Manual Installation

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TTW

Manual Installation

Post by TTW »

First I am sorry if this has already been covered elsewhere but I couldn't find the specifics.

I am coming to Mint from Puppy linux which I have used for a number of years and developed my own preferred installation and boot process which I want to know if it can be duplicated with Mint.

At present I have Legacy Grub and a menu.lst file on a bootable usb flash drive.

This allows me to plug the USB drive into any of my computers and with BIOS set to "boot first from USB" allows Legacy Grub to be selected ahead of the MBR on any of the hard drives of my various computers.

Each computer has its own entry in the Menu.lst file so it is easy to select the correct boot option which then boots my Linux system. If I want to use Windows I simply don't plug the USB drive in before powering up.

They key that makes this work is that each computer has a linux partition where I have the inItrd, kernal and any other fileS needed to complete the Legacy grub boot process.

Additional advantages of this is that I am not constantly writing to a flash drive. Each PC can have its own settings. Also it allows me test new versions by putting the necessary files in a separate folder on the linux partition and adding an option to the Menu.lst file to boot those files.

So, the question is how do I add Mint to this process? In my mind it should be simple:
Mount the Live CD and copy the necessary files into a new "Mint" folder on my linux partition and add a new Menu.lst option pointing Legacy Grub to boot from that /Mint/ location.

What I need to know is which files do I put on the linux partition in the "Mint" folder? Can anyone list them for me please?

Is this possible? I haven't used the new Grub before so not sure if this will even work.

Many thanks in advance
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
cwsnyder

Re: Manual Installation

Post by cwsnyder »

Copying files from the Mint Live disk will NOT give you the same functionality you expect. Puppy Linux is meant to run basically from a Live installation at all times, while Mint and most other Linux distributions make a distinction in operation between a Live installation which is Read-Only, and a full installation, which is Read/Write and modifiable, similar to your Windows installation.

You can install Linux Mint or LMDE in a dual-boot with Windows or in a multi-boot with Windows and other Linux installations, but I don't see any way to continue your ingenious methodology with any other than Puppy Linux derivatives, whether with Grub Legacy or with Grub 2.
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