Boot-Update

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Funtoo boot-update provides a unified mechanism for configuring the GRUB 1.9x (No results) and GRUB 0.97 (No results) boot loaders. It is the recommended, official way to configure Funtoo Linux systems for booting.

Current Version

sys-boot/boot-update

Man Pages

Consult the following man pages for detailed, up-to-date information on configuration file settings and command-line arguments:

boot-update(8)
boot.conf(5)

GRUB 1.97+ Quick Start

If using sys-boot/grub-1.97 or later, perform the following steps:

Partition disk using GPT/GUID (recommended) or MBR partitions.
Install kernel/initrd to /boot

root # emerge sys-boot/boot-update
root # grub-install --no-floppy /dev/sda

Ensure that /etc/fstab is correct, and edit /etc/boot.conf to reflect your installation (see /etc/boot.conf.example). Then run:

root # boot-update

This will auto-generate the complex /boot/grub/grub.cfg required for booting. Re-run boot-update every time your available kernels/initrds or /etc/boot.conf configuration changes.

GRUB 0.97 (grub-legacy) Quick Start

If using sys-boot/grub-legacy-0.97, perform the following steps:

Partition disk using MBR partitions (GPT not supported)
Install kernel/initrd to /boot

root # emerge sys-boot/boot-update
root # emerge ">=sys-boot/grub-legacy-0.97-r11"
root # grub-install-legacy /dev/sda

Due to an issue with grub-legacy, you may see the following message:

root # grub-install-legacy /dev/sda
The file /boot/grub-legacy/stage1 not read correctly.

Should you receive this message, you will have to install grub-legacy from the grub shell. Assuming /boot is the partition /dev/sda1 and you want to install grub to the MBR, you would run the following:

root # grub-legacy
root (hd0,0)
setup (hd0)
quit

When adjusting to fit your setup, remember 'root' is the location of your boot partition, 'setup' is where you want to install grub, and don't forget about grub's unique naming conventions for hard drives / partitions. For more information run:

root # info grub-legacy

Ensure that /etc/fstab is correct, and edit /etc/boot.conf to reflect your installation. Ensure a generate grub-legacy setting in the boot section. Then run:

root # boot-update

This will auto-generate the /boot/grub-legacy/grub.conf required for booting. Note that grub-legacy-0.97-r11 and later stores grub.conf in the /boot/grub-legacy directory.

Re-run boot-update every time your available kernels / initrds or /etc/boot.conf configuration changes.

Additional Information

Loop mounting is not currently supported by boot-update. Some text color options are also missing. Many Funtooers find a loop mounted iso of systemrescuecd or similar utility disk handy. This can be implemented by a simple bash script run after boot-update. Or you could make an aliases to run them both with one command line statement if you wish. Here is an example, change partition information and other options as necessary:

/home/<username>boot-fix - a simple automatic way to add loop mounts and color options to your grub.cfg

#!/bin/bash

# boot-fix

FILENAME=$(ls /opt/sysrcd/systemrescuecd*)

sed -i 's%set menu_color_highlight=white/light-blue%set menu_color_highlight=white/light-blue\
set color_normal=brown/black%' /boot/grub/grub.cfg

sed -i 's%set default%menuentry "SystemRescueCd (isoloop with backstore)" {\
	insmod part_gpt\
        insmod ext2\
        set root=(hostdisk//dev/sda,gpt4)\
        loopback loop (hd0,gpt4)'$FILENAME'\
        linux (loop)/isolinux/rescue64 setkmap=us backstore=alldev,/opt/sysrcd/sysrcd.bs docache isoloop='$FILENAME'\
        initrd (loop)/isolinux/initram.igz\
}\n\
menuentry "SystemRescueCd (isoloop no backstore)" {\
        insmod ext2\
        insmod part_gpt\
        set root=(hostdisk//dev/sda,gpt4)\
        loopback loop (hd0,gpt4)'$FILENAME'\
        linux (loop)/isolinux/rescue64 setkmap=us backstore=off docache isoloop='$FILENAME'\
        initrd (loop)/isolinux/initram.igz\
}\n\
set default%' /boot/grub/grub.cfg

This file must be executable and owned as root, run as root.

Package:Boot-Update