RE: grub and dos, windows, and linux?

[Greg White]

>> On 2008/10/17 20:48 (GMT-0500) Greg composed:
>>
>> I now have a need to tri-boot DOS, XP, and Linux. I have dual booted XP and 
>> Linux for years using grub. My problem is with DOS.
>> The system:
>> P3 800Mhz
>> 1GB RAM
>> SCSI hard drives
>> Adapatec 2930U2 scsi card
>
>> My plan:
>> sda1:
>> 100MB FAT32 DOS or even FreeDOS
>> sda2:
>> rest of the disk space for XP
>
>> sdb1:
>> Linux - whole disk
>
>> based on what I have read I should install DOS, Windows, and Linux in this 
>> order.
>
> And what happens when you need to re-install Windows? A good multiboot plan
> includes comprehending the virtual inevitability that this will happen at
> some point in time. Start understanding by reading:
> http://fm.no-ip.com/install-doz-after.html
>
>> My grub.conf should look something like this:
>> default=0
>> title DOS Boot Disk
>> root(hd0,0)
>> chainloader +1
>
>> title Hat Linux
>> root (hd1,0)
>> kernel /vmlinuz ro root=/dev/sdb1
>
>> title Windows XP
>> rootnoverify (hd0,1)
>> chainloader +1
>
>> Will this work?
>
> Only partially....
>
>> Are there any potential issues I should know about?
>
> Both DOS and Windows must start from "C:", and both insist that C: be the
> sole visible primary partition on what they think is the first HD. Note the
> keyword "start". To put both on separate primary partitions on the same HD
> means configuring the boot loader to change the partition types of those
> primaries between "visible" and "hidden" according to which partition is
> selected for boot. Your Grub menu will only work for whichever of the
> partitions is visible, and then only if the other is hidden.
>
> Windows need not be _installed_ on "C:" (sda1). You can first "install" DOS
> on the visible primary, then _install_ Windows XP on a logical (e.g. D:, on
> sda5). The installation will install NT Loader on "C:", which will
> automatically create a menu from which you can choose between DOS and
> Windows, the former of which will start and run from C:, and the latter of
> which will start from C: but run from its installation drive.
> --
> Felix Miata *** http://fm.no-ip.com/

It sounds like I should probably do this instead:
sda1: Dos 100 MB
sda2: Linux
sda3: Linux swap

sdb: Windows XP

When I install XP I just unplug sda, install XP, and plug it back it.  Then 
install grub to sda.  How does this sound?

Thanks,

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