[WBEL-users] Remote Control of Dual Boot Options

[Ron Poletti]

> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2003 13:13:56 -0600 (CST)
> From: John Morris <jmorris@beau.org>
> To: TASIS IT Office <tech@tasis.ch>
> cc: whitebox-users@beau.org
> Subject: Re: [WBEL-users] Remote Control of Dual Boot Options
> 
> On Sun, 21 Dec 2003, TASIS IT Office wrote:
> 
> 
>>I am looking for a way to switch machines between Windows and Linux -- I
>>would like to control which it boots.  I would like to ssh (or go to a
>>local machine) and tell it which OS to boot next.  I would like to be
>>able to do this from both the Linux & windows side.  
> 
> 
> The only way I can think of is to set the machine to always boot linux via
> lilo.  Then when you want windows use the -R switch to lilo to set Windows
> to start on the next boot and then reboot.  Since the -R only works on the
> very next boot, after Windows shuts down and restarts Linux comes back.
> 
> Grub might also be able to do the same trick, but I haven't investigated
> it enough to say.  I use the lilo -R trick (between two linux installs in
> an automated reimaging system) though so I know it works.
> 

I am not an expert in any way, but I use Grub.  Grub does not need to be 
reinstalled each time you make changes to the  grub.conf (or menu.lst) 
file.  If for example within grub.conf, your linux entry is item 0 and 
your windows entry is item 1, all you would have to do is change the 
entry "default 0" to "default 1" and then save your grub.conf file.  I 
can not think of a way to access a linux partion from Windows in order 
for you to be able to edit the grub.conf file....

Hmm, although it is off the wall, what if you make your "/boot" 
partition a small FAT16 or FAT32 partition? Then you could edit it in 
both windows and linux.  I do not know how this would impact your system 
performance. I understand that the /boot partition is only used during 
the boot process.  You could possibly have a script file in linux and a 
batch file in windows to automate these changes for you.

regards,
Ron Poletti