lucky13
Group: Members
Posts: 1478
Joined: Feb. 2007 |
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Posted: Mar. 05 2007,17:01 |
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| Quote (mikshaw @ Mar. 05 2007,10:16) | | The *suggestion* about upgrading grub concerned only the installation of the program files, which in itself is not enough to make a useable grub system. The user would still need to install the bootloader into the desired location. |
Correct. And for those who've installed it to MBR, it would affect MBR. Not good unless they are experienced and/or knowledgeable enough to handle issues that could arise. This isn't a trivial area of a computer, and I fear those most inclined to have "pretty pictures" at every chance they get are the least able to "fix" a gimpy, totally (bleep!)ed-up MBR.
| Quote | | Now that I've thought again about it, it seems to me that grub is probably among the least appropriate apps for a mydsl extension. The existing extension itself is not a click-and-run package, but merely gives the user access to the grub program without the need to compile it himself. You still need to create a config for it, and that will need to be available somewhere before the system begins init (meaning before a mydsl extension can be installed). This means that the only way it will be truly useable (as far as I can tell) is if you are using it in a remaster, a boot disk, or a debian-style system. |
That was my initial hunch when I first read curaga's post. Extensions generally are used for loading things once the system is already up; but GRUB gets the system up. It would work best on a remaster or on a HD install, but I don't think it's suitable as an extension for use with frugal installs, etc.
| Quote | | I agree with lucky13 that Grub should not be automatically installed as most mydsl extensions are. It probably also should not be installed over existing grub files, since this might cause the system to fail to boot if the user does not complete the manual installation of the bootloader and configuration. |
This is the part that concerns me the most. It's one thing to set something up on one partition that won't affect your entire computer. If that (bleep!)s up or conflicts with anything, it should be a relatively easy "fix."
It's completely different if someone starts re-writing or overwriting MBRs. That can affect a whole hard drive, rendering every OS on it unusable. That's further complicated if the user or the person putting together such an extension or upgrade isn't absolutely on the ball about it. All of a sudden, you have a computer that won't boot from hard drive, and -- in the hands of the wrong person, like one whose enthusiasm totally overshadows his abilities -- it can go downhill very quickly from there.
I would discourage anyone from using something like that just to get a picture for a few seconds when turning on a computer.
| Quote | | I might be completely wrong on this last point, however. |
No, you're completely right. On your imaginary set of scales, weigh the benefits of having a pretty picture for a few seconds when you boot against the risks of totally (bleep!)ing up your MBR. Risks totally outweigh benefits.
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