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Is it possible to have 2 Startup choices at boot time?
Amigans Defender
Amigans Defender


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Hey folks

I would like the option of adding my back up boot partition to be a boot time choice option.

Currently I only have Amiga OS4 FE as a start up choice, but wonder if I can add my OS4 U6 partition to the menu choice.

Can it be done? if so, how?

Cheers

Mikey C

Mikey C

No cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it.
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Re: Is it possible to have 2 Startup choices at boot time?
Just popping in
Just popping in


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Sure you can.

If you have two partitions with the kickstart/kicklayout file they should show up. (the partition might need to be set to bootable?) You just "need" to insert a bootdevice into the kicklayout so that it will boot from the correct device. (otherwise it will load the kickstart you have selected and then boot from the parition with the highest bootpriority)

check out the sys:documentation/kickstart dir to find out more about the bootdevice and how to set it up. There should be a file called bootdevice or similar in there somewhere.


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Re: Is it possible to have 2 Startup choices at boot time?
Just can't stay away
Just can't stay away


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@smf
Not quite...

@Mikey-C

First: you need to check your uboot vars... open an shell and enter nvgetvar. make sure amigaboot_quiet = N is off and os4_bootdevice = auto. If not go into uboot and change them.

cold reboot and you should see a menu (SLB) before kickstart starts to load. hit space to pause it. it should list FE and U6 with FE in green text.

anytime you want to boot into a different version just press the number beside the name that you want and it 'should' load kickstart and workbench from the same partition.

Edit:

Forgot to add that both partitions MUST be bootable and have a priority of 0.

Amiga user since 1985
AOS4, A-EON, IBrowse & Alinea Betatester

Ps. I hate the new amigans website. <shudder>
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Re: Is it possible to have 2 Startup choices at boot time?
Amigans Defender
Amigans Defender


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Hmm Neither of the suggestions mentioned above work...

The kicklayout file doesn't have anything I can see about a bootdevice and typing nvgetvar doesn't list either amigaboot_quiet or OS4_bootdevice.

Am using a SAM440EP

Mikey C

No cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it.
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Re: Is it possible to have 2 Startup choices at boot time?
Just popping in
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@Mikey_C

The way I did it:

DH0: OS4.1FE
DH3: OS4.1.6

The system boots by default DH0:

You may use kickedit or just any text editor.

In DH0: there is Kickstart/Kicklayout (OS4.1FE specific).
I added a dh0:kickstart/KE_Safe/AmigaOS_4.1.6/ directory with all the modules from DH3: ( OS41:Kickstart/#? ).

Now you have to edit the original OS4.1FE:Kickstart/Kicklayout file,
Quote:

; Format:
; ~~~~~~
; The file lists one or more configurations.

and add the 4.1.6 part at the end:
Quote:

.....
.....
.....
; Configuration name
LABEL AmigaOS 4.1 Update 6
; Exec name
EXEC Kickstart/loader
;
; PPC native modules
;
MODULE kickstart/KE_Safe/AmigaOS_4.1.6/kernel
.....
.....
.....
MODULE kickstart/KE_Safe/AmigaOS_4.1.6/BootDevice


Don`t forget to add the BootDevice module at the end with the partition value that contains 4.1.6 (DH3 in my case, without the ":")
Quote:

OS41FE:> type kickstart/KE_Safe/AmigaOS_4.1.6/BootDevice
DH3


This hopefully brings you the choice of the 2 versions on cold boot.

P.S. The uboot vars might be more transparent way to do this (by the book), I just posted the way it worked for me.

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Re: Is it possible to have 2 Startup choices at boot time?
Just can't stay away
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@Mikey_C

Quote:
typing nvgetvar doesn't list either amigaboot_quiet or OS4_bootdevice.


In that case you need to ADD OS4_bootdevice to your uboot settings...

Drop into uboot and enter:

setenv os4_bootdevice auto
saveenv

amigaboot_quiet tells the SLB not to show itself (this is NOT what you want) and defaults to N if not set so you don't need it.

Edit:

Uboot info HERE.

Amiga user since 1985
AOS4, A-EON, IBrowse & Alinea Betatester

Ps. I hate the new amigans website. <shudder>
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Re: Is it possible to have 2 Startup choices at boot time?
Just can't stay away
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@Cass


was it necessary to copy the kickstart files?
Couldn't the ones on the Upd6.1 partition be referred to in (OS4.1)kicklayout?

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Re: Is it possible to have 2 Startup choices at boot time?
Home away from home
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@Mikey_C
I don't believe it's possible with the Sam440's firmware, although I'd be happy to be proved wrong. (The X1000's firmware automatically detects multiple bootable volumes, and gives a list for choosing... no such thing on Sam440 AFAIK.)

edit: Cass's work-around/kludge might well work... however, I wanted something which automatically worked without me needing to copy one Kickstart folder to another volume every time I update it.

Author of the PortablE programming language.
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Re: Is it possible to have 2 Startup choices at boot time?
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@ChrisH

Quote:
I wanted something which automatically worked without me needing to copy one Kickstart folder to another volume every time I update it.


er... isn't that the whole point? it's an older installation that WON'T be updated, probably needed for some old program that broke under FE.

If you're just making a bootable backup partition then the 'regular' backup process itself should keep kickstart updated.

Amiga user since 1985
AOS4, A-EON, IBrowse & Alinea Betatester

Ps. I hate the new amigans website. <shudder>
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Re: Is it possible to have 2 Startup choices at boot time?
Not too shy to talk
Not too shy to talk


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@Mikey_C

I have SAM 440 Flex, and 3 options in startup

OS4.1u6
OS4.1 FE
Lubutu

Well, I have 6 partitions in my HD.

1.- OS4.1u6 DH0 - Bootable
1a.- SWAP
2.- Work OS4 DH2
3.- OS4.1FE DH10 - Bootable

4.- Linux boot
5.- Linux swap cache
6.- Lubuntu

For your interest only counts the first three.

I made the next:

I have installed 4.1u6 and before install 4.1FE I make this.

1.- Download Parthenope from Acube site.
2.- Install it in the RDB with Media Toolbox.
So all the bootable partitions apears at uboot

then I install OS4.1 FE in other partition.

Make it bootable and with the same priority as DH0.

When OS4.1FE is instaled, edit the kicklayout file in OS4.1FE kickstar dir. Add the line:

MODULE kickstar/BootDevice

Save the file

Make a text file named BootDevice with the unit of the OS4.1FE partition ( DH10 in my case) as the only text in it.

Save this file in kickstar directory

Now reset, and if all is well, you now have a two lines menu in the Uboot.
Select the line with the cursors and enter.


For me, this works very fine, and easy.

Edit 1.-
Of course, all my progs are in WORK OS4, and works in both systems very fine.



AmigaOne X5000 OS4.1 FEU1 And Lubuntu 10.04
1200 towered with Blizzard PPC - BVision and Mediator
And a new fantastic Chameleon64
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Re: Is it possible to have 2 Startup choices at boot time?
Just can't stay away
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@ChrisH

Quote:
I wanted something which automatically worked without me needing to copy one Kickstart folder to another volume every time I update it
You could achieve that by creating a link called Kickstart in your secondary boot partition, pointing to the relevant subdir on the primary one where you copied the Kickstart files. That way, updates will automatically take effect on the copy (which is the Kickstart you use).

If you still have a Kickstart dir on the secondary volume, rename that first, or delete it altogether.

Best regards,

Niels

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Re: Is it possible to have 2 Startup choices at boot time?
Just can't stay away
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@nbache
Quote:
If you still have a Kickstart dir on the secondary volume, rename that first, or delete it altogether.


But then if something happens with the primary volume, you won't be able to boot ?

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Re: Is it possible to have 2 Startup choices at boot time?
Just can't stay away
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I vaguely remember having achieved dual boot some years ago, (on another system maybe amithlon) manipulating startup-sequence and having a choice requester in there,pointing, if that was the choice to the startup-sequence on the secondary partitition
Of courrse you had to reassign sys: at least.

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Re: Is it possible to have 2 Startup choices at boot time?
Just can't stay away
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@JosDuchIt

Quote:
But then if something happens with the primary volume, you won't be able to boot ?


That's why it's a good idea to have sys: <= 4GB and use AmiDVD to make a bootable backup.

Amiga user since 1985
AOS4, A-EON, IBrowse & Alinea Betatester

Ps. I hate the new amigans website. <shudder>
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Re: Is it possible to have 2 Startup choices at boot time?
Amigans Defender
Amigans Defender


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MY HEAD HURTS!!!!!!

Mikey C

No cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it.
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Re: Is it possible to have 2 Startup choices at boot time?
Just can't stay away
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@JosDuchIt

Quote:
But then if something happens with the primary volume, you won't be able to boot ?
Then you just boot from CD and rename the Kickstart dir back on the partition(s) you want to boot from - although it might be a bit outdated by then, because all the updates went to the linked copy. But it will often be enough to let you boot.

Alternatively, after booting from CD, format your primary partition and restore your daily backup from last night .

Best regards,

Niels

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Re: Is it possible to have 2 Startup choices at boot time?
Amigans Defender
Amigans Defender


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@Mikey_C

Ignore everything except Cass' post: http://www.amigans.net/modules/xforum ... t_id=99178#forumpost99178

That's the method I use. I didn't know there was another one, but that works on the SAM for sure.

If you have problems... Well, ask me at the ANT Christmas party.

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Re: Is it possible to have 2 Startup choices at boot time?
Home away from home
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@Severin Quote:
er... isn't that the whole point? it's an older installation that WON'T be updated

That's not the case for me anyway, where I have (1) a Beta partition (which gets beta updates), and (2) a Public partition (which only gets public updates).

Author of the PortablE programming language.
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Re: Is it possible to have 2 Startup choices at boot time?
Home away from home
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@nbache Quote:
You could achieve that by creating a link called Kickstart in your secondary boot partition, pointing to the relevant subdir on the primary one where you copied the Kickstart files.

Are you SURE that would work? I have a feeling that the Kickstart loading process isn't clever enough to handle soft/hard links.

Author of the PortablE programming language.
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Re: Is it possible to have 2 Startup choices at boot time?
Just can't stay away
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@ChrisH

No, Kickstart is loaded from its real location (on the primary drive). The common Kicklayout file on that partition has a config entry where the paths of the modules point to the relevant subdirectory.

The only purpose of the soft link is to make AmiUpdate etc. think the Kickstart is located locally on the booted partition, and therefore have it updated transparently in its real path.

Best reards,

Niels

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