Installation guide

Before installing GRUB, make sure to use the latest GRUB package available or use the GRUB
package from the installation CD-ROMs. For instructions on installing packages, see the chapter
titled Package Management with RPM in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Deployment Guide.
Once the GRUB package is installed, open a root shell prompt and run the command /sbin/grub-
install <location>, where <location> is the location that the GRUB Stage 1 boot loader should
be installed. For example, the following command installs GRUB to the MBR of the master IDE device
on the primary IDE bus:
/sbin/grub-install /dev/hda
The next time the system boots, the GRUB graphical boot loader menu appears before the kernel
loads into memory.
Important — GRUB and RAID
G RU B cannot construct a software RAID. Therefore, the /boot directory must reside on a
single, specific disk partition. The /boot directory cannot be striped across multiple disks, as
in a level 0 RAID. To use a level 0 RAID on your system, place /boot on a separate partition
outside the RAID.
Similarly, because the /boot directory must reside on a single, specific disk partition, G RUB
cannot boot the system if the disk holding that partition fails or is removed from the system.
This is true even if the disk is mirrored in a level 1 RAID . The following Red Hat Knowledgebase
article describes how to make the system bootable from another disk in the mirrored set:
http://kbase.redhat.com/faq/docs/DOC-7095
Note that these issues apply only to RAID that is implemented in software, where the individual
disks that make up the array are still visible as individual disks on the system. These issues
do not apply to hardware RAID where multiple disks are represented as a single device.
9.4. GRUB T erminology
One of the most important things to understand before using GRUB is how the program refers to
devices, such as hard drives and partitions. This information is particularly important when
configuring GRUB to boot multiple operating systems.
9.4 .1. Device Names
When referring to a specific device with GRUB, do so using the following format (note that the
parentheses and comma are very important syntactically):
(<type-of-device><bios-device-number>,<partition-number>)
The <type-of-device> specifies the type of device from which GRUB boots. The two most common
options are hd for a hard disk or fd for a 3.5 diskette. A lesser used device type is also available
called nd for a network disk. Instructions on configuring GRUB to boot over the network are available
online at http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/.
⁠Chapt er 9 . T he G RUB Boot Loader
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