10.10 - Dual Boot. Over simplified installation process.

[Parasitic]

I'd just like to express my disappointment in the new installation manager you have, it is a massive downgrade from the previous ones.

When I tried installing via your new manager it presented me with a few problems, first of all it would not correctly detect my partitions, I have 2 separate partitions, my windows and what acts as my play around, I install Linux distros, play around and install another when I get bored or run into bugs, so this is not my first time installing anything.
When I tried installing I assumed the option to "Install alongside other OS'" would work perfectly, but instead of asking to remove what was openSUSE (which is what it would do in previous versions and other installation managers)and just install Ubuntu on top, instead it wanted to resize my windows partition and install next to that, this is obviously not a good idea because it would cause a lot of problems for windows, and windows wouldn't boot without me running a repair. So I tried using GParted to delete my openSUSE installation. I then tried to install the same way, but with no luck, it; didn't see the free space. So I manually set a swap of 2GB and the rest of the partition as ext4 starting in "/" (This is the only way it would work and have no idea what it means). Ubuntu installed and works... however.

I am also disappointed in the lack of control over the installation when it finally happens. First off, it starts to install even before you have selected where you are, with no option to stop, or pause. Second, it does not ask whether you actually want GRUB, which OS is going to be booted by default and how long it should display options before booting. Third, it assumes you want the root password to be the same as the user password and has no option to add more than one user or set a separate root password.

This installer is an insult of peoples intelligence. I'm a windows guy, but not that stupid. There is making it easy, and making it so damn easy no one ever learns anything, because it's all point-and-click.

[dabl]

I'd just like to express my disappointment in the new installation manager you have



This is a user forum -- we don't own the installer.




I install Linux distros, play around and install another when I get bored or run into bugs



Sounds like a fun hobby.




This installer is an insult of peoples intelligence. I'm a windows guy, but not that stupid. There is making it easy, and making it so damn easy no one ever learns anything, because it's all point-and-click.

If you would pause your distro-hopping for long enough to use the Alternate Install CD (http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ubuntu/alternative-download), you might find something more to your taste. :)

[Parasitic]

So... Looking at it, I think I managed to install Ubuntu correctly after all... however, two problems remain how can I change GRUB settings and how can I change the root pass? If I can do this from within windows it would be even nicer. I do have ex2explore.

[Parasitic]

This is a user forum -- we don't own the installer.


It was from my understanding this was a community project, open source and so forth.

[oldfred]

Ubuntu does not have a root user. It uses sudo for any command where you want administrative privileges. It is just part of the way Ubuntu works.

Forum policy on log-in-as-root tutorials
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1486138
Forum rules on root vs. sudo
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=716201
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RootSudo

[bryanfblareunion]

You don't like, Linux? I think maybe you have something wrong with either you or your computer. Ubuntu is great, and that's all there is to that. lol

[Pumalite]

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/10/10-things-to-do-after-installing-ubuntu-10-10-maverick-meerkat/

[efflandt]

The side by side installation is for novices that may have no clue how to make free space available. It is not going to resize or step on partitions other than the one you select to install side by side with.

It is unfortunate that they somewhat hide how to put grub where you want it, but novices probably do not even know what that is. It is also unfortunate that grub2 may end up on the wrong drive if someone has more than one, and is larger than the DOS/Win mbr and some Windows programs feel that they can store data in what they think is an unused part of the mbr. That can make grub2 not work, possibly rendering their system unbootable until they get help how to fix it (which may be difficult if someone only has one computer that does not boot).

If you are an experienced Linux user, you would manually configure whatever free space or partition(s) you want to use for Ubuntu, or select which partition(s) you might want to format and install over.

But even though I am an experienced Linux user (since mid-90's) who wanted to put grub2 in sda4 instead of the mbr, I missed that at the bottom of the manual partition selection page during install, and grub2 ended up in the mbr. That worked fine booting Ubuntu, but the first time I ran Win7 something stepped on grub2 and I could not boot anything. But fortunately I first did a regular install to USB hard drive (which automatically defaulted to putting grub on that drive during 10.10 beta), so I was able to use that to boot Ubuntu on my main hard drive, install grub on sda4 (which I had to --force because grub2 complained), and use gparted to mark sda4 as the boot partition. Then I used a Win7 disk to bootrec /FixMbr. Then everything worked like I wanted it.

So even an experienced Linux user can be thrown for a loop when installation changes and there are no instructions you can look through in advance (or help during install) to see how everything is done. Or maybe there are details somewhere and I just have not found them?

How you configure grub from here depends upon what you want to do with it. Normal config for menus and kernel boot options is done with /etc/default/grub and scripts in /etc/grub.d/. GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT is for normal boot or GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX applies to all Linux boots, including (recovery) entries. You should not edit /boot/grub/grub.cfg because it will get overwritten. In a terminal do apropos grub to see other man pages related to grub. If you want to grub-install or update-grub, that has to be done as root, so you should precede the command with sudo.

System > Adminstration > Users and Groups can add users, etc. See this about root https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RootSudo

[Parasitic]

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/newbie/7324-how-do-i-change-boot-order-grub.html

http://www.ubuntux.org/how-to-change-the-root-password-in-ubuntu

For anyone who actually wants the info Google turned up for me in 2 seconds.

[dabl]

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/newbie/7324-how-do-i-change-boot-order-grub.html




Right. Editing /boot/grub/menu.lst -- that's what you want to do. Post back when you've got that working. :guitar:

[Parasitic]

# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
#
# It is automatically generated by grub-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
#

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then
set have_grubenv=true
load_env
fi
set default="3"
if [ "${prev_saved_entry}" ]; then
set saved_entry="${prev_saved_entry}"
save_env saved_entry
set prev_saved_entry=
save_env prev_saved_entry
set boot_once=true
fi

function savedefault {
if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then
saved_entry="${chosen}"
save_env saved_entry
fi
}

function recordfail {
set recordfail=1
if [ -n "${have_grubenv}" ]; then if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then save_env recordfail; fi; fi
}

function load_video {
insmod vbe
insmod vga
}

insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos6)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 48875f85-6ca4-46e4-9d9a-4c7261ae4283
if loadfont /usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2 ; then
set gfxmode=640x480
load_video
insmod gfxterm
fi
terminal_output gfxterm
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos6)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 48875f85-6ca4-46e4-9d9a-4c7261ae4283
set locale_dir=($root)/boot/grub/locale
set lang=en
insmod gettext
if [ "${recordfail}" = 1 ]; then
set timeout=-1
else
set timeout=10
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###
set menu_color_normal=white/black
set menu_color_highlight=black/light-gray
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
menuentry 'Ubuntu' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos6)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 48875f85-6ca4-46e4-9d9a-4c7261ae4283
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-22-generic-pae root=UUID=48875f85-6ca4-46e4-9d9a-4c7261ae4283 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.35-22-generic-pae
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### END /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos6)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 48875f85-6ca4-46e4-9d9a-4c7261ae4283
linux16 /boot/memtest86+.bin
}
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry "Windows Vista" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ntfs
set root='(hd0,msdos1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set c6385a52385a421b
chainloader +1
}
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries. Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment. Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
if [ -f $prefix/custom.cfg ]; then
source $prefix/custom.cfg;
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###

I went ahead and edited this file, I don't like it when files tell me to leave them alone. I deleted some of the crap to make my GRUB experience so much prettier, hope this boots, or i'll be upset ;)

Also set my root password... also Ubuntu terminal seems different.. perhaps overly protective... wouldn't let me use "su" or "sudo" had to use "sudo -s" and it didn't ask for a password.


EDIT: It boots.