Multiple Frugal Installs – Please help streamline booting process

[Member olsztyn]

I am trying to figure out the best way to boot Frugal installs for antiX 19.2 Hannie Schaft…
Namely:
– Installed (regular install) antiX 19.2 in one of partitions and grub in antiX partition, not in MBR. Disk is GPT partition, but this is not relevant here…
– Installed several Frugal instances, all in the same partition, with no renaming partition label to antix-Frugal. To make them distinct Frugal installs, named each antix-Frugal folders as antix-1Frugal, antix-2Frugal, etc…
– For each Frugal instance added their grub entries, modifying as necessary to reflect their specific folder names, to 40.Custom in /etc/grub.d
– Executed sudo update-grub to make changes effective in grub upon next boot.

In result, Frugal instances are reflected as menu entries and they boot fine. Once you get to that grub that is…
My inefficient process of getting them to boot is quite convoluted:
– Booting Live-USB stick, from the main menu select ‘Switch to grub bootloader’
– Select ‘Boot Rescue Menus’
– Select ‘Find grub bootloaders’ – Found rootantix19 and antiX-Live-USB
– Select Boot Grub Loader rootantix19
– From menu select desired Frugal instance to boot

Considering this is quite inefficient convoluted process to boot Frugal instances:
– Is there a shorter way
– How can I modify antiX Live boot screen to add menu item to find either grub loaders directly, without such convoluted process or perhaps even to find all Frugal instances and present a menu of them to boot…

I will greatly appreciate any help that would streamline this process. Having so far put together a perfect (for me) antiX composition this seems to be another frontier for me to tackle, in fact putting antiX in a kind of boot manager role as well…
Thanks and Regards…

Live antiX Boot Options (Previously posted by Xecure):
https://antixlinuxfan.miraheze.org/wiki/Table_of_antiX_Boot_Parameters

[Moderator christophe]

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Have you considered extlinux? I use it exclusively.
It can chainload boot a regular install on a different partition as well.

https://www.antixforum.com/forums/topic/booting-antix-frugal-only-from-hdd-without-any-full-installed-os-with-extlinux/

confirmed antiX frugaler, since 2019

[Member olsztyn]

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christophe wrote:

Have you considered extlinux? I use it exclusively.
It can chainload boot a regular install on a different partition as well.

Thanks christophe for suggestion. Looks very interesting… I will certainly look into this option.
Thanks and Regards.

Live antiX Boot Options (Previously posted by Xecure):
https://antixlinuxfan.miraheze.org/wiki/Table_of_antiX_Boot_Parameters

[Member olsztyn]

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christophe wrote:

Have you considered extlinux? I use it exclusively.

Some questions:
– Procedure you developed specifies that partition table is made as msdos. Can it be GPT instead?
– Extlinux is copied to MBR. Can it be avoided and bootloader (extlinux) be installed on a partition, not MBR? I think I understand the reason, but considering installed Frugal instances are mostly on GPT partitions, and possible existence of other systems alongside, MBR should not be overlaid.

If the answer to the above is ‘No’ then it is still an interesting solution for MBR based systems to boot just Frugal instances, as the only reason I have a fully installed antiX was in fact just to support Frugal instances, considering Frugal as superior in many respects…
I will definitely study this solution you developed and see if I can get around some of these limitations affecting me…\
Thanks and Regards…

Live antiX Boot Options (Previously posted by Xecure):
https://antixlinuxfan.miraheze.org/wiki/Table_of_antiX_Boot_Parameters

[Moderator christophe]

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Bubba, to be frank, I don’t know. I’ve only used dos partitioning. I suspect it will work with GPT. The cool thing is, this works with a usb drive or hdd, so you could test it without borking your hdd. But, if your system is only frugals, then you only need 1 partition. Then dos should work (right?). That’s how I do it — and the Live-usb-storage directory is automatically shared for all frugals (for antiX 17 & 19). It’s lovely. I only use antiX (& I experiment with MX sometimes) — frugal — because it works great, is easy to back-up & clone, and easier to back out of, if I mess it up somehow.
If you are concerned about having to start over, just copy those directories you renamed (as root) to an archive, and you’re good. You can copy it anywhere, and it will work (with the correct boot parameters — like in that other post).

confirmed antiX frugaler, since 2019

[Member olsztyn]

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christophe wrote:

Bubba, to be frank, I don’t know. I’ve only used dos partitioning. I suspect it will work with GPT. The cool thing is, this works with a usb drive or hdd, so you could test it without borking your hdd. But, if your system is only frugals, then you only need 1 partition. Then dos should work (right?).

I have a feeling extlinux might work with GPT drives. It looks more and more to me as a quite viable way of invoking bootloaders, simpler (then to me means better) than Grub. Grub way seems to me way too complicated for such straightforward task. My challenge will be not to put it into MBR as for UEFI systems or GPT this will not work…
So I will be experimenting with extlinux…
Thanks and Regards.

Live antiX Boot Options (Previously posted by Xecure):
https://antixlinuxfan.miraheze.org/wiki/Table_of_antiX_Boot_Parameters

[Member olsztyn]

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I have done lots of experimenting, modifying procedure according to my setup. This is such as copying to MBR the gptmbr instead of mbr 440 byted master boot record code. The ultimate solution still eludes me, even after reading various syslinux documentation. Starting with Syslinux version 4 extlinux is merged into syslinux. I believe overall process work fine, it is just my specific configuration. I will continue digging into it though…
In the interim though I would ask how can I modify setup that from invoking ‘Switch to Grub Bootloader’ on primary antiX live boot screen so as avoid going through multiple menus and proceed directly to finding bootloaders (GRUB and Windows), which is currently on third or fourth nested screen. Also would expunge this silly ‘Memory test’ menu item that keeps polluting Grub menus…
How many times I need to test memory so it is a constant menu item forced on users by GRUB? In my case – never…
Any help will be appreciated.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by olsztyn.
• This reply was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by olsztyn.

Live antiX Boot Options (Previously posted by Xecure):
https://antixlinuxfan.miraheze.org/wiki/Table_of_antiX_Boot_Parameters

[Member Xecure]

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You have probably tried it already (and it didn’t work), but I will write it just in case.

Taking your work from :

olsztyn wrote:

For each Frugal instance added their grub entries, modifying as necessary to reflect their specific folder names, to 40.Custom in /etc/grub.d

And understanding you want

olsztyn wrote:

– How can I modify antiX Live boot screen to add menu item to find either grub loaders directly, without such convoluted process or perhaps even to find all Frugal instances and present a menu of them to boot…

In the live USB (a specific live USB only for booting frugals), did you edit /live/boot-dev/boot/grub/grub.cfg and added there the custom grub.entry for each frugal (as you did with your step in the installed system)? You can delete all grub entries you don’t want/need. It could look something like this (adding all frugals in a submenu):

#------------------------------------------------------------------
# file: /boot/grub/grub.cfg for the Live version of antiX
#
# This file can get updated automatically on a LiveUSB via the save
# feature in the text menus.  It is possible to break these updates
# by editing this file.
#------------------------------------------------------------------

# search --no-floppy --set=root --fs-uuid %UUID%
set timeout=60
set gfxmode=1024x768
#set gfxpayload="3200x1800;2560x1440;2160x1440;1920x1080;1600x1200;1600x1050;1600x900;1440x900;1366x768;1280x1024;1280x800;1280x720;1024x768;auto"
set gfxpayload="2048x2048;2048x1280;2048x1080;1920x1080;1600x900;1600x1200;1600x1050;1500x1000;1440x960;1440x900;1368x912;1366x768;1280x800;1280x720;1280x1024;1200x800;1024x768;auto"
set default=1

# load defaults
#
if [ -s $prefix/config/defaults.cfg ]; then
source $prefix/config/defaults.cfg
fi

menuentry " antiX-19.2 x64-full (27 March 2020)" {
linux /antiX/vmlinuz quiet splasht disable=lxF
initrd /antiX/initrd.gz
}

#FRUGAL SUBMENU
submenu ">>> My incredible FRUGAL collection - 5 stars <<<" {

menu_color_normal=white/black
menu_color_highlight=yellow/light-gray

menuentry " antiX Frugal 1 (TO-MATE edition)" {
search -nofloppy --set=root --fs-uuid=blablidiblablidiblu
linux /antiX-Frugal1-4.9.212-antix.1-amd64-smp/vmlinuz bdir=antiX-Frugal1-4.9.212-antiX.1-amd64-smp buuid=blubliblablo quiet splasht disable=lxF
initrd /antiX-Frugal1-4.9.212-antix.1-amd64-smp/initrd.gz
}

menuentry " antiX Frugal 2 (fluxiboxy edition)" {
search -nofloppy --set=root --fs-uuid=blablidiblablidiblu2
linux /antiX-Frugal2-4.19.100-antix.1-amd64-smp/vmlinuz bdir=antiX-Frugal2-4.19.100-antiX.1-amd64-smp buuid=blubliblablo2 quiet splasht disable=lxF
initrd /antiX-Frugal2-4.19.100-antix.1-amd64-smp/initrd.gz
}

menuentry " antiX Frugal 3 (crazy-core edition)" {
search -nofloppy --set=root --fs-uuid=blablidiblablidiblu3
linux /antiX-Frugal3-4.9.212-antix.1-amd64-smp/vmlinuz bdir=antiX-Frugal3-4.9.212-antiX.1-amd64-smp buuid=blubliblablo3 quiet splasht disable=lxF
initrd /antiX-Frugal3-4.9.212-antix.1-amd64-smp/initrd.gz
}
}
#END OF FRUGAL SUBMENU

menuentry " antiX-19.2 x64-full Customize Boot (text menus)" {
linux /antiX/vmlinuz quiet splasht disable=lxF menus
initrd /antiX/initrd.gz
}

submenu ">>> Advanced Options for antiX-19.2 x64-full <<<" {

...

Using the submenu, little will change of the live USB functionality in case you want to also use it for a live antiX system.

I haven’t tested this and I am just making this up (I have no experience with frugal). So if you have already tried this, please forgive my inrusion. I will accept complains as I am just talking without knowing what I am talking about.

antiX Live system enthusiast.
General Live Boot Parameters for antiX.

[Member olsztyn]

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Thanks Xecure!
I will experiment with this idea. Looks really good.
Greatly appreciated…

Live antiX Boot Options (Previously posted by Xecure):
https://antixlinuxfan.miraheze.org/wiki/Table_of_antiX_Boot_Parameters

[Member olsztyn]

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Thanks again Xecure for recommendation of this approach. This approach somewhat addresses my original question but mostly enables a significant change to these Grub entries to remove most of the useless and redundant entries.
One downside of starting Frugal instances this way is that it is specific to organization on one particular disk, so such Live cannot be used to boot Frugal instances on another disk on another computer.
More universal approach that I was hoping for would be a function to build such menu of Frugals dynamically by searching for Frugal instances, similar to the existing function to search for Grub bootloaders, and presenting a menu of such to boot. I do not know how to accomplish this though…
As an interim approach I will try to use the Grub located on root partition of installed antiX, although this means keeping antiX installation just for facilitation of booting Frugal instances.
Thanks again and Regards.

Live antiX Boot Options (Previously posted by Xecure):
https://antixlinuxfan.miraheze.org/wiki/Table_of_antiX_Boot_Parameters

[Member olsztyn]

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olsztyn wrote:

Thanks again Xecure for recommendation of this approach. This approach somewhat addresses my original question but mostly enables a significant change to these Grub entries to remove most of the useless and redundant entries.
One downside of starting Frugal instances this way is that it is specific to organization on one particular disk, so such Live cannot be used to boot Frugal instances on another disk on another computer.

After experimenting with different ways to boot these Frugal installs I actually ended up with your recommendation. In the absence of a general capability of recognizing antiX Frugal installs on disk in order to boot them, I set up dedicated Live USB plugs for each of my laptop addressing corresponding Frugal installs and making corresponding entries in grub cfg of such dedicated Live instance.
Thanks again for the recommendation.

Live antiX Boot Options (Previously posted by Xecure):
https://antixlinuxfan.miraheze.org/wiki/Table_of_antiX_Boot_Parameters

[Moderator BobC]

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Maybe you could write a little script that would read a folder where the frugal copies reside (a parameter or current directory), and outputs a new custom.cfg file based on what it finds, shows it to you, and if you approve installing it, it backs up the previous version and installs the new one.

[Member olsztyn]

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@ BobC:
Thanks for suggestion. At the first thought this seems an interesting idea however could present a challenge for me.
Particularly that it would need to be able to find Frugal instances, on what drives and find corresponding UUID so as to construct grub.cfg entries.
In the interim, as a temporary workaround I simply defined menu entries corresponding to Frugal instances on several laptops and showing all these entries, where individual menu entries contain names of laptops, so I know which ones are appropriate for the machine such USB stick is plugged in…
This way is not optimal but still the best I was able to figure out.
A second approach I am testing now as well:
Set a small partition (500M) just for grub files and grub.cfg menu entries but not actually install antiX, but just the Frugal instances in some ext4 partition. Then use ‘Rescue Menus’ from antiX Live to point to that 500M boot grub partition and boot selected Frugal instances. This capability of built in antiX ‘Rescue Boot Menus’ is quite useful but seems not given enough attention…
No other ideas have come to my mind as yet…

Live antiX Boot Options (Previously posted by Xecure):
https://antixlinuxfan.miraheze.org/wiki/Table_of_antiX_Boot_Parameters

[Moderator BobC]

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It could be passed a list of places to look and then just process each of the places instead of only looking in one place. Basically, it would copy a header file, then generate the entries, then copy or create a footer.

From experience I can say that keeping what you do simple and consistent helps allow for simple solutions.

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