Multi-booting Winxp and 2 x SuSe11.0

[daeki]

Hi All, a first post in this Forum!
My system; one harddrive with winxp and suse11. and a working grup loader.
As my winxp is starting to get full I picked some large files up from the winxp area to suse11 area then
I installed an additional harddrive and installed suse11.0 once more by net.
2.nd install seems to be ok as well,

My idea was to transfer my large video file from first suse11 to new suse11
to end up with winxp and suse on separat harddrives
Problem starts when grup loader not pointing to new hdd with new suse on.

On the motherboard I use SATA interface 6 hdd one, sata5 dvd-rw, sata4 new hdd, is this a problem for allocating phycical location?
I was expecting each suse11 would be able to r/w to each others areas?
This should have been a simple operation which failed
In short the 'Grup' not correct, but why?
I could erase hdd2 and arrance the partition different to solve my store problem.
Some help would be useful.
tks for your time.
Daeki

[Jonathan183]

Welcome to the forums daeki
You should be able to separate XP and Linux quite easily. Can you boot from the latest Linux install and post the output of

su -
fdisk -l
cat /boot/grub/menu.lst
cat /etc/fstab

the l is a small L
Also let us know a bit more about where your data is stored, and where you want it copied to ... someone should then be able to give you a bit more guidance.

[daeki]

Tks for reply as to your info request:

2.nd latest linux is not booting as loader is not in place,
load point /srv and /tmp was used to open for access from working linux on /dev/sda2

# fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sda: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x3cacb677

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 2611 20972826 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 2612 24804 178265272+ 83 Linux

Disk /dev/sdb: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x0005af09

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 1 20397 163838871 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdb2 20398 60801 324545130 f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sdb5 20398 20659 2104483+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdb6 20660 24577 31463302 83 Linux
/dev/sdb7 31104 60801 238549153+ 83 Linux

# cat /boot/grub/menu.lst
# Modified by YaST2. Last modification on Sat Sep 13 20:54:26 CEST 2008
default 2
timeout 8
gfxmenu (hd0,5)/boot/message

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: linux###
title openSUSE 11.0
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.25.16-0.1-default root=/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD501LJS0MUJ1DPC05804-part6 resume=/dev/sdb5 splash=silent showopts vga=0x317
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.25.16-0.1-default

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: openSUSE 11.0 (/dev/sda1)###
title openSUSE 11.0 (/dev/sda1)
rootnoverify (hd0,5)
chainloader (hd1,0)+1

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: windows###
title Windows
rootnoverify (hd0,5)
chainloader (hd0,0)+1

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: failsafe###
title Failsafe -- openSUSE 11.0
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.25.16-0.1-default root=/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD501LJS0MUJ1DPC05804-part6 showopts ide=nodma apm=off acpi=off noresume edd=off x11failsafe vga=0x317
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.25.16-0.1-default

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: Kernel-2.6.25.16-0.1-default###
title Kernel-2.6.25.16-0.1-default
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.25.16-0.1-default root=/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD501LJS0MUJ1DPC05804-part6 resume=/dev/sdb5 splash=silent showopts vga=0x317
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.25.16-0.1-default

# cat /etc/fstab
/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD501LJS0MUJ1DPC05804-part5 swap swap defaults 0 0
/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD501LJS0MUJ1DPC05804-part6 / ext3 acl,user_xattr 1 1
/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD501LJS0MUJ1DPC05804-part7 /home ext3 acl,user_xattr 1 2
/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD501LJS0MUJ1DPC05804-part1 /windows/C ntfs-3g users,gid=users,fmask=133,dmask=022,locale=en_US.U TF-8 0 0
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs noauto 0 0
debugfs /sys/kernel/debug debugfs noauto 0 0
usbfs /proc/bus/usb usbfs noauto 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts mode=0620,gid=5 0 0
/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD502IJS13TJ1BQ700754-part1 /srv ext3 defaults 1 2
/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD502IJS13TJ1BQ700754-part2 /tmp ext3 defaults 1 2
linux-gkl7:~ #

[Jonathan183]

If I understand correctly you want Windows only on the old hard drive, Linux only on the new hard drive and the option to boot Linux or Windows from the Grub menu ... if this is correct ...
My suggestion is to:-
1. get a copy of the SuperGrub CD (if you don't have it already) & PartedMagic CD.
2. unplug the old hard drive (with Windows) from the system completely and do a fresh install of openSUSE to the new hard drive - create root, home and swap partitions.
3. After the install make sure the system boots correctly with the new hard drive only connected.
4. Next connect both hard drives and boot the system (new Linux should start ... if the old Linux menu comes up then change BIOS to boot from new hard drive - change cables/links etc).
5. With new Linux install booted - open a terminal and use

su -
mkdir /media/sdb7
mount /dev/sdb7 /media/sdb7

6. Copy required information from sdb7 to your new home area as required.
7. You can do a similar thing with Windows data as well if required (for sdb1).
8. Once you are sure you have all data required copied to your new hard drive shutdown the system and disconnect the new hard drive (make sure you have all user data backed up because partition resize can result in data loss for example due to power failure part way through the resize process )
9. Restart the system using the PartedMagic CD and remove/resize the Linux partitions as required and resize the Windows partition to suit your desired layout.
10. Shutdown and restart the system with the Supergrub CD and select fix Windows boot.
11. Check Windows is able to boot with only the old hard drive connected.
12. Connect both hard drives to the system, boot from Linux, open a terminal and check the output of the

fdisk -l

command.

Assuming you have Windows on sdb1 then you need to modify the Grub menu to add an entry for the Windows boot ... something like ...

title Windows
rootnoverify (hd1,0)
map (hd0) (hd1)
map (hd1) (hd0)
chainloader +1

[daeki]

Jonathan 183
Yes Your understanding is correct, make it simple was the idea.

I have reloaded my last linux11.0 with better partitioning, I'm sure it did not load correctly.
I will use yur guiding thank you
The 2 CD's looks like MUST have and maintained as well very good tks.
I shall report when this is running

My next will be to install VM under the linux os
to make life easier.
Daeki

[daeki]

Jonathan 183

Last part getting the grub to boot window-xp failed to work

had some learning cycles here, well thats good.

it appears that sata interface may not have hardware adresse apart from the disk-id.

data transfer was done no problem

some info follows:
linux-xzju:~ # fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x3cacb677

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 262 2104483+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 263 3526 26218080 83 Linux
/dev/sda3 3527 3788 2104515 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda4 3789 60801 457956922+ f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sda5 3789 5355 12586896 83 Linux
/dev/sda6 5356 7314 15735636 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 7315 8620 10490413+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda8 8621 54310 367004893+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda9 54311 60801 52138926 83 Linux

Disk /dev/sdb: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xf832f832

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 1 20397 163838871 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdb2 20398 60800 324537097+ f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sdb5 20398 60800 324537066 7 HPFS/NTFS
linux-xzju:~ #cat /boot/grub/menu.lst
# Modified by YaST2. Last modification on Wed Sep 17 21:36:37 BST 2008
default 0
timeout 8
gfxmenu (hd0,0)/message
##YaST - activate

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: linux###
title openSUSE 11.0
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.25.16-0.1-default root=/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD502IJS13TJ1BQ700754-part2 resume=/dev/sdb5 splash=silent showopts vga=0x317
initrd /initrd-2.6.25.16-0.1-default

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: windows###
title Windows
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader (hd0)+1

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: failsafe###
title Failsafe -- openSUSE 11.0
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.25.16-0.1-default root=/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD502IJS13TJ1BQ700754-part2 showopts ide=nodma apm=off acpi=off noresume edd=off x11failsafe vga=0x317
initrd /initrd-2.6.25.16-0.1-default

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: Kernel-2.6.25.16-0.1-default###
title Kernel-2.6.25.16-0.1-default
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.25.16-0.1-default root=/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD502IJS13TJ1BQ700754-part2 resume=/dev/sdb5 splash=silent showopts vga=0x317
initrd /initrd-2.6.25.16-0.1-default
linux-xzju:~ # cat /etc/fstab
/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD502IJS13TJ1BQ700754-part3 swap swap defaults 0 0
/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD501LJS0MUJ1DPC05804-part5 swap swap defaults 0 0
/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD502IJS13TJ1BQ700754-part2 / ext3 acl,user_xattr 1 1
/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD502IJS13TJ1BQ700754-part1 /boot ext3 acl,user_xattr 1 2
/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD502IJS13TJ1BQ700754-part8 /home ext3 acl,user_xattr 1 2
/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD502IJS13TJ1BQ700754-part7 /opt ext3 acl,user_xattr 1 2
/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD502IJS13TJ1BQ700754-part9 /tmp ext3 acl,user_xattr 1 2
/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD502IJS13TJ1BQ700754-part5 /usr ext3 acl,user_xattr 1 2
/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD502IJS13TJ1BQ700754-part6 /var ext3 acl,user_xattr 1 2
/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_SAMSUNG_HD501LJS0MUJ1DPC05804-part1 /windows/C ntfs-3g users,gid=users,fmask=133,dmask=022,locale=en_US.U TF-8 0 0
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs noauto 0 0
debugfs /sys/kernel/debug debugfs noauto 0 0
usbfs /proc/bus/usb usbfs noauto 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts mode=0620,gid=5 0 0
linux-xzju:~ #
winxp is booting direct no grup menu comming up
Daeki

[Jonathan183]

Have you tried adding code I gave in post 4 to your grub menu.lst file? The current entry you have is trying to chainload the linux partition ... you need

title Windows
rootnoverify (hd1,0)
map (hd0) (hd1)
map (hd1) (hd0)
chainloader +1

Don't worry about the disk by_id ... thats just the default method openSUSE uses for partition references - try the above code in grub

Ed: I don't think your fstab entry matches fdisk output either ... fdisk indicates partition 5 is linux format but fstab is trying to use it as swap. Compare this with partition 3 which is a swap partition. I'm not sure why you have created so many partitions and separated out /opt /tmp /usr etc either this adds some complexity and you can end up running out of space on one of the partitions with lots of room left on other partitions.

[daeki]

Jonathan 183

Ok, success, thank You.

what happend was
I removed the entry in fstab of the 'exstra swap pointer',
I reversed the system priority sequence to sata4 ,sata5 as is my setup
now linux booted first, but windows not booting, wrong grub boot instruction
I tried to chance via SGD-cd that 's not possible, went to linux grub folder
for the file meny.lst edit/add the windows (last section) with the 2 'map' as in you info, save, used yast/bootloader to rewrite and test ist was done ok.

as for too many partitions, well -to seperate program and data, but obviously too much, how can I get them back under / (root) , and only separete data like /user ?
daeki

[Jonathan183]

Jonathan 183

Ok, success, thank You.

what happend was
I removed the entry in fstab of the 'exstra swap pointer',
I reversed the system priority sequence to sata4 ,sata5 as is my setup
now linux booted first, but windows not booting, wrong grub boot instruction
I tried to chance via SGD-cd that 's not possible, went to linux grub folder
for the file meny.lst edit/add the windows (last section) with the 2 'map' as in you info, save, used yast/bootloader to rewrite and test ist was done ok.

as for too many partitions, well -to seperate program and data, but obviously too much, how can I get them back under / (root) , and only separete data like /user ?
daeki

Do you have everything working now?

If you want to recombine partitions then I think the easiest way to do this without a re-install is:-
1. booting from a live CD
2. mount partitions and cp -a information back to your root partition in the correct folder.
3. update fstab so that other partitions are no longer accessed.
4. check system boots and functions correctly.
5. delete/resize partitions to use the disk space - backup data to your Windows drive before you resize the partitions

You may find it easier to backup your existing data to the Windows drive, delete unwanted partitions, resize your home partition, unplug the Windows hard drive and do a fresh install. If you decide to go down this route then make sure you have a copy of /boot/grub/menu.lst file to make setting up the dual boot after the install easier.

Ed: either way this is not a 5 minute job ... I suggest you work out what partitioning scheme you want to use ... you can try running with what you have at the moment ... try df -h and see how much space you have at the moment on each partition. You could fix the partitioning issue at your next install rather than doing it now provided you have enough disk space

[daeki]

Jonathan 183

Yes all working thank you, well
I can now go on explore suse 11.0 's many applications.

As for removal of too many partitions, I will wait a bit, I have video films which need to be compressed, that could reduce the size of data I need to save. still looking for programs to do that but faster, most are very slow.
Live cd I'll look at that too. interesting use, easy to test.
Linux is the fastest to re-load in 2-3 hours, winxp is a nightmare, loads easily, but the many updates is a much bigger time cosumer.
Backup data - I'm looking at a NAS server synology ds207+, small compact
not too expensive.
again thank you for your help,
Daeki