grub - newbie advice

silverside

Hi
I am considering setting up Windows XP and Mandrake as dual boot.
This will be on a totally fresh hard disk.
Now 95% of the time I will be booting into Windows.

Can I easily set it up so that Mandrake only boots up if I hold down a key (say 'm') on bootup, otherwise it goes straight through to Windows? I don't want to set up a fancy menu system, and I'd like the Windows standby/restore functionality to work as usual.

I don't know much about this, I set up one dual boot before with a menu system at startup just using the Mandrake instlalation program, but I want it a bit more 'invisible' this time.

TIA for your help. If you could refer me to any good FAQs that would also be apprecaited.

Typedef

If memory serves you can setup the Wndows bloatware POS[1a] booloader to point to alternate partitions, where you could for example have grub, lilo and friends installed.


I did this once anc called the Linux option on the Windows boot menu Windows 2000 VGA.

That was back wne I was a newbie programmer and couldn't dictate the OS and environment I worked in/with and had to lie about it, lest marketing morons who thought themselves 'versed' [1] in computers, tried to make a decision in near proximity to me, in lieu of intelligence.

All this is relevant somehow.


[1a] POS : Piece of shit.
[1] Being marketoid management morons who enjoy buzzwords, obviously in their pin heads, due to their management decision making powers 'every' decision... including decisions that pertain to fields said marketoid has never had any experience of... 'must' be valid, by a quantum law of averages[2]

[2]Yes... that is funny..

</rant>

silverside

Typedef,

Thanks for replying.

I know that you can set up a multiboot fairly easily (can't remember how exactly).

My main question is, can I make an 'invisible' boot menu that only appears if I hold down a key?

Typedef

Nope.

Well maybe, the whole windows F8 boot menu thing would do it.

Better yet you could have a very quick non menu-like lilo, where it would boot the default OS in like 3 seconds, unless you typed different on the command line.

That would be fast and unobtrusive.

parasite

you can set the grub menu to load the default (windows in this case) after '0' seconds, and it doesn't come up on the screen, but if you press the up or down arrows (toggle between os choice) at the right time, the menu comes up
mehhhh

flamegrill

um you can use lilo for this.

Set it to 0 seconds and to boot windows, no one will see any different.

Then to get into linux press and hold "ctrl" on boot and lilo boot menu will appear

Paul