Re: Installing GoboLinux

On Tue, Apr 07, 2015 at 06:47:57PM -0400, Mark Filipak wrote:
> I'm attempting to get a working Gobo system for about the 10th time. I'm
> installing into a VBox virtual machine.
> 
> Lucas recommends "Full" v. "Typical", so I tried it. This is a stream of
> consciousness record of the result. If this sort of thing irritates you,
> kindly avoid/ignore this thread. Thank you.
> 
> Part 1, When I format the (virtual) hard disk as part of the install,
> installing grub apparently is required because the resulting installed
> OS will not run without it. Question: If grub is required, why am I even
> given the option to not install it?

> Note that I know what grub is, so you don't need to explain it. And I
> also know I can later install other OSes that are selected via grub
> (though in a VM, that's rather silly). But can't the installer look at
> the hard drive to determine whether grub is already there so to better
> handle the situation? Is that asking too much of the "friendly" Linux
> operating system?

Hi Mark,

Installers are generally cautious about overwriting a
partition's boot record because this could be potentially
damaging to other OSs residing on the same disk.

I've experienced a more "friendly" Linux distribution that
attempts to rewrite GRUB after every package
install/upgrade. I find it intrusive and buggy, leading me
to go back to the simpler boot configuration of LILO.

I think it's great if an installer can be clever and
helpful. At the same time, it's a high priority that the
install should be conducted safely, unlike Windows which
encourages partitioning of the entire disk for the OS, and
as a consequence must be run before installing other OSs. 

Regards,

Joel

-- 
Joel Roth