Dual Boot Opensolaris

OpenSolaris 2008.05 Dual Boot Installation Script

Installing OpenSolaris 2008.05 As a Dual-Booted Operating System
Preparing for Installation
1. BACKUP YOUR MACHINE! This is a critical step that should not be skipped. Since you will be changing at a minimum the Master Boot Record of your hard drive, you need to make sure you have everything backed up in case the installation goes bad. 2.Prepare for the installation by reading the following from, “Preparing for a Multiboot Environment” information at http://dlc.sun.com/osol/docs/content/IPS/prepmulti.html.

Preparing for a Multiboot Environment
If you are installing OpenSolaris 2008.05 as part of a multiboot environment, review the following multibooting specifications for various operating systems. Note - If you choose to mountthe OpenSolaris OS in a VirtualBox, see the instructions for Running OpenSolaris Using VirtualBox. If you are installing on a system that is running the Mac OS X, and you have installed Parallels, see Installing on a Mac OS X System and Parallels.

Table 1-4 Multiboot Environments

Existing OS Description Windows If you have Windows installed, and you set up enough space to install theOpenSolaris OS, the installation should be straightforward. All versions of the OpenSolaris OS release use the GRUB bootloader. These OpenSolaris releases recognize Windows and ensure that the Windows partitions remain unchanged by default. When the OpenSolaris installation is finished, the GRUB menu gives you the option to boot either the Windows system or the OpenSolaris system. If you are using VMware,see Getting Started With OpenSolaris Using VMware. Linux, or If you have Linux installed, or Linux and Windows installed, and you are currently Windows booting through GRUB, save and print out your /boot/grub/menu.lst GRUB menu file and Linux from the Linux system before installing the OpenSolaris OS. You must replace this information in the /boot/grub/menu.lst file when you finish booting. Seegrub(5) man page. Note - If you are installing the OpenSolaris OS on a multiboot system that also contains the Linux OS, the Solaris partition must precede the Linux swap partition.

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OpenSolaris 2008.05 Dual Boot Installation Script Solaris 10 OS Extended Partitions The installer cannot be used to multiboot the OpenSolaris OS. However, the installer can be used to replaceinstances of Solaris 10 1/06 and later, and instances of Solaris Express, in an existing multiboot Solaris system. If you have another OS on an extended partition, the existing extended partition is not changed and is not lost during an OpenSolaris release installation. Existing extended partitions are not visible during the OpenSolaris release installation, but the primary fdisk partition in which theextended partition resides is visible. No data in these partitions is lost due to the installation. The OS on an extended partition is not displayed on the GRUB menu. To update the GRUB menu, see the GRUB overview at x86: Administering the GRUB Bootloader. See also menu.lst file specifics at x86: Booting a Solaris System with GRUB.

3. Use the following resources from “Partitioning a MultibootSystem” at http://dlc.sun.com/osol/docs/content/IPS/partition.html. Probably the easiest way is to use the “GParted” partitioning tool that runs from a Live CD. The ISO image can be downloaded here, http://gparted.sourceforge.net/download.php. The Gparted partitioning instructions are below.

Partitioning a Multiboot System
The installer uses the open source GRUB bootloader, which supportsinstalling multiple operating systems on one drive. Prior to installing, you need to create a partition for installing the OpenSolaris software. After partitioning and installing the operating systems, one of the operating systems can be deployed by choosing between the different operating systems at boot time. How to Partition a System 1. Back up your system! Backing up your system is strongly...