--- In linux@yahoogroups.com, Joan Leach <jleach728@...> wrote:
>
> Do you use a manual partitioner to put the Linux Distro of choose on
> the second hard disk?
>
> http://www.kitchentablecomputers.com/linux4.htm
> http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic124562.html
>
>http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-software-2/dual-boot-linux-window\
s-two-hard-drives-already-installed-481603/

The approaches outlined in the above seem more complex than necessary.

Though I have a bunch of single-HD multi-boot systems, a two disk setup
is by far the easiest and is what I use on my newer desktops simply
because it's fast to do, inexpensive, and works well.

Overview: either of the two HDs can be the one-and-only boot disk for
its respective installed OS. If one drive goes belly-up, the other can
still boot its OS.

Determining and setting up the primary boot disk can be done two ways:

1. physically moving the data cables (EIDE or SATA) around. Painful
due to having to open up the system often resulting in bruised knuckles
due to cramped space inside a chassis, or

2. change the boot device order in any modern BIOS. This even works
with department store systems such as HP, Compaq, Dell, Gateway, etc.
I was surprised my HP and Compaq boxes even allow selection of USB but
only if the USB device (external USB HD or thumb drive) is connected
and available while in the BIOS. HP/Compaq don't document this and I
was (originally) PO'd I couldn't boot from USB if I wanted to do so.

I always choose a Linux-/UNIX-loaded HD as the primary boot HD. Then
simply add an entry in the /boot/grub/grub.conf or menu.lst file to
choose booting the other OS.

For example, here's the tail-end of one of my systems that has Solaris
and Fedora on one HD and Vista on the original HD:

# tail -25 /boot/grub/menu.lst
timeout 20
splashimage /boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz

title Solaris 10 5/08 s10x_u5wos_10 X86
kernel /platform/i86pc/multiboot
module /platform/i86pc/boot_archive

title Solaris failsafe
kernel /boot/multiboot kernel/unix -s
module /boot/x86.miniroot-safe

title Fedora 9 (2.6.25.11-97.fc9.i686) 21-JULY-2008
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.25.11-97.fc9.i686 ro
root=UUID=14d75341-b820-49a2-920a-382e8207eb98 rhgb quiet
initrd /initrd-2.6.25.11-97.fc9.i686.img

title Fedora 9 (2.6.25-14.fc9.i686) 1-MAY-2008
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.25-14.fc9.i686 ro
root=UUID=14d75341-b820-49a2-920a-382e8207eb98 rhgb quiet
initrd /initrd-2.6.25-14.fc9.i686.img

title Windows Vista SP1
rootnoverify (hd1,0)
chainloader +1

The above is from last year (2008) and the Vista is now at SP2. Note
that to install SP2 I had to temporarily, via the BIOS, reassign that
HD to be the primary HD. Switching the cables would have worked, too,
but that was too much trouble. :-)

On another system, it's even easier. I simply invoke the hardware boot
menu. On Dell systems, F2 enters BIOS, on HP/Compaq systems F10
enters the BIOS and ESCape enters the boot menu -- just scroll down to
the disk to book and hit enter.

'Sunny, just earlier today I booted up my Pentium-S system, 100MHz,
64MB RAM, which has 2 disks and 3 OSs: Red Hat, WinNT and Win95.

The system is a no-name white box special I salvaged from a dumpster
late 1990s and it still works fine. In its hardware boot menu I
selected "Disk 2 Primary Type 83" (EXTn) and was greeted by Red Hat
5.2 (1998), kernel version 2.0.36, and 40.04 bogomips -- yes, that's
forty. :-) Though I usually use it console-only, a startx fired up
X which ran fine, too. This 100MHz system also outperformed by 3:1 a
DEC-2020 running TOPS-20 as tested by compiling and linking a major
program I wrote (some 800 C source files) in 12 minutes on the Pentium
vs. 35 minutes on the DEC-2020.