Dual boot Ubuntu and another distro - auto mounting?

[bengateau]

Hi all,

I would like to install two Linux distros on two separate partitions on my PC. One will be Ubuntu for everyday usage and the other will be another Linux distro (haven't yet decided which one) which will be used only occasionally for things such as banking etc. I would like that Ubuntu does NOT see the other distro, and my question is: if Ubuntu sees another partition when loading, does it mounts automatically? If it does, is there a way to stop it from doing it?

Thanks, Ben

[sanemanmad]

No, all you need to do is configure GRUB to load X over Y first.


Try following this link as a tutorial.
Configuring GRUB BootLoader (http://www.techhandbook.com/linux/3090-How-configure-GRUB-Bootloader-Mint-LinuxUbuntu.html)

[sanemanmad]

Here is another link that may help...

Configuring GRUB (http://beginlinux.com/blog/2009/09/understanding-the-grub-bootloader-course/)

[sikander3786]

Depends on which distro you are going to choose. If it has got an option, you can choose not to install the bootloader. In that case you'll just have the Ubutnu boot loader and can later on add the new distro to Grub menu simply by running


sudo update-grub

It will just see the bootloader of that distro. Infact, Ubutnu will see the new distro's partition but won't mount it automatically unless you configure it for auto-mount in fstab.

[perspectoff]

It is also possible to keep all distros and OS's completely independent of each other (including independent of Grub 2) using instructions here:

http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Multiple_OS_Installation

or

http://kubuntuguide.org/Multiple_OS_Installation

As it stands, Grub 2 is installed in the Ubuntu partition (which is set to be referenced by the MasterBootRecord). If you ever lose or change that partition, or if Grub2 becomes quirky, your computer will not boot any OS until you fix/re-install it.

However, if you create an independent boot partition that exists merely to chainload other OS bootloaders, then your system can be independent of the Ubuntu OS (and Grub2). While I like Ubuntu, I have many clients that do not want to have their entire bootup process dependent on the Ubuntu distro (and Grub2) and don't want the MBR to point to Grub2.

The instructions above detail a way to do this.

[kansasnoob]

Hi all,

I would like to install two Linux distros on two separate partitions on my PC. One will be Ubuntu for everyday usage and the other will be another Linux distro (haven't yet decided which one) which will be used only occasionally for things such as banking etc. I would like that Ubuntu does NOT see the other distro, and my question is: if Ubuntu sees another partition when loading, does it mounts automatically? If it does, is there a way to stop it from doing it?

Thanks, Ben

I'm not sure what you mean by, "if Ubuntu sees another partition when loading, does it mounts automatically?"

By definition of "mount", no, neither OS is "mounted" while running the other. It seems like most people assume you're talking about grub being able to boot one or the other, but that's a different thing altogether.

I multi-boot a lot for testing purposes:

173054

And by default no OS "mounts" any part of another OS. The only way that would happen is if you shared "/home" which IMO is a bad idea anyway.

What is "mounted" at boot is largely determined by /etc/fstab. By default mine in Maverick looks like this:


lance@lance-desktop:~$ cat /etc/fstab
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid -o value -s UUID' to print the universally unique identifier
# for a device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name
# devices that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0
/dev/sda1 / ext3 errors=remount-ro 0 1
# swap is on /dev/sda9
UUID=80627269-1ccd-4774-b4ea-a5ef8824ffaa none swap sw 0 0


However I do want all OS's to mount the same "home/Documents - Downloads - etc" so I actually symlink the additional partitions:


lance@lance-desktop:~$ cat /etc/fstab
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid -o value -s UUID' to print the universally unique identifier
# for a device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name
# devices that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0
/dev/sda1 / ext3 errors=remount-ro 0 1
# swap is on /dev/sda9
UUID=80627269-1ccd-4774-b4ea-a5ef8824ffaa none swap sw 0 0
#/dev/sda5 /mnt/sda5 /home/lance/Backups
UUID=594c3d40-2791-4c0a-8644-d9812545da2d /mnt/sda5 ext3 defaults 0 2
#/dev/sda6 /mnt/sda6 /home/lance/Pictures
UUID=8a3f6c83-cb52-4caf-96b8-5faf2c830453 /mnt/sda6 ext3 defaults 0 2
#/dev/sda7 /mnt/sda7 /home/lance/Downloads
UUID=05289ee4-d681-4806-b6fd-aefd784f9323 /mnt/sda7 ext3 defaults 0 2
#/dev/sda8 /mnt/sda8 /home/lance/Documents
UUID=571cfad8-68c7-4703-883e-c0baa2a381d4 /mnt/sda8 ext3 defaults 0 2


Have I totally confused you :confused:

[kansasnoob]

I thought I should add that, aside from the "mounting" thing, even certain Firefox add-ons (such as Firefox Sync) can result in corrupt "files" being shared between distros.

Personally I use Firefox w/Firefox Sync for all of my daily surfing. I use Opera for banking and such and no one's robbed me yet :)

[bengateau]

Hi all,

thank you very much for all your replies. Sorry if my post wasn't clear. This is what I want: when Ubuntu is loaded, that it doesn't have access to another distro (I'll probably go with Debian). Good to hear that by default it will not. But I'm curious now about having the separate /boot partition. I posted message about partitions on JustLinux (http://www.justlinux.com/forum/showthread.php?t=153323) forum and was advised against it (separate /boot partition). The instructions listed on http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Multiple_OS_Installation are refering to Grub Legacy (I assume that's version 1) and the document it is linking to (Installing Multiple Linux Distributions on a Single Box) is almost 7 years old. Also, this quote is scaring me a bit (instructions on how to install second linux distro) "I recommend a Server edition, because some Desktop editions overwrite the Master Boot Record automatically, which is not at all desirable at this stage". I really want client installations, with all their ports closed. So my question is, are there instructions on how to do the same with Grub2? I understand Grub2 has changed significantly and I'm not sure if I can just follow the instructions for Grub to achieve the same.

Thanks, Ben.