Loving the Concept of Linux BUT…

[Member GHawk01]

I am truly on board with another way of using technology to get things done besides MicroSoft. I’ve been avoiding the establishment search engines, browsers, mainstream software, etc. for years.
We’ve gotten to this point due to having an older desktop lock up from a corrupt MBR issue I figured out this week. The research educated me on Linux and the lower resource OS’s like AntiX. I’ve learned to correct boot issues (thx Hirem’s BD), Wipe HDD’s, install OS’s, create and rename partitions, make bootable USB’s for installing ISO’s, and…. ok, it’s been an educating week!

I love AntiX with the Live USB experience I had yesterday. I look forward to installing it on my wife’s laptop that is painfully slow and old’er. I also want to add it to my Desktop as a 3rd OS to run my music recording as the machine is the center of a home studio. (lower resources to run giving more for room automation)
BUT….. for the life of me I cannot get the installed hard drive copy of AntiX to boot with the way I have loaded other systems. I’ve used grub2win for the ease of use and can run Bohdi through the multi bootloader screen. I’ve learned to add to the grub2win boot menu selecting, for example, Ubuntu as the format for Lubuntu. I select Dorian type for AntiX and the correct partition for booting, but no luck.

If there’s an easier workaround I’d like some benevolent help. I understand there’s much more info to include here but not one to pile on from the start.

1to1 thing? or….

Thanks for your consideration.

[Moderator christophe]

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Welcome to the forum, GHawk01!

Now, I don’t use Windows, and I don’t use grub… but I poked around a bit & found this:

https://sourceforge.net/p/grub2win/discussion/general/thread/bdadddc4/

It looks promising… It mentions that perhaps Windows changed the partition order, and it describes how to verify which partition number to direct grub2win to target…

Hope this helps. 🙂

P.S. If this doesn’t work, then post the boot parameters you are trying to use (grub.cfg).

• This reply was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by christophe.

confirmed antiX frugaler, since 2019

[Member GHawk01]

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Thanks chritophe. I did note that during all the installs and drive checks I did see there were several confusions with the disk#/partitioning. I had to resort to the partition ‘size’ to recognize which was which.
I have 2 HDD’s installed. I wiped EVERYTHING this week to start from 0. There was referencing to SDA1 then again as SDB1 later as the same disk. Different reports show different configs with the same volumes.

I’ll read up on the link.
Thanks again.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by GHawk01.

[Member seaken64]

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Hi Ghawk01, welcome to the forum!

I don’t know Grub2Win. How does it differ from Grub2? Have you tried using Grub2? I think antiX will boot fine from Grub2. And it also boots Windows.

Seaken64

[Member GHawk01]

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Hi seaken64,
grub2win is a program and GUI where the interface is easy to understand. Install on windows with a desktop icon, launch, and add OS boot locations. Windows guy ok.
I’m finding that Linux is close to pure coding. Scary as of this week, for me. Can’t get my head around it.

[Member ModdIt]

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I’m finding that Linux is close to pure coding. Scary as of this week, for me. Can’t get my head around it.

I find windoze much worse.
If you use windows tools for your boot setup you will likely complicate things far more. As seaken64 says, let Linux do the work for you.

Tip: If you must have windoze, if you can put it on one disk, linux on the other.

Make notes of drives and Partitions at first, it is different and depending on what you are doing some names may change, external media for instance. You might get confused at firs. I have killed my OS before so speak from experience. Tired confused and in a hurry=trouble ;-).

AntiX is great, but give yourself time to adapt.

Most boot issues can be fixed with super grub 2 disk, plenty of instructions online for that.
You also have a boot repair on the live Antix as well as installed version. You can find In the control center bottom tab, maintenance.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by ModdIt.

[Member GHawk01]

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Thanks Moddlt, (Ford… I get it)
I do have a second hard drive from an old computer that is a slave 37 gigabytes.I was going to use that totally for data-only but I can put the Windows operating system on it and point all of the Linux systems to boot from that disc. Is that what you’re saying?

[Member ModdIt]

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I used to have windows and linux on the same computer, one on first drive one on second, often several linux distros on the larger drive. Lately work and boot from the fastest one, store and archive on an extra big harddrive so if I somehow kill my installation no work lost.

I have always intalled/updated/repaired grub from linux, it will normaly discover and setup all your installed systems to boot reliably from a menu selection. Some time ago trying windows tools drove me nuts so I find it impossible to recommend that way.

Caveat. if you install manjaro, possibly a derivative and install grub using another distro you will have a non booting system due to special code stored in grub by that distro.

You write about pointing all the linux systems to boot from one drive, mention Bodhi which should play ok with AntiX as both are debian/buntu based. Get one running and booting ok along with windows, make a backup then add the next installation as you wish.
For your music system maybe worthwhile taking a look at AV linux for inspiration if you have not already done so, it already has a lot of the work done and offers low latency kernel choice as well as some performance tweaks, it is debian based so same family as AntiX.

[Member GHawk01]

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AV linux….
I’ll give that a try. I’ll work through this and get back to you thanks for your help.

[Member GHawk01]

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EasyBCD…..
DONE!!

[Moderator christophe]

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I’m glad to hear it!
Give us the details…..

confirmed antiX frugaler, since 2019

[Member GHawk01]

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Hi christophe,

I had installed AntiX into a separate partition but my original Windows Boot Mgr didn’t find it. I added EasyBCD and could easily configure the bootloader with a GUI. I’m not wanting to learn coding here so this made it easy. I rebooted and there it was. Booted into AntiX and back to Windows again.
Now to get the AV Linux bootup fixed. The entry keeps sending me into AntiX.

[Moderator christophe]

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Well I’m glad you found a tool appropriate for you!
I’m sure you’ll figure out the rest… Someone several years ago used to say, “2 out of 3 ain’t bad.” 🙂

And learning Linux is a process, to be sure.

confirmed antiX frugaler, since 2019

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