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how to select which OS a machine boots into...remotely

  • 27-07-2006 10:01am
    #1
    laoisfan
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,298 ✭✭✭




    Firstly, morning to ye all. Has been a while since I posted!!

    Anyway, I want to know if it is possible to select what OS a machine will boot into if one reboots it manually.

    Example: Say I have a machine with win-xp-pro as the default os, and it also have redhat-linux as the 2nd os. If one does a reboot it will by default boot into windows as it is the default or first os.

    However, I want to be able to select which OS it boots into, especially if i do a reboot remotely i.e. I could be working from home.

    Is there a command or a file which one can edit (both from windows and linux) where one can toggle the order of the OS and then do a reboot?

    Looking forward to your replies!!

    --laoisfan


Comments

  • #2
    Ruu_Old
    Closed Accounts Posts: 36,634 ✭✭✭✭Ruu_Old


    I don't know if you can edit it from linux but is Boot.ini the file you are talking about?


  • #3
    osmethod
    Closed Accounts Posts: 244 ✭✭osmethod


    What are you using for your boot manager?

    osmethod


  • #4
    ressem
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,426 ✭✭✭ressem


    Probably easier to have grub running as the default bootloader and have it alternate the operating system each time it restarts,
    (Set grub to load windows in 'default once only', Linux as normal default. Each Linux Boot reset the windows default once only flag in grub)
    http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub.html#Booting

    Or use VMWare to run the two simultaneously, assuming no special hardware support required for both.


    You could have a second machine, connected via serial port, to access the grub menu.
    Or messier, linux booting via an NFS share/pxeboot, in a manner that can be enabled/disabled from either OS.
    In other words requiring extra hardware.


  • #5
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    I was going to suggest something like the Remote Service board used by Fujitsu Siemens servers but I'd say it costs a bomb and wouldn't be easy to implement. This would allow you to control every aspect of the boot sequence though, as you are being fed the video output from the graphics card and can use the PC even with no operating system running.


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