This chapter describes how to configure GRUB (Grand Unified Bootloader), the boot loader used in SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server. A special YaST module is available for configuring all settings. If you are not familiar with the subject of booting in Linux, read the following sections to acquire some background information. This chapter also describes some of the problems frequently encountered when booting with GRUB and their solutions.
NOTE: No GRUB on machines using UEFI
GRUB will routinely be installed on machines equipped with a traditional BIOS and on UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) machines using a Compatibility Support Module (CSM). On UEFI machines without enabled CSM, eLILO will automatically be installed (provided DVD1 booted successfully). Refer to the eLILO documentation at /usr/share/doc/packages/elilo/ on your system for details.
This chapter focuses on boot management and the configuration of the boot loader GRUB. The boot procedure as a whole is outlined in Section 9.0, Booting and Configuring a Linux System. A boot loader represents the interface between the machine (BIOS) and the operating system (SUSE Linux Enterprise Server). The configuration of the boot loader directly impacts the start of the operating system.
The following terms appear frequently in this chapter and might need some explanation:
The structure of the MBR is defined by an operating
system–independent convention. The first 446 bytes are
reserved for the program code. They typically hold part of a boot
loader program or an operating system selector. The next 64 bytes
provide space for a partition table of up to four entries. The
partition table contains information about the partitioning of the hard
disk and the file system types. The operating system needs this table
for handling the hard disk. With conventional generic code in the MBR,
exactly one partition must be marked active. The
last two bytes of the MBR must contain a static magic
number
(AA55). An MBR containing a different
value is regarded as invalid by some BIOSes, so is not considered for
booting.
Boot sectors are the first sectors of hard disk partitions with the
exception of the extended partition, which merely serves as a
container
for other partitions. These boot sectors have
512 bytes of space for code used to boot an operating system
installed in the respective partition. This applies to boot sectors of
formatted DOS, Windows, and OS/2 partitions, which also contain some
basic important data of the file system. In contrast, the boot sectors
of Linux partitions are initially empty after setting up a file system
other than XFS. Therefore, a Linux partition is not bootable by itself,
even if it contains a kernel and a valid root file system. A boot
sector with valid code for booting the system has the same magic number
as the MBR in its last two bytes (AA55).