AOSXL: GRUB enters endless reboot loop when menu.lst is present on some configs

[Martin Steigerwald]

Hello,

we are using GRUB to setup systems with AmigaOS XL - our new Amiga emulation
package. We install a boot menu to load QNX which then can run AmigaXL - our
QNX based Amiga emulation environment, to load Amithlon - an Amiga emulation
environment made by our contractor VMC software based on a heavily
modified linux kernel - and eventually to load Windows.

We use GRUB 0.90 as installed via Debian package. I just copy the binary
files from that Debian installed GRUB to the new system. I format a
FAT16/32 (tried both) partition and put the files on it into /boot/grub
and put the AMIthlon Linux kernel and initrd on it into /amithlon. This
served quite well for several systems including two with Windows
installed.

But now it failed: I installed Windows in a partition at the first 10GB,
then I created 50MB for the GRUB bootloader FAT partition, then I made 5
GB for QNX, and the rest were partitioned under type $76. Type $76 marks a
virtual Amiga harddisks: The emulated Amiga will use this partition as a
complete harddisk it can partition with its own tool HDToolBox.

I am preparing this on a Athlon XP 1500 machine using a Elitegroup K7S5A
board with BIOS from 8/27 but also one from october (the lastest available
at www.ecs.com.tw).

After I copied the files necessary for GRUB onto the second partition I
rebooted the machine inserted the boot GRUB disk and typed:

root (hd0,1)
setup (hd0)

There has been no error message of GRUB. It all succeeded.

But when rebooting the machine it goes into an endless reboot loop. It
detects harddisks, tries to determine where to boot from, possibly starts
booting, its going to quickly to see whats going on and then it resets.

I can only stop this loop by entering setup or inserting bootable floppy
or CD-ROM.

I tried quite some stuff. I made the Windows partition smaller - only 5 GB
- to ensure its no problem with big disks. But then the BIOS auto HD
configuration displays LBA mode anyway. I tried different other scenarios.

I finally found out that when I remove the menu.lst file from the second
partition /boot/grub partition, GRUB will come up with its shell interface
and it will not enter endless reboot loop. See the attached file
"menu.lst":

1) QNX will be loaded via chainloader from the third partition
2) AMIthlon will be loaded just like Linux with some additional options
   from the second partition. AMIthlon (small) uses a smaller initrd to
   save memory for the Amiga emulation
3) Windows is loaded via chainloder from the first partition

I can see no obvious error or mistake in that menu.lst file. But if its
there GRUB enters endless reboot loop and if not, GRUB enters GRUB shell
and I can issue the chainloader commands to boot QNX or Windows and it
works!

Then I tried replacing that menu.lst file with something I knew should
work: At least it works on the system I am writing this email on. Its even
more complex and before the GRUB bootloader FAT partition is not only a
Windows but also the QNX partition. I copied over this menu.lst file
without adapting it to the target system. So when that menu.lst that works
on my system it should be OK and therefore GRUB should at least display
that menu on the test system even when the menu entry commands would not
be working due to the different partition table. Well it still entered the
endless loop. The system I am writing on uses a AMD Athlon 1400 with
Elitegroup K7VTA3 board. I attach this menu.lst config that works on the
K7VTA3 machine as "menu.lst-sunfire".

Also other configurations on the same Elitegroup K7S5A machines as the
test machine where GRUB enters endless rebooting *did* work:

1) Putting Windows on a second 20MB drive. Connecting the Windows drive as
primary master and the AmigaOSXL drive as primary slave. Install GRUB to
the Windows drive but let it take its files from the bootloader partition
on the second drive. Works like a charm!

2) Doing without Windows and putting GRUB bootloader partition as first
partition on the harddisk in the first 50-100MB. Works like a charm to.

Can you make any clue out of that? I do not know whereelse to search for
the problem. I tried quite some stuff to resolve it but failed.

I like GRUB very much and think its a great boot loader, so I really want to
fix this issue. Right now we have to supply two harddisks one for Windows
and one for AmigaOS XL to solve that problem.

-- 
__________________________________________________________________________
HAAGE & PARTNER Computer GmbH                      A M I G A  DEVELOPMENTS
Fon: +49-6174-96 61 -00  Fax: -01                      AmigaOS and PowerPC
http://www.haage-partner.com                    StormC|ArtEffect|AmigaWriter

Martin Steigerwald - address@hidden

menu.lst
Description: Erstellt 24.01.2037 08:61:40

menu.lst-nowin
Description: Erstellt 24.01.2037 08:61:41

menu.lst-sunfire
Description: Erstellt 31.10.2001 16:03:04, Letzter Zugriff 31.10.2001