[bug #3814] Lack of clarity in some grub docs

[nobody]

=================== BUG #3814: LATEST MODIFICATIONS ==================
http://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?func=detailbug&bug_id=3814&group_id=68

Changes by: Yoshinori K. Okuji <address@hidden>
Date: Sun 11/16/03 at 15:55 (GMT)

            What     | Removed                   | Added
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Resolution | Duplicate                 | None
              Status | Closed                    | Open
      Dependent Bugs | 529                       | 


------------------ Additional Follow-up Comments ----------------------------
Oops. I made a change by accident, so I revert the previous change.



=================== BUG #3814: FULL BUG SNAPSHOT ===================


Submitted by: zenaan                  Project: GNU GRUB                     
Submitted on: Fri 05/30/03 at 02:17
Category:  Documentation              Severity:  Major                      
Priority:  None                       Bug Group:  Non-software Error        
Resolution:  None                     Assigned to:  None                    
Originator Name:                      Originator Email:                     
Status:  Open                         Release:  0.93                        
Reproducibility:  Every Time          Planned Release:                      

Summary:  Lack of clarity in some grub docs

Original Submission:  1) section "Invoking grub-install" (info):

Why would I want to use the following option (ie. it should tell me so I can 
learn why, and if there is anything else it should be used for)?:



"`--grub-shell=FILE'

     Use FILE as the grub shell. You can append arbitrary options to

     FILE after the file name, like this:



          grub-install --grub-shell="grub --read-only" /dev/fd0

"



2) (various):

"the native grub environment" is not clearly defined anywhere. I originally 
thought it meant using grub shell to install grub. Now I think it might mean 
booting from a grub floppy to install grub. I'm not sure now.



3) section "Installation" enhancement (recommendation):

I have stuffed my hdd boot sector on at least one occasion. There are two ways 
to experiment with grub installation without installing it into the boot sector 
(eg. /dev/hda, /dev/sda or hd0 etc).

i) install into a partition and using existing bootloader (eg. lilo) to 
chainload that partition

ii) install on a floppy, and boot from that



These might seem obvious to some of us, but they might be really useful bits of 
information to have at the start of the Installation section in the info doc, 
for newbies.



4) Unclear 'installation' concept ("Installation", misc):

There are two entirely separate parts of grub installation - as the first 
paragraph of Installation states "First, you need to have GRUB itself properly 
installed on your system, ..."



Perhaps there should be a new very first para reading something like "There are 
two entirely different steps to grub installation - into the operating system/ 
distribution, and onto a drive for booting."



The second para currently reads: "To use GRUB, you need to install it on your 
drive."



For the newbie, the current first two paras could probably be clearer 
(sometimes I even have to stop and think - not a bad thing in itself though :).



Perhaps the second para could start like "To use GRUB, you need to install it 
on your drive - ie. into the boot sector of the drive itself, or the bootsector 
of a partition. For this step, grub's stage1 must be told where stage2 is 
installed, ie. where is grub's "root".



This, for me, would have made things quicker for me to grasp. Despite working 
on PCs for a decade, I've found the grub docs confusing, and hopefully these 
things will help the next guy.



regards

zen

Follow-up Comments
*******************

-------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun 11/16/03 at 15:55         By: okuji
Oops. I made a change by accident, so I revert the previous change.


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