Grub

[Wraithan]

Ok, I am trying to install GRUB to a hard drive from a computer with windows. I don't have any burnables or else I would just burn a Live CD that has GRUB ready to install. I have a hard drive plugged into my laptop via a USB Hard Drive Enclosure. I have the flavour of Linux on it I want to run, but I can't get it to boot... so I am trying to make it bootable.

I dropped DSL on it with a FAT32 partition, the drive is small enough that I can make it a FAT16 partition (I think), but since I don't have a working installation of Linux on any of my 'puters, I can't format as a Linux partition and dump on the distro.

Any thoughts?

DSL = Damn Small Linux

[edit]Ok, well I am a lot closer with it... managed to get DSL installed on the drive properly, but since it was installed with the name of it being /dev/sda I am having problems changing it to /dev/hda in the lilo.conf since I am editing it through DSL-VM version though VMware... and I can't run lilo when I am done editing like it says I should... any thoughts?
[/edit]

[joeprogrammer]

[edit]Ok, well I am a lot closer with it... managed to get DSL installed on the drive properly, but since it was installed with the name of it being /dev/sda I am having problems changing it to /dev/hda in the lilo.conf since I am editing it through DSL-VM version though VMware... and I can't run lilo when I am done editing like it says I should... any thoughts?
[/edit]

What do you mean, you can't run Lilo when you're done editing? Just save the file, and run /sbin/lilo. I don't know what would prevent you from running that, even with DSL-VM.

Yes, you should use Lilo instead of Grub. Although it's older, it's also way easier to modify the lilo.conf file for /dev/sda (I had to do it on my laptop). If you can't get the configuration right, I can give you my Lilo.conf file, if you'll give me a few hours.

[Wraithan]

I have gotten it mostly worked out by talking to a buddy at work who is pretty linux savvy and has done the low hardware stuff before. I will look at the /sbin/ when I get home, but remember reading about that then trying it and not having it work since it wasn't there.

I think I am going to use GRUB and just configure it during start up. My buddy said that it is pretty simple to edit it during start up. Plus if you mess up GRUB it drops you to the GRUB commandline and if you mess up Lilo you just killed your MBR and have to hook it up to another computer to remedy it. Atleast according to what I have read.

[joeprogrammer]

I have gotten it mostly worked out by talking to a buddy at work who is pretty linux savvy and has done the low hardware stuff before. I will look at the /sbin/ when I get home, but remember reading about that then trying it and not having it work since it wasn't there.

I think I am going to use GRUB and just configure it during start up. My buddy said that it is pretty simple to edit it during start up. Plus if you mess up GRUB it drops you to the GRUB commandline and if you mess up Lilo you just killed your MBR and have to hook it up to another computer to remedy it. Atleast according to what I have read.

You don't have tp hook it up to another computer if you mess up Lilo. For one thing, when you run /sbin/lilo, it has a syntax checker, and will alert you of any errors before you even reboot.

Secondly, even if something does go haywire, all you have to do is insert your Live CD, mount your root partition, and redit the /etc/lilo.conf file, save, and rerun /sbin/lilo. It's that simple.

[Wraithan]

If I had a live CD I wouldn't be having these problems . I am doing this without CDs/floppies and the computer doesn't have any USB ports.

I have seen it said several times. There are different boot loaders for different people, just like there are 100s of distros. I want to use GRUB since I have used it before a bit. I was using Lilo since it was mentioned somewhere as a method to do the type of install I want to do. Now that I have it worked out though, I should be able to use GRUB without problems.