The easiest way to configure the boot loader in your SUSE LINUX system is to use the YaST module. In the YaST Control Center, select 7.1. “Configuring the Boot Loader with YaST”.
+ . The current boot loader configuration of your system is displayed, enabling you to make any needed changes. See FigureThe table listing the configuration data consists of three columns. Under
(to the left), flags mark the changed options listed in the center column. To add an option, click . To change the value of an existing option, select it with a mouse click and click . If you do not want to use an existing option at all, select it and click . offers the following options:Generates a new configuration suggestion. Older Linux versions or other operating systems found on other partitions are included in the boot menu, enabling you to boot Linux or its old boot loader. The latter takes you to a second boot menu.
Enables you to create the entire configuration from scratch. No suggestions are generated.
If you already performed some changes and are not satisfied with the result, reload your current configuration with this option.
If another operating system and an older Linux version are installed in other partitions, the menu is generated from an entry for the new SUSE LINUX, an entry for the other system, and all entries of the old boot loader menu. This procedure might take some time. This is not possible if LILO is used.
The backup MBR saved on the hard disk is written back.
Use
to edit the relevant configuration files in an editor. To edit a file, load it by means of the selection field. Click to save your changes. To exit the boot loader configuration, click . Click to return to the main window.The configuration with YaST is much easier than editing the files directly. Select an option and click
to open a dialog in which to change the settings according to your needs. Click to confirm the changes and return to the main menu, where you can edit other options. The available options depend on the boot loader used. The following list introduces some options of the boot loader GRUB:Use this option to switch between GRUB and LILO. Continue to another dialog in which to specify the way in which this change should be performed. For instance, convert the current GRUB configuration into a similar LILO configuration. However, some settings may be lost if no equivalent options are available. You can also create a new configuration from scratch or generate and edit a suggestion for a configuration.
If you start the boot loader configuration in the running system, you can load the configuration from the hard disk. If you decide to return to the original boot loader, you can load its configuration by means of the last option. However, this possibility only exists as long as you do not close the boot loader module.
Use this dialog to define where to install the boot loader: in the master boot record (MBR), in the boot sector of the boot partition (if available), in the the boot sector of the root partition, or on a floppy disk. Use
to specify a different location.If your computer has more than one hard disk, specify the boot sequence of the disks as defined in the BIOS setup of the machine.
With this option, set the kernel or operating system that should be booted by default. The selected system is booted after the time-out. In this menu, get a list of all boot menu entries with the button
. Select an entry from the list and click . At this point, you may also modify any entry using the .The existing entries of the boot menu are listed under this option in the main window. If you select this option then click
, a dialog opens that is identical to the dialog.Use this option to activate the partition whose boot sector holds the boot loader, independently from the partition on which the directory with the helper files of the boot loader are stored (/boot or the root directory /).
If GRUB was installed in the MBR or you are installing the system on a new hard disk and do not want to install GRUB in the MBR, restore the generic boot code to the MBR with this option.
Backs up the changed hard disk areas.
Adds the saved MBR to the boot loader menu.
Use man grub or man lilo) and the online documentation at http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/.
to define how many seconds the boot loader should wait for keyboard input before the default system is booted. A number of other options can be specified with . For details about the possible options, refer to the respective manual pages (