. 06-17-2010 #2
    devils casper
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    Installer of RedHat based distros do not detect other installed Linux distros and Fedora is not an exception. It doesn't detect any other installed distro except Windows OSes.

    Two options:

    * Re-install GRUB of Debian or Ubuntu using LiveCD and add an entry of Fedora. It will be easy if you are using Ubuntu 9.10 or 10.04. GRUB2 will detect Fedora and setup multiboot.

    Or

    * Add entries of Debian and Ubuntu in /boot/grub/grub.conf file of Fedora manually.
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  3. 06-17-2010 #3
    Cobalt60
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    I booted off my Debian Net Install CD, went to rescue mode, and chose to re-install GRUB. However, I chose to re-install it to sda1, the first partition of the drive which is also used as a root for Debian . This did not fix the problem. Should I choose to install GRUB to Fedoras root?

    Thanks

    -Chris P
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  4. 06-17-2010 #4
    devils casper
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    Install GRUB of Debian in sda (MBR) not in sda1 (boot sector).
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  5. 06-17-2010 #5
    Cobalt60
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    Before, I got your reply, I installed GRUB to Fedoras root, which didnt work. But after getting your reply, I then installed to /dev/sda , but that still didnt work. It just boots straight into Fedora.
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  6. 06-17-2010 #6
    devils casper
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    Which command are you executing to re-install GRUB?
    Which version of Ubuntu are you using?
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  7. 06-17-2010 #7
    Cobalt60
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    On the Debian net install CD, you can choose "advanced options", then "rescue mode", and then one of the few options it has is "re-install grub". That is what I have been using. It asks you to choose a device to use a root (basically it only lets me select /dev/sda1, Debians root). It then asks where to install GRUB. Ive tried so far, /dev/sda1, /dev/sda, just now I tried (hd0) and (hd0,1).

    Ubuntu I want to say is perhaps the newest version, I only downloaded and installed it yesterday. But Debian 5.04 has been running for about a month.

    Thanks for any more suggestions
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  8. 06-17-2010 #8
    Cobalt60
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    I also want to add, IIRC, when I originally installed Debian, I chose not to install GRUB to the MBR, but chose root instead.
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  9. 06-17-2010 #9
    Cobalt60
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    My next idea is modifying the GRUB entry on Fedoras /boot. Is this a good idea, and if so, in what way should I modify it?
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  10. 06-17-2010 #10
    devils casper
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    Mount / partition of Debian and Ubuntu in Fedora. Open Debian's /boot/grub/menu.lst file and copy first title block ( first title, root, kernel and intird lines ) and paste in /boot/grub/grub.conf file of Fedora.
    Do the same for Ubuntu. Mount its / partition, copy first title block from its menu.lst file and paste in Fedora's grub.conf file.

    Put # sign before hiddenmenu line in grub.conf file of Fedora after adding title blocks.
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