Multi-boot Vista / XP and Other OSes with Grub Menu

[spacesurfer]

Good news for people who use Grub loader for multi-booting to various Microsoft OSes, including the new Windows Vista, and Linux. I've modified an old trick I've used to load Grub on system startup with Windows XP as the main OS. See the post at 911cd.net Multi-boot WinXP and other OSes with Grub for this method.

Background

For those of you not familiar with Grub, here's some background information on its benefits. Why use Grub instead of Windows XP boot menu or Vista boot menu? There are several reasons.

• First, you can't boot non-Microsoft OSes with XP/Vista boot menu. Grub loads Vista, XP, 2000, 98, Linux, BartPE on HDD or CD etc. I'm guessing you can also load WinPE 2.0 from HDD but haven't tried it yet.
  
• Second, you can't boot other devices, namely floppy and CD/DVD drive, from XP or Vista menu. Grub can boot floppy, bootable CD/DVD (even if your BIOS does not support it), and floppy images from its menu.
  
• Third, it's backward compatible but not forward compatible; meaning, XP can load Windows 2000, 98, and other legacy OSes but not Vista. Vista can load previous ones but not future ones.
  
• Fourth, Grub does not modify the MBR or PBR. It requires no patching or hex-editing. It simply requires renaming a couple of files, which I'll explain next why renaming is required.
  

Why Rename?

My objective was to load Grub loader first, before XP boot menu (and now before Vista boot menu). In order to fulfill this objective, renaming two files is necessary.

You can add Grub loader to boot.ini so that you can get an option to load Grub in the XP boot menu. However, if you want Grub to load before XP boot menu, you'll have to rename two files. First, you have to rename ntldr (the XP loader) as ntldrxp and grldr (Grub loader) as ntldr. Basically, you are disguising Grub loader as the XP loader. So, the system thinks it is loading XP but it is loading Grub. Then, you can create an entry in menu.lst to load XP with the following lines:

title Microsoft Windows XP SP2 Pro (Find and Load)
find --set-root /ntldrxp
chainloader /ntldrxp

If you had edited boot.ini to load Grub from there, and then made Grub load automatically, then you would not be able to boot XP because of a circular reference. Why the circular reference? Because system loads ntldr, which reads boot.ini and loads grldr automatically (without an XP menu). Then, from Grub, you would choose to boot XP. However, ntldr will look for boot.ini and load Grub again automatically. It doesn't matter if you rename ntldr to ntldrxp. Ntldrxp will also look for boot.ini and you get a circular reference. Therefore, renaming both ntldr and grldr files solves the problem.

Booting Vista with Grub

So, with Windows Vista, is it still possible to get Grub to load before Vista boot menu? And can you boot Vista with a Grub entry? Both are yes!!

I thought since Vista's boot process had been modified, it would not be possible. But the same trick works with Vista as with XP. Let's look at the differences between Vista and XP boot process before I explain how to get a Grub menu before the Vista menu.

For XP, the MBR looks for and loads ntldr. Ntldr then read from boot.ini. If it finds two or more entries in boot.ini, then it will present a menu option for the entries (unless you set to boot an item automatically). That's the process. (I've read that ntldr serves two functions: bootmanager and bootloader. As bootmanager, it presents a menu for XP and other OSes. As bootloader it itself can boot XP.)

For Vista, the MBR looks for and loads bootmgr. You can say bootmgr has replaced ntldr. However, bootmgr serves only one function???€š???‚??Bootmgrer. Bootmgr refersbcd called bcd (probably short for boot configuration dbcdcan say <boot.inike boot.ini. It contains the menu entries for Vista's boot menu. There's a winload.exewinload.exe that actually loads Vista; this is the bootloader for Vista.

So, for our purposes, wbootmgrace grldr to get a Grub menu before the Vista menu. Then, we need to cmenu.lstin menu.lst for booting Vista, XP, other OSes, and other devices. Finally, now for the Requirementsb>Requirementsgrldr'>

[*]grldr, the file that loads Grub loader. You can find it at Grub4Dos. Download the zip file and extgrldro get grldr.

[*]WinImage or any other floppy image creator

[*]Floppy drive and a floppy

[*]A system that is currently dual-booting XP and VisBackup System>Backup System

First step is to backup your system with System Restore or Vista's backup program just in case things go haywire (if you follow directions correctly, it shouldn't). I don't use system restore but you may want to. If you are comfortable, you can skip this step. Don't blame me if things go wrong.

The worst that can happen with these simple instructions is you lose the ability to boot to either Vista or XP. If you create a Vista boot floppy in the next step, then you should be able to recover. If something worse than this happens, you did something beyond these Create Vista Boot Floppyta Boot Floppy

Now, make a Vista boot floppy. Follow the instructions: Vista Boot Floppy Disk. I advise you not to skip this step. It will not only help you now, but also if in the future you can't load Vista or XP, it will come in handy.

Note: you can create a Vista-only boot floppy, XP-only boot floppy, or Vista/XP dual-boot floppy by modifying your boot options in Vista. If you want a Vista-only boot floppy, modify your boot options to boot Vista automatically (without a timeout). If you want XP-only, set Vista boot options to boot XP automatically (that'll do it! Then you can't boot Vista, right? Need to create a dual boot floppy or Vista boot floppy first before you set boot options to boot XP only). If you want dual-boot, specify a timeout before loading your default choice. The changes you make arebcd in the bcd file. Therefore, all files will be same on these flbcdept the bcd file. For the purpose of these instructions, you're better off creating a Vista/XP dual-boot floppy so you can boot tRename bootmgrRename bootmgr

After creating a boot floppy, boot into XP. Give yourself perbootmgrify bootmgr. You may have to take ownership. (I took ownership of the file and then modified permissions. I now realize maybe that was not necessary. bootmgrame bootmgrvas Rename grldrb>Rename grldgrldrenambootmgr as bootmgr. Just like in XP, we're going to fool the system into thinking it is loading Vista, but it is loading Grub lbootmgropgrldr (grldr in disguise) to where thebootmgreal bootmgr was, usually in the root folder of your active primaCreate Vista Entry in Menu.lstry in Menu.lstntldrxphow ntldrxp wasbootmgrvP, bootmgrv can also boot Vista from Grub menu. Menu.lst goes in the same place as bootmgr (grldr in disguise), which is the root of your active partition. If you're not sure where to place it, try placing it in both the root of Vista partition and the XP partition.

Create the folmenu.lstin menu.lst. The # indicates comments. Take a look at the comments if you are menu.lstth menu.lst.

# Sets colors, timeout before default selected and default value
color black/cyan yellow/cyan
timeout 5
default 0

# Boot Vista by finding and loading bootmgrv
title Microsoft Windows Vista
find --set-root /bootmgrv
chainloader /bootmgrv

# Boot XP by finding and loading ntldr
title Microsoft Windows XP
find --set-root /ntldr
chainloader /ntldr

# Boot BartPE by finding setupldr.bin
title BartPE with XPE 1.0.4 (from HDD)
find --set-root /minint/setupldr.bin
chainloader /minint/setupldr.bin

# Boot BartPE from USB HDD by swap method; note your USB HDD number may be
# different. I have two internal HDD's ((hd0) and (hd1)), making my USB HDD
# (hd2). Therefore, I have to swap (hd0) with (hd2).
title Boot BartPE from USB HDD
map (hd2) (hd0)
map (hd0) (hd2)
chainloader (hd0)+1

# Boot whatever is in CD/DVD drive, even if your BIOS does not support
# booting from CD/DVD drive. You need a file called sbootmgr.dsk.
# It's a very small SBM disk image. See the end of guide for download link.
title Boot CD using Smart Boot Manager
find --set-root /sbootmgr.dsk
map --mem /sbootmgr.dsk (fd0)
map --hook
chainloader (fd0)+1
rootnoverify (fd0)

# Example of how to boot a floppy image by finding and loading the image file
# This is much faster than booting from the actual floppy.
title Boot Ghost 2003 (ghost.img)
find --set-root /ghost.img
map --mem /ghost.img (fd0)
map --hook
chainloader (fd0)+1

# Boot whatever is in the floppy drive
title Floppy on (fd0)
chainloader (fd0)+1
rootnoverify (fd0)

Note, we do nntldrenamntldrxp as ntldrxp in this case. You can also add Linux and other OSes supported by Grub. I don't use Linux. You can search for instrucReboot>Reboot

Voila! Reboot and you should see Grub menu with your boot menu options!

Please post if you found this useful and worked for you, there are any errors in above, anythings that needs clarification, or discussion points.

Don't post that your system is screwed up. I warned you to backup. If you did, restore your backup. Otherwise, the only modifications you are making are renaming a couple of files, one of which is a system file, and modifying your menu.lst file; so I don't see how you can really mess up.

__________________________________________________________________

Here's a great download for all: sbootmgr.dsk.

It allows you to boot from a CD-ROM, even if your BIOS does not support booting from CD-ROM.

It's a great tool for even those who CAN boot from CD-ROM because you can add it to a Grub menu. No more chaning your BIOS boot sequence or pressing F8 to boot from alternative devices.

Simply download the file, add it to the root of your OS, add the following code to menu.lst.

title Boot CD using Smart Boot Manager
find --set-root /sbootmgr.dsk
map --mem /sbootmgr.dsk (fd0)
map --hook
chainloader (fd0)+1
rootnoverify (fd0)

Edited May 22, 2007 by spacesurfer

[Computer Guru]

Nice guide, spacesurfer.

One thing: you don't mention where one should create the menu.lst file. Does it go in C:\ ?

You mention that the Vista bootloader cannot boot into non-Windows operating systems. EasyBCD is a full GUI tool used to make the Vista bootloader do just that, with support for older versions of Windows, Linux, and OS X. Depending on your needs, you may find it easier to use EasyBCD instead, without having to go through manual menu files and stuff.

[spacesurfer]

Yes, the menu.lst goes in the same place as your grldr would go. So, in most cases it's in the root of C:\ of your active partition.

About EasyBCD: Yes, with help from EasyBCD, you can load other OS's; but you cannot boot from CD-ROM or Flopy using EasyBCD. With Grub4Dos, it's all there - your CD-ROM, Floppy all in one place. I have tried EasyBCD but I can't add BartPE (which is on my HDD) to it like I can with Grub.

EasyBCD also does not allow booting floppy images. I have created a Ghost.ima floppy image and the image is stored on my HDD. With Grub, I can load Ghost and it's much faster than using the actual floppy.

Editing Grub menu is also easier since all you have to do is edit menu.lst. If you have an error, then when Grub is loaded, you can edit it right there and try again. You don't have to boot to Windows, then edit menu.lst, then restart. With EasyBCD, I'm sure if you messed up an entry, you'll have to restart to Windows and try again.

Anyway, this is an alternative. I've been using this for a long time and I like that it can boot multiple OS's and multiple devices.

Note that if you BIOS does not CD-ROM booting, you can still use Grub using sbootmgr.dsk as mentioned above. However, USB booting is not supported if you BIOS does not support it.

Edited May 22, 2007 by spacesurfer

[Computer Guru]

Yeah, that's cool.

Thanks for the guide :)